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Motivated by videos such as 1, 2, 3, my grandparents desire to rent a SUV with all-wheel-drive (ATVs appear too risky to them) to explore such trails situated in the wilderness. Ontario Trails differentiates ATV Trails (which greatly outnumber) from the 5 SUV trails.

Ontario Trails lists all such trails, but fails to distinguish and confirm each trail's level of difficulty, extent of the roughness or possibility of impassable hazards. The videos above depict, on these trails, large rocks/boulders, water currents and water bodies of unknown depth, about which any trailblazer must be premonished (as far as possible) because they can easily obstruct a SUV.

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    Not germane to your question, but they should be aware that, for an ordinary rental company, the rental agreement for an SUV may forbid off-road driving, and invalidate the insurance coverage in the event that it is done. So in the (fairly likely) event of damage to the vehicle, they should be prepared to pay for it out-of-pocket. Oct 2, 2015 at 5:03
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    offroading, even in an SUV, requires significant physical strength. Someone who cannot walk for half an hour along an easy trail will not be able to drive for half an hour along a similar trail, in my experience. Oct 2, 2015 at 11:14
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    @Kate: Not to mention, there is a fair chance of disabling the vehicle and having to walk half an hour, or much more, to get back. Oct 3, 2015 at 1:52
  • @NateEldredge +1. Thank you for your premonition. I should elucidate that my grandparents desire to avoid the extreme off-roading trails, and desire only the easy, smooth trails. However, I do not mention this explicitly above to generalise the question, but please advise if I shoul.
    – user13759
    Oct 3, 2015 at 4:16
  • @KateGregory +1. Thank you. Please see my elucidating comment above.
    – user13759
    Oct 3, 2015 at 4:17

1 Answer 1

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The Ontario Federation of 4WD Recreationists maintains a trail index, which is unfortunately accessible to their members only (joining costs $50). The trails listed there are graded according to their own rating system which covers difficulties ranging from 1 Maintained Dirt Roads to 5+ Impassable trail.

In addition, Ontario Trails lists many trails for free, as you mention. Trails are not classified by difficulty. However, you can click on Trail Details and see if the surface type is listed. This should give an indicator of trail difficulty. For example, below is the trail details for the Forgotten Trails:

Forgotten Trails details showing asphalt surface type

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