Page title

Intro

Where to ride?

Road-registered trail bikes can be ridden by anyone with a WA motorcycle licence on any open public road, including roads in State forest, national parks and drinking water catchment areas.

Off-road vehicle (ORV) registered trail bikes and quad bikes, being ridden by anyone without a WA motorcycle licence, can only be legally ridden in permitted ORV areas.

Trail bikes and quad bikes can be ridden on private properties with the owner’s permission. Bikes do not need to be registered and riders do not need to hold a license to ride on private property.

There is no specific licence for trail or quad bike riders. However, riders must be over eight years of age if they are in a permitted ORV area.

The information below shows whether a driver’s (motorcycle) licence and what type of vehicle registration is required to access different types of areas.

  • Private property or club track
    • Driver’s licence not required
    • No registration
  • ORV area
    • Driver’s licence not required
    • Off Road Vehicle registration
  • Events
    • Driver’s licence required
    • Class B Conditional vehicle registration
  • Public roads
    • Driver’s licence required
    • Class A full road registration

To find more information about where to ride, go to the ORV Area State-wide Mapping (WA) available on the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries website.

Permitted off-road vehicle areas in WA

Perth Metro

  • Pinjar Off-road Vehicle Area (managed by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA))*
  • Gnangara Off-road Vehicle Area (managed by DBCA)*
  • Medina Off-road Vehicle Area*

York

  • York Off-road Vehicle Area*

Lancelin, Ledge Point And Cervantes

  • Lancelin Off-road Vehicle Area*
  • Ledge Point Off-road Vehicle Area*
  • Ledge Point Reserve 27215 Off-road Vehicle Area
  • Cervantes Item 2 Off-road Vehicle Area

Geraldton

  • Explosives — Point Moore
  • Pages Beach
  • Separation Point
  • Francis St Carpark
  • Drummond Cove — Glenfield
  • Cape Burney Off-road Vehicle Area

Carnarvon

  • Carnarvon Item 1 Off-road Vehicle Area
  • Carnarvon Item 2 Off-road Vehicle Area

Karratha

  • Karratha West Off-road Vehicle Area
  • Karratha East Off-road Vehicle Area
  • Karratha Item 2 Off-road Vehicle Area

Port Hedland

  • Deepwater Reserve Off-road Vehicle Area
  • Spoilbank Off-road Vehicle Area

*Gazetted as permitted ORV areas in accordance with the ORV Act

Apart from ORV areas managed by the State Government and local government, there are several commercial ride parks operating on private land that can cater for unregistered bikes and unlicensed riders. They include:

Bike registration

Registration of the trail or quad bike will enable users to ride legally at specially set up off-road vehicle (ORV) areas. Registering the bike will also help it being recovered if lost or stolen.

Registration fees are held in a special purpose account that is used to create and maintain ORV areas across WA.

You can find more information about registering your bike on the Department of Transport website.

Want to know more?

For more information about trail bike and quad bike riding, contact WA clubs and associations:

Page reviewed 11 September 2023