GROVELAND TOWNSHIP (WWJ) - A new off-road vehicle park is set to open next summer in Oakland County, but first it needs a name.
Officials are asking the public to submit ideas for naming the park, which will be located in a former sand and gravel mining operation in Groveland and Holly townships off I-75 at Grange Hall Road and Dixie Highway.
To submit a name, click here. Submission will be accepted until April 26.
The park is a collaboration between the Department of Natural Resources and the Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission, and will be jointly managed by both agencies. The current plan is to finalize a design for the park by this fall, complete any construction in the spring of 2020 and have the park open by July 2020.
In 2017, the DNR purchased 235 acres in preparation for the park, with the help of a $2.9 million grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. Earlier this month, the Oakland County Board of Commissioners approved a 20-year operating agreement with the DNR.
The park, located across from Groveland Oaks County Park and Campground, will be open to all types of ORVs, including full-size vehicles, side-by-sides, all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles. Approximately 113 acres are expected to be open in summer 2020 with additional acres coming online as mining is completed on the remaining property. The full 235 acres is expected to be operational by 2023.
A daily entry fee (approximately $15-$25 per vehicle) and an ORV license and trail permit will be required. There will be no requirement for a Recreation Passport or a Oakland County Parks and Recreation Annual Vehicle Permit.
The park will be the first of its kinds in southeast Michigan, which currently has no legal ORV riding areas. The closest available riding is at The Mounds in Genesee County.
