Tracked ATVs in North Dakota: What the State Publishes

North Dakota addresses tracks in two places, and both point the same way on the OHV-versus-snowmobile question. (1) The chapter's definition of 'off-highway vehicle' in 39-29-01(2) says 'The term includes a motorized vehicle converted to operate on snow,' and the Class III category in 39-29-01(2)(c) lists tracks as a means of travel. (2) The snowmobile chapter appears not to capture a four-track quad: N.D.C.C. 39-24-01(8) requires a machine 'driven by track or tracks in contact with the snow, steered by a ski or skis in contact with the snow,' no wider than forty-eight inches and no more than 1,200 pounds curb weight. A four-track conversion steers through its driven front tracks rather than skis, so read against that definition it does not appear to answer the description of a snowmobile. The legislative record points the same way: testifying on HB 1068 (2021), the bill that added the converted-to-snow sentence, the Parks and Recreation Department's motorized recreation coordinator told the House Transportation Committee that the previous definition 'leaves a gap by not addressing modifications to tracked vehicles, leaving them open to the description of a snowmobile,' and that the change 'prevents temptation to register these machines a second time as snowmobiles.' WHAT IS NOT SETTLED is which class the machine lands in. On the statutory text, Class II is worded around 'three or more nonhighway tires' or 'four or more nonhighway tires,' so a machine with tracks fitted in place of its tires appears to fall out of Class II and into Class III - the only class the statute lets a licensed driver over sixteen run on a paved highway posted up to 65 mph. But the Department's own published OHV brochure maps the categories the other way - 'Class 1: Motorcycle/dirt bike, Class 2: ATV, Class 3: UTV/Side-by-side' - and says those categories 'include those converted to track for snow operation,' which reads as each class keeping its own track-converted machines. On that reading a tracked quad stays Class 2 and never gains the 65 mph privilege. Nothing read here resolves the conflict, so the class question is reported as open rather than as good news. The offices to ask are NDDOT (registration) and the Parks and Recreation Department (classification and trails).

Class III off-highway vehicle weighs less than eight thousand pounds [3628.74 kilograms]; travels on skis, runners, tracks, or four or more tires; has a seat; has a wheel, handlebars, or t steering for steering control; and is designated for or capable of cross-country on or over land, water, sand, snow, ice, marsh, swampland, or other natural terrain, but does not include a vehicle registered by the department under chapter 39-04 or 39-24.N.D.C.C. 39-29-01(2)(c) (Chapter 39-29, Off-Highway Vehicles) — source · read 2026-09-26

Registration with the North Dakota Department of Transportation is required to operate an OHV anywhere but private land. The statutory fee is $5 for a two-year registration period plus a $15 off-highway vehicle trail tax; the Parks and Recreation OHV brochure states the registration fee for resident OHVs operating on public lands and trails as $20. Registration is exempt for OHVs used exclusively on private lands, OHVs used exclusively in organized track racing events, government-owned OHVs, and out-of-state OHVs in the state 30 days or less - but out-of-state machines then need a $10-per-year non-resident public trails and lands access permit. Nothing in the registration provisions turns on wheels or tires, so a track conversion does not affect the registration itself. Political subdivisions may not require their own licensing or registration (39-29-07).

The fee for registration of each off-highway vehicle is five dollars for a registration period of two years. ... For each off-highway vehicle registered under this chapter, there is an off-highway vehicle trail tax of fifteen dollars.N.D.C.C. 39-29-02, 39-29-03(3), 39-29-04 — 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 North Dakota; what North Dakota publishes is directly above.

