Helmets
Required under 18 statewide. Kane County requires them for every OHV rider on county roads, which includes the village streets. Shops supply them; we recommend one for every adult on every ride.
Rules & Safety
Utah OHV Permits & Laws for Duck Creek Riders
The card, the permit, the highway, the machine and the kids: every rule that applies on the Markagunt, with the statute it comes from
The one card everyone needs
Since January 1, 2023 (Utah HB 180), every person who operates an OHV on Utah public land needs a Utah OHV education certificate. That includes rental customers, visitors from out of state, and the person who takes over the wheel for ten minutes on the way back.
For adults it is a free online course, 15 to 30 minutes, and it never expires. Riders under 18 take the youth course instead. Rental shops are required to see the certificate before they rent to you, so finish it at home and save a screenshot; cell service in the village is not the place to sit an exam. The single exemption is a guided tour.
- Everyone
- Utah OHV education certificate; free adult course, 15 to 30 minutes, lifetime
- Out-of-state machine
- $35 non-resident permit, 12 months, bought online; rentals are covered
- SR-14
- Street-legal OHVs may ride it; everyone else crosses at a right angle only
- Width
- 72 inches and 2,500 lb on designated trails; some are 50 inches
Permits: who pays what
The permit attaches to the machine, not the rider, which is why most of our guests never buy one: they rent, and the shop's fleet is already Utah-registered. If you trailer your own machine in from Nevada, Arizona or anywhere else, this is what applies.
| Your situation | What you need | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| You rent in the village | Nothing beyond the education certificate. The shop's machine is Utah-registered. | $0 |
| You trailer your own machine from out of state | Utah non-resident OHV permit for each machine. Applies to the machine, not the rider. Buy online before you arrive; 12 months from purchase. | $35 (was $30 until July 1, 2026) |
| Your out-of-state machine is street-legal | Exempt from the permit if it meets Utah equipment rules, is highway-registered at home, and your home state extends the same courtesy to Utah plates. | $0 |
| You are a Utah resident with your own machine | Current Utah OHV registration and decal (or street-legal plate). No permit. | Registration fee only |
| Non-resident snowmobile | Same non-resident permit as wheeled OHVs; confirm at purchase. | $35 |
The non-resident permit rose from $30 to $35 on July 1, 2026. It is sold online only through the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation; there is no counter in the village. Carry proof of out-of-state residency and of the machine's home registration.
Riding through the village and crossing SR-14
Duck Creek Village's streets are Kane County roads, and Kane County Code Title 5, Chapter 1 opens county roads to OHVs "as posted by signs or designated by map." In practice that means the village streets are OHV routes (they are spurs 52 and 59 of the Strawberry Loop on the Forest Service map), ridden at 15 mph, and treated as transit to and from the trails rather than a place to ride laps. Residential streets are for getting through, not for practice.
If your machine is not street-legal
You may cross SR-14 but not ride along it. Utah Code 41-22-10.3 spells out how: come to a full stop, yield to every vehicle on the highway, then cross at a right angle to the road. Every one of our featured rides crosses the highway at least once (the Strawberry Loop crosses near the east edge of Duck Lake) and none of them requires riding along it.
If your machine is street-legal
A plated, street-legal OHV may ride SR-14. Utah Code 41-6a-1509 allows street-legal ATVs and side-by-sides on state highways outside first-class counties, and neither Kane nor Iron County is first class. The limit is 50 mph or the posted speed, whichever is lower, and where the posted limit is above 50 you keep to the extreme right of the roadway. That is what makes Panguitch Lake reachable by trail from the village: the last 1.7 miles are on SR-143 and only a street-legal machine may finish them.
Rental machines are generally not street-legal. Ask the shop, and assume you are crossing, not riding, the highway unless they tell you otherwise.
Machine rules
Six things Forest Service law enforcement and the county deputies actually check.
Spark arrestor
A muffler with an approved spark arrestor is required on every OHV in the forest (snowmobiles excepted). Fire restrictions do not change this; it applies every day of the season.
