Tracked ATVs in Arkansas: What the State Publishes

Arkansas never uses the words 'track' or 'track system' in the provisions we read, but its two governing definitions treat a modified machine very differently, and the difference is the whole story - though not in the direction an earlier version of this page claimed. The vehicle statute, Ark. Code Section 27-21-102, is closed and hardware-specific: an all-terrain vehicle has 'three (3), four (4), or six (6) wheels', is 'fifty inches (50") or less in width', is 'equipped with nonhighway tires', is designed primarily for off-road recreational use, and has an engine displacement of no more than 1,000 cc. Critically, the same section defines 'Nonhighway tire' as 'a pneumatic tire' six inches or more in width, designed for a rim diameter of fourteen inches or less, operating at 20 psi or less. So on its face the statute excludes a tracked machine twice over: it has neither the required wheels nor a pneumatic tire. The AGFC Code Book, which is what actually controls where you may ride on state wildlife land, is open and adaptation-inclusive: an off-highway vehicle is 'A motorized vehicle designed or adapted for use on unimproved roads or trails to include three and four wheeled ATVs, 4x4 vehicles, amphibious vehicle UTVs, dune buggies, go-karts, scooters, and motorcycles.' The phrase 'or adapted' contemplates a machine changed after manufacture and 'to include' makes the list illustrative, so a tracked quad reads comfortably as an AGFC off-highway vehicle. An earlier version of this page called that 'the most track-friendly phrase in Arkansas law'. On our reading it is the opposite: because AGFC rule 20.19(B) makes it unlawful to USE an OHV on a WMA at all, being captured by the definition is what brings the machine within the prohibition. The definition helps only in that it lets a tracked machine qualify for the rule's named exceptions. Confirm registration treatment with DFA and land access with the AGFC regional office for the area you intend to ride.

OFF HIGHWAY VEHICLE (OHV) - A motorized vehicle designed or adapted for use on unimproved roads or trails to include three and four wheeled ATVs, 4x4 vehicles, amphibious vehicle UTVs, dune buggies, go-karts, scooters, and motorcycles.Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Code Book (as of October 30, 2024), Definitions (OFF HIGHWAY VEHICLE), read with Code 20.19(B); compare Ark. Code Ann. Section 27-21-102 (definitions of 'all-terrain vehicle' and 'nonhighway tire') — source · read 2026-09-26

One-time, cheap, and administrative. All owners of three-wheeled, four-wheeled or six-wheeled all-terrain vehicles not otherwise required to be registered must register with the Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration within 30 calendar days of acquiring them, offering proof of ownership satisfactory to the Department, and 'The cost of registration shall be five dollars ($5.00)'. This is an ownership record, not a road-legal credential. Note the provision is keyed to wheel count, and the separate definitional section adds a pneumatic-tire requirement; we found no DFA guidance addressing a track conversion.

The cost of registration shall be five dollars ($5.00)Ark. Code Ann. Section 27-20-202 (Registration required), Title 27 Subtitle 2 Ch. 20 Subch. 2 - Three-Wheeled, Four-Wheeled, and Six-Wheeled All-Terrain Vehicles — source · read 2026-09-26

A different document, other jurisdictions
Registering a Tracked Quad sets several named agencies' own class definitions side by side, and shows that they are not written to a common test. It settles nothing for Arkansas; what Arkansas publishes is directly above.

Yes on designated routes, but the trail-specific orders are where a tracked machine can come unstuck, and this is the biggest correction on this page. The Wolf Pen Gap trail complex southeast of Mena in Polk County, reached off Arkansas Highway 8 and Arkansas 375 with four trailheads, publishes closure order OA-MENA-02-2024, and among the prohibited acts it lists is 'Using a tracked vehicle.' An earlier version of this page presented Wolf Pen Gap as the state's most promising destination for a tracked quad on the strength of a 64-inch width allowance for side-by-sides. No such figure appears on the Forest Service page for that site, and the order on that page points the other way, so the claim has been removed. Designated routes there are typically seasonally open from the first Friday of March each year through Oct. 31, with two additional holiday openings (three days before Thanksgiving through two days after, and Dec. 22 through Jan. 2). The Ouachita National Forest also lists other OHV trails including the Belle Starr Multi-Use Trail, Boardstand/Military Road Trail and Fourche Mountain Trail. The governing rule everywhere on national forest is 'Operate OHV's only on areas, roads and trails designated as open to OHVs', with the Motor Vehicle Use Map as the authority - but read the individual trail order too, because that is where a tracked-vehicle prohibition will appear if there is one. Operator and vehicle must meet all applicable state vehicle and operator requirements when on roads open to large vehicles.

Operate OHV's only on areas, roads and trails designated as open to OHVs.USDA Forest Service, Ouachita National Forest - Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV); Wolf Pen Gap recreation site — source · read 2026-09-26

A different document, other jurisdictions
Groomed Snowmobile Trails quotes named agencies in other jurisdictions on the groomed-trail question, and they do not agree with each other. It settles nothing for Arkansas; what Arkansas publishes is directly above.