North Dakota runs designated OHV trail systems, and because a track-converted machine appears to remain an off-highway vehicle it is not excluded from them as a category. The conditions are width and the absence of any track-specific statement. Pembina Gorge State Park's system is described by the Parks and Recreation Department as over 16 miles of trails built to accommodate 'the three classes of OHVs - dirt bikes, four-wheelers, and side-by-sides - which are 60 inches wide or less'; that 60-inch figure is the number to check before buying a kit, and the way to check it is to measure your own machine with the kit fitted, because every machine type the page names is a tire machine. The Department's OHV brochure is more helpful for Turtle Mountain State Recreation Area, which it says 'is open to all OHVs and has over 10 miles of trails and additional play areas' (the trails page calls it a 10-mile trail); no width limit is published there. The Roughrider OHV Trail south of Mandan along Highway 1806 runs more than 22 miles, and the brochure says it 'can accommodate most current side by sides.' Note that the track-inclusive language in both the statute and the brochure is framed around snow operation, so summer trail use on tracks is not something any published source confirms either way. A safety certificate is required for riders aged 12-15 without a licence or permit to ride on land other than a parent's, which includes designated OHV trails; helmets are required under 18.

The Pembina Gorge has over 16 miles of trails designed to accommodate non-motorized and motorized traffic, including the three classes of OHVs - dirt bikes, four-wheelers, and side-by-sides - which are 60 inches wide or less.ND Parks and Recreation, OHV Trails (Pembina Gorge State Park) — 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 North Dakota; what North Dakota publishes is directly above.

North Dakota's road allowance is genuinely broad for a registered OHV, but only part of it is safe to rely on for a tracked machine. Any registered OHV may be operated on a gravel, dirt or loose-surface roadway, and on a paved highway designated and posted at a speed not exceeding 55 mph - neither of those turns on class, so both should reach a track-converted machine. The 65 mph paved-highway privilege is different: the statute reserves it to a licensed driver over sixteen operating a registered CLASS III off-highway vehicle, and whether a tracked quad is Class III or stays Class II is unresolved (see tracksAddressed). Do not budget for the 65 mph privilege until NDDOT or Parks and Recreation confirms the class. Two equipment gates apply to roadway use regardless of class: the machine may not be operated on a paved highway if it cannot attain a speed of at least 30 mph on a paved level surface, and roadway operation requires a mirror, a horn, a speedometer and odometer, a brake light, a lighted headlamp, and a motor of at least 350 cubic centimetres. Riding on the roadway, shoulder or inside bank of a road otherwise is prohibited, as is the right of way of a controlled-access highway except in emergencies. Perpendicular crossings are allowed under stated conditions. A valid driver's licence or permit is required, and cities and counties may regulate, restrict and prohibit OHV use in areas under their jurisdiction (39-29-08(4)).

An individual may not operate an off-highway vehicle on the roadway, shoulder, or inside bank or slope of any road, street, or highway except as provided in this chapter. Except in emergencies, an individual may not operate an off-highway vehicle within the right of way of any controlled-access highway. An individual may operate a registered off-highway vehicle on a gravel, dirt, or loose surface roadway. An individual may operate a registered off-highway vehicle on a paved highway designated and posted at a speed not exceeding fifty-five miles [88.51 kilometers] per hour. A licensed driver over sixteen years of age may operate a registered class III off-highway vehicle on a paved highway designated and posted at a speed not exceeding sixty-five miles [104.61 kilometers] per hour. An individual may not operate an off-highway vehicle on a paved highway if the vehicle is unable to attain a speed, on a paved level surface, of at least thirty miles [48.28 kilometers] per hour.N.D.C.C. 39-29-09(1), 39-29-09.1 — 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 North Dakota; what North Dakota publishes is directly above.

State parks and other state-owned land under the Parks and Recreation Department are governed by rules the department adopts (39-29-08(3)), and the department publishes the designated OHV trail systems described above. Beyond state land, the Parks and Recreation Department points riders to Kimball Bottoms Recreation Area (the 400-acre 'Desert' play area 8 miles south of Bismarck, managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) and, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, to roads and trails open to motorized recreation in the Little Missouri National Grassland. Private land posted against trespassing is off limits; the statute spells out how posting signs must be placed. Aggregate road surfaces may be used only when designated as part of an active OHV trail by the managing entity.

N.D.C.C. 39-29-09(11); ND Parks and Recreation, Where to Ride (OHV brochure) · 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 North Dakota; what North Dakota publishes is directly above.