Noise
Utah's limit is 96 dB. Aftermarket exhausts that exceed it get citations on the village streets first.
Lights
Headlight and taillight on from sunset to sunrise. The evening ride around Aspen Mirror Lake ends in the dark more often than people expect.
Width and weight
Forest Order 0407-22-15 limits MVUM-designated OHV trails to 72 inches and 2,500 pounds through 2027. Some trails are posted at 50 inches. The "62 inch" figure applies only to about 2 miles of OHV-only trail on Trail 1. Open forest roads have no width limit.
The MVUM governs
The Cedar City Ranger District Motor Vehicle Use Map is the legal document for what is open, to which vehicles, and when. The printed trail map and any app are planning aids.
Where you may ride
Dixie National Forest prohibits cross-country motorized travel forest-wide. You ride the numbered routes, their spurs and the open forest roads shown on the current Motor Vehicle Use Map, and nothing else: no meadows, no streambanks, no cut-across lines between two roads you can both see. That is where the citations are written and where the damage shows for years. Our loop-by-loop trails page lists every designated spur.
Campgrounds and lakes
- Duck Creek Campground: loops A and B are closed to OHVs; loops C, D and E allow OHVs for ingress and egress to your own site only.
- Navajo Lake: the lake shore and the campground loops are closed to OHV travel except campground ingress and egress. OHVs reach the Cascade Falls trailhead and Navajo Lake Road; there is no shoreline loop.
- Cascade Falls: spur 51 ends at the trailhead. The falls trail itself (#32055) is hiking only, about 0.8 miles one way.
- Cedar Breaks National Monument: no OHV trails. In winter, snowmobiles may use only the marked groomed SR-148 route through the monument.
Youth riders
Utah's youth rules are about supervision and fit rather than a single age. The county adds one hard line for the village streets.
- Under 8: may not operate an OHV on Kane County roads, which means the village streets.
- 8 to 15: may ride on public land with a Utah youth OHV education certificate.
- Under 16: must be under the direct supervision of an adult who stays within sight, and the machine must fit the rider (feet on the pegs or floor, hands on the controls).
- Under 18: helmet required, everywhere, every time.
- Rental shops set their own minimum driver ages, usually well above the state minimum. Ask before you book.
Seasonal orders and fire restrictions
Forest orders come and go with the season; the spring mud closure on the Duck Creek trails is an annual event, and fire restrictions tighten and loosen with the weather. This is the 2026 record as of September 2026. Before you ride, check the Dixie National Forest alerts page and our road conditions page.
| Date | Order | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 26 to Jun 1, 2026 | Spring mud order 0407-26-03: Sage Valley Road (FR 30051) and Duck Creek OHV Trails 1 and 5 between the Visitor Center and Uinta Flat Road closed when wet. | Rescinded Jun 1, 2026 |
| Jun 4, 2026 | Stage 1 fire restrictions take effect on the Dixie National Forest. | Raised to Stage 2 on Jun 26 |
| Jun 26, 2026 | Stage 2 fire restrictions take effect. Spark arrestors are required regardless of stage. | Reduced to Stage 1 on Jul 27 |
| Jul 13 to 23, 2026 | Mid-season trail repair closure on the Duck Creek OHV trails (order 0407-26-11). | Expired |
| Aug 31, 2026 | All fire restrictions rescinded. | Current |
| May 1 to Nov 30 | MVUM seasonal roads open. Closed to motor vehicles outside that window. | Every year |
Last checked September 2026. Monsoon storms build in the early afternoon from July into September; be off the rims and out of the open meadows by lunch on a building-cloud day.
Emergency numbers
Call 911 for anything life-threatening. The rest are the numbers printed on the official trail map; Duck Creek Village is in Kane County, the plateau north of the highway is Iron County, and the Cedar City Ranger District (435-865-3200) manages the trails. Save them before you leave the village, because your phone will not find them from the rim.