Not generally, and the exceptions may not reach a tracked machine. Ark. Code Section 27-21-106 makes it unlawful to operate an ATV on a public street or highway 'even if the all-terrain vehicle otherwise meets the equipment standards of Section 27-20-104', then carves out: use in farming or hunting operations to travel between fields; a direct crossing where the machine comes to a complete stop, yields to oncoming traffic and crosses at approximately 90 degrees (on divided highways, only at intersections, and with front and rear lights on for crossings after dark or in reduced visibility); operation by a person who has lost one or both legs above the ankle or otherwise has a serious walking disability certified by a physician, who may use non-hard-surfaced roads, highway shoulders other than interstates and fully controlled-access highways, and public streets where that is the most reasonable access route between off-road trails or from private property to a trail, with a red flag on a pole and the physician's certificate carried; and official use by law enforcement, firefighters, EMTs, utility, telecommunications or cable company employees and Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism employees. Where multiple ATVs travel together on a permitted route they must go single file except when overtaking. An earlier version of this page said 'None of these exceptions turn on wheels or tires.' That was wrong. The exceptions do not need to name tires because they are addressed to 'all-terrain vehicles', and Section 27-21-102 defines that class as having three, four or six wheels AND being equipped with nonhighway tires, with 'Nonhighway tire' defined in turn as a pneumatic tire. Whether a tracked machine can claim the farming, hunting or crossing exceptions is therefore unresolved.

It is unlawful for a person to operate an all-terrain vehicle on a public street or highway of this state, even if the all-terrain vehicle otherwise meets the equipment standards of § 27-20-104, except under the following conditions and circumstances:Ark. Code Ann. Section 27-21-106 (Operation on public streets and highways unlawful--Exceptions) — source · read 2026-09-26

A different document, other jurisdictions
Roads, Shoulders and Crossings separates crossing a road from travelling along one in several named jurisdictions, because most of them do. It settles nothing for Arkansas; what Arkansas publishes is directly above.

On AGFC land the baseline is a flat prohibition, not merely a stay-on-the-road rule, and this is the biggest correction on this page. Rule 20.19(A) makes it unlawful to operate any motorised vehicle, including an electric or motorized bicycle, off any open access road and parking area, behind any gated, cabled or earthen barrier, where no road exists, on any trail, levee or dam, on any food plot, wildlife opening or fire lane, on any road disked or seeded for wildlife, or against posted direction of travel. Rule 20.19(B) then adds, separately and absolutely, that 'It is unlawful for any person on a WMA to use an Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) or amphibious vehicle.' Access exists only through the rule's lettered exceptions, which must be read by area name: OHVs are allowed on open roads and trails on Casey Jones, Gum Flats, Howard County, Lafayette County, Lake Greeson, Poison Springs and Provo WMAs by hunters accessing hunting locations and/or camping sites during open hunting seasons only (exception D); motorised vehicles and OHVs are allowed on Caney Creek, Cedar Mountain, Lee Creek, Mount Magazine, Muddy Creek, Piney Creeks, Sylamore, St. Francis National Forest and Winona WMAs except on anything posted closed, with all OHVs subject to the USDA Forest Service OHV policy as published in 36 CFR 261 (exception E); Cherokee and Jim Kress are limited to hunters holding a valid leased-land permit (exception F); and Big Timber WMA allows OHVs on designated open, maintained roads during open hunting seasons, with rights-of-way use strictly prohibited unless designated open (exception I). Holders of an AGFC Mobility-Impaired Access card may operate OHVs on designated mobility-impaired access areas at Moro Big Pine Natural Area (exception H) and Jack Mountain WMA (exception J), and on those designated areas the machine must be at least 100 but not more than 300 feet from the CENTERLINE of the road. National forest WMAs are additionally governed by Forest Service rules and the Motor Vehicle Use Map.

It is unlawful for any person on a WMA to use an Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) or amphibious vehicle. EXCEPTIONS: A. In compliance with Code 20.12. ... D. OHVs are allowed on open roads and trails on Casey Jones, Gum Flats, Howard County, Lafayette County, Lake Greeson, Poison Springs (motorized vehicles are not allowed on boundary lines that have been cleared by the Arkansas Forestry Commission) and Provo WMAs by hunters to access hunting locations and/or camping sites during open hunting seasons only.AGFC Code 20.19(B) Vehicle Restrictions On WMAs, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Code Book (as of October 30, 2024). The separate sentence about Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Maps quoted in an earlier version of this page is from the AGFC General WMA Regulations web page, not from Code 20.19, which instead references 36 CFR 261. — source · read 2026-09-26

A different document, other jurisdictions
Public Land and Width Limits covers the federal land managers, who publish route designations rather than permissions and answer to nobody's state code. It settles nothing for Arkansas; what Arkansas publishes is directly above.