By David Fleet
Editor
Groveland Twp.-On July 18, the new Holly Oaks ORV Park opened for a preview of the Michigan’s latest state park.
Former tapped out gravel mines were transformed into a playland for two and four wheel aficionados who find their passion on dirt, rocks and the occasional mud pit. The park will officially open in the summer of 2020.
“This is the first legal public owned ORV recreation area in southeast Michigan,” said Dan Stencil, Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission executive officer. “This is 50 years in the making. This park was made possible by a very robust partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Oakland County Parks and Recreation over the past five years.”
The gathering included officials from the DNR, Oakland County Parks, Groveland and Holly township along with media statewide. Representatives from Jeep provided tours of the park on a designated trail in a variety of off road vehicles.
The ORV park incorporates 235 acres on property once mined for gravel. The MDNR reported in December 2014 a grant for $2.9 million was approved from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund to purchase the property, however, only a portion of the grant was used so far. Currently, about 145 acres of the 235 will be included in the first phase of the ORV park. Some of the remaining acreage is still mined by area companies.

The park will accommodate jeeps, trucks, side-by-sides or dirt bikes. The first phase of the park will include trails with a variety of challenge elements, along with scramble areas. Other areas of the park will feature rocks, large logs, slabs of concrete and some water.
“One of the things we do in the DNR Parks and Recreation, is try to be relevant to the public,” said Ron Olson, chief of parks and recreation for the Michigan DNR. “And this is one of those opportunities to show we have diverse outdoor recreational opportunities. Locating a (park) like this near the urban core is very difficult. It took a lot of work to find the partners and the outcome is great.”
ORVs are a growing challenge in the state, he said.
“The number of licenses have grown 15 percent since 2015,” he said. “This is one of the few things people said we want to raise our fees to invest in our sport.”
The fee went from $16.25 to $26.25, plus a $10 permit fee, he said.
“Who would go for double my fee?” he said. “The way this is built is to be self supporting. Revenue over expenses will be plowed right back into the operation. This is funded by itself. It will be user based.”
Under the agreement, the Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission will operate the ORV Park, located in Groveland and Holly townships, in partnership with the MDNR. The current plan, for Oakland County’s 14th park is to finalize design by this fall, complete any construction in the spring of 2020 and have the park open by July 2020
The collaborative efforts moved forward after April 2, 2019 when the Oakland County Board of Commissioners OK’d a 20-year operating agreement, with a 10-year additional option, with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.