Tracked ATVs in New Hampshire: What the State Publishes

Tracks appear in the statutory definitions and in the agency's registration guidance, and the two answer different questions. RSA 215-A:1, VI defines an OHRV to include vehicles running on "rubber tires, tracks, or cushion of air," and RSA 215-A:1, XXIV defines a utility terrain vehicle as running on "one or more tires or tracks." NH Fish and Game closes the registration question outright: a tracked OHRV needs an OHRV registration and nothing more. What is still open is access. The narrower "all terrain vehicle" definition at RSA 215-A:1, I-b requires "one or more non-highway tires," which a fully tracked machine appears not to have, and the UTV definition requires a rollover protection system and/or safety belts, which a straddle-seat quad does not have. Because state trails are created under RSA 215-A:42, "ATV and Trail Bike Trails," and because Fish and Game's rule is that you may ride only on trails signed for your type of vehicle, a machine that is an OHRV but neither an ATV nor a UTV nor a snowmobile has no signed category of its own. Registration answered; eligibility not.

Tracked OHRV's only require an OHRV registration at this time.NH Fish and Game, "Registering Your OHRV or Snowmobile" — source · read 2026-09-26

An OHRV registration is required to ride anywhere off your own property, and that single registration is all a tracked machine needs per NH Fish and Game. No registration is required for an OHRV operated solely on land owned or leased by the OHRV's owner. New Hampshire charges no additional trail user fee on top of the registration. RSA 215-A:21, II provides that all OHRV registrations expire on May 1 each year, which Fish and Game states as annual registrations running May 1 through April 30; no person under 18 may register an OHRV; the registration certificate must be carried while operating. A title or bill of sale is not required to register, though NH Fish and Game recommends completing a bill of sale and verifying it against the machine's VIN when buying or selling. Note that the nonresident 10-day temporary OHRV registration is, per Fish and Game, available "for wheeled vehicles only."

Except as otherwise provided, no OHRV shall be operated in this state unless registered as provided in this chapter.RSA 215-A:21 (Registration) — 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 New Hampshire; what New Hampshire publishes is directly above.

Registration is settled; eligibility is not, and this entry no longer claims otherwise. The numbers that apply are clear and are written for OHRVs generally: 50 inches wide and 1,000 pounds on state-owned trails statewide, rising to 65 inches and 2,000 pounds unladen dry weight on state-owned trails in Coos County, on the Ammonoosuc recreational trail from Haverhill to Bethlehem, on the Warren recreational trail in Warren (Grafton County), and inside Jericho Mountain State Park - with a 3,499-pound figure taking effect May 1, 2028. What could not be established is whether a fully tracked quad may use those trails at all. Fish and Game's rule is that you may ride only on trails designated and signed for your type of vehicle; roughly 1,200 miles of trail is open for summertime OHRV riding and is signed for ATVs, UTVs and trail bikes; and on our reading a four-track machine meets none of those statutory definitions, because the ATV definition requires non-highway tires and the UTV definition requires a rollover protection system and/or safety belts. Pointing the other way, RSA 215-A:43, IV regulates trail width by reference to "an OHRV" on "any state-owned trails," which reads as contemplating OHRVs generally. Put it to the NH Bureau of Trails at (603) 271-3254 before spending money.

No person shall operate an OHRV wider than 50 inches or over 1000 pounds on any state-owned trails, except that no person shall operate an OHRV wider than 65 inches or over 2,000 pounds unladen dry weight on:RSA 215-A:43, IV (intro. par. effective until May 1, 2028; the statute prints a second version of the same paragraph effective May 1, 2028) — 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 New Hampshire; what New Hampshire publishes is directly above.

Generally not on the right of way of a public way, but New Hampshire gives towns real authority to open roads. Municipalities may authorize OHRV use on sidewalks and on class IV, V, or VI highways after public hearings; where a road is open, the operator must keep to the extreme right and yield to all conventional motor vehicle traffic. Interstate highways, toll roads, and limited access highways are closed outright. Crossing a public way is allowed at a 90-degree angle after a complete stop, with the required license or safety certification. Railroad rights of way where the rails are still intact, airport runways and landing fields, and cemeteries are closed except in an emergency.

No person shall operate an OHRV on the right of way of any public way classified as a class I highway and designated as an interstate highway, toll road or limited access highway.RSA 215-A:6 (Operation of All OHRVs) — 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 New Hampshire; what New Hampshire publishes is directly above.

ATV and trail bike trails on state-owned property are established under RSA 215-A:42, a section titled "ATV and Trail Bike Trails," which requires an agency evaluation, a memorandum of understanding between agencies covering "the type of OHRV permitted on approved trails," a written agreement "between the bureau and a locally-organized ATV or trail bike club recognized by the bureau," and a management plan that allows the use. That is why trail access in New Hampshire is club-mediated, why signage governs, and why the eligibility of a machine that is an OHRV but not an ATV is decided trail by trail rather than in the statute. The size limits in RSA 215-A:43 are the binding numbers on state-owned trails. Jericho Mountain State Park in Berlin is the flagship OHRV park and carries its own 65-inch / 2,000-pound allowance.

A person may operate an OHRV within Jericho Mountain state park which weighs up to 2,000 pounds unladen dry weight and is no wider than 65 inches on specifically designated trails within Jericho Mountain state parkRSA 215-A:43, VII(c) — 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 New Hampshire; what New Hampshire publishes is directly above.