OHV Riding & Camping

Choose from the following to find a site:

• OHV Trail Riding

Travel Management Plan

The Tonto National Forest released the final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and draft Record of Decision (ROD) on October 4, 2019. The 2005 Travel Management Rule requires that all National Forest System lands designate roads, trails, and areas for motor vehicle travel, and with the predecisional objection process.

The Final Travel Management Rule requires motor vehicles to be restricted to designated roads, trails, and areas as shown on the Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM). The selected alternative restricts off-road motor vehicle use; and designates:

• Eight OHV areas where travel off designated system roads and motorized trails is permitted;
• Approximately 3,700 miles of roads and motorized trails open to the public;
• Three additional permit zones;
• Motor vehicle use solely for retrieving legally harvested elk and bear for all hunts up to 1 mile on both sides of all designated roads and motorized trails;
• Motor vehicle use for dispersed camping on approximately 91 miles of full-sized motorized trails that access nearly 2,750 inventoried existing dispersed camping sites; and
• The use of motorized vehicles off of designated system roads and motorized trails to aid in the collection of permitted personal fuelwood within the designated fuelwood cutting areas.

The Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) and draft ROD, along with all supporting analysis documentation are available on the project website. The final ROD has not yet been released.

OHV related information

Arizona OHV information

Frequently asked questions

Related OHV info from Arizona Game & Fish

Bulldog Canyon and OHV Permit

Effective March 19, 2020, people who ride an off-highway vehicle (OHV) in the Bulldog Canyon OHV area on the Mesa Ranger District must obtain a permit online through recreation.gov. The district will discontinue paper permits.

The online process will include a $6 administrative fee to cover the cost of operating the online service.  Additionally, past Bulldog Canyon permits allowed up to five additional household members to be added to the permit. Effective March 19, each OHV operator, age 16 or older, will need a permit on hand while riding in the Bulldog Canyon OHV area. Passengers not operating motorized vehicles in the permit area will not need a permit.  

To reserve a permit on recreation.gov, search for ‘Tonto National Forest Off-Highway Vehicle Permit’ and follow prompts to purchase and then print the permit. The permit will also include six months of gate code combinations to unlock access gates to the Bulldog Canyon OHV area. 

People seeking additional information can contact the Mesa Ranger District at (480) 610-3300 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. during weekdays. 

No camping in staging areas. Click here for more information. 

Bulldog Canyon related information

Bulldog Canyon OHV Permit Area (pdf)

Bulldog Canyon Map (pdf)