- Emergency 911
- Utah Highway Patrol 435-586-9445
- Iron County Sheriff 435-867-7500
- Kane County Sheriff 435-644-2349
- Garfield County Sheriff 435-676-2678
- Report a fire 435-865-4600
- Poaching hotline 1-800-662-DEER
- Forest Service Law Enforcement 435-865-3700
- Cedar City Ranger District 435-865-3200
Utah OHV law questions from Duck Creek riders
The rules people ask about at check-in, with the statute behind each answer.
Do I need a permit to ride my own ATV or side-by-side in Utah?
If your machine is registered outside Utah, yes: a Utah non-resident OHV permit, $35 since July 1, 2026, valid 12 months, bought online, one per machine. Rental customers do not need one because the shop's machine is Utah-registered. Street-legal out-of-state machines are exempt if they meet Utah equipment rules, are highway-registered at home, and the home state reciprocates. Everyone, permit or not, needs the Utah OHV education certificate.
Do I need the Utah OHV education card if I am only renting for a day?
Yes. Since January 1, 2023 every operator on Utah public land, including rental customers, needs the certificate. The adult course is free, online, takes 15 to 30 minutes and never expires; riders under 18 take the youth course. Rental shops are required to see it before they rent to you. The one exemption is a guided tour.
Can I ride my side-by-side on Highway 14 through Duck Creek?
Only if it is street-legal. Utah Code 41-6a-1509 lets street-legal OHVs use state highways outside first-class counties, and Kane and Iron are not first-class counties, so SR-14 is legal for a plated, street-legal machine at 50 mph or the posted limit, whichever is lower, keeping to the extreme right where the limit is above 50. A machine that is not street-legal may only cross the highway: stop, yield, cross at a right angle (41-22-10.3). Every one of our featured rides crosses SR-14 at least once and none requires riding along it.
Do adults have to wear a helmet on the Duck Creek trails?
Utah requires helmets for riders under 18 on public land. Kane County goes further and requires a helmet for every OHV rider on county roads, which includes the village streets you use to reach the trails. Rental shops supply helmets with every machine. We recommend one for every adult on every ride.
How wide can my machine be on the Markagunt trails?
Forest Order 0407-22-15 limits MVUM-designated OHV trails to 72 inches wide and 2,500 pounds through 2027. Some trails are posted at 50 inches, and about 2 miles of OHV-only trail on Trail 1 is 62 inches. Anything wider stays on the open forest roads, which have no width limit and make up most of the loop mileage anyway. Check the current MVUM for the exact trail.
Can my kids drive an ATV at Duck Creek?
Children under 8 may not operate an OHV on Kane County roads, so not through the village. From 8 to 15 they may ride on public land with a Utah youth OHV education certificate, under the direct supervision of an adult who stays within sight, on a machine that fits them. Helmets are required for everyone under 18. Rental shops set their own, usually higher, minimum ages for drivers; passengers are the usual answer for younger kids.
Reviewed September 2026
Sources for this page
Education, permit, helmet, equipment and highway rules are taken from the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation and the Utah Code sections linked below. Village-road rules come from Kane County Code Title 5, Chapter 1 and Kane County tourism guidance. Width limits and closures come from dated Dixie National Forest orders. This is a plain-language summary by an inn, not legal advice; the statute controls.
- Utah OHV Education (free course and youth certificate)
- Utah OHV laws and rules
- 2025 Utah OHV Safety and Law Brochure (PDF)
- Utah non-resident OHV permits
- Utah Code 41-6a-1509: street-legal OHVs on highways
- Utah Code 41-22-10.3: crossing highways
- Utah Code 41-22-10.4: youth supervision
- Utah Code 41-22-31: OHV education
- Kane County, Utah (County Code Title 5, Chapter 1: OHVs on county roads)
- Dixie National Forest alerts and forest orders
- Cedar City Ranger District MVUM (2026)
- USDA Forest Service: Markagunt OHV System
Ride Legal from Duck Creek
Take the free course tonight, ride out of our parking lot tomorrow. Duck Creek Village Inn has trailer parking, a rental shop across the street, and the Strawberry Loop a mile up the road.