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Three adventure motorcycles riding a red dirt road past desert mesas

Ride somewhere new.
Prove it with a photo.

DirtRecon is a GPS scavenger hunt for ADV motorcycles, ATVs and side-by-sides. Get the coordinates, find your own legal way there on whatever you ride, and take the photo in the app. Earn badges, finish the season, earn gear.

Join the waitlist See how it works

How it works

A scavenger hunt for people who ride dirt, on two wheels or four.

  1. 01

    Get the coordinates

    Each challenge is a set of 5 to 8 GPS coordinates, each with a short clue: overlooks, fire towers, creek crossings, trailheads, small-town cafes. Find them in any order, over a weekend or the whole season.

  2. 02

    Find your own way

    There is no route to follow. Plan your path on roads and trails open to your machine. The app map highlights them for you, or open the coordinates in Gaia GPS, onX or Google Maps.

  3. 03

    Take the photo

    At the checkpoint, take the photo in the app with your bike, ATV or side-by-side and the landmark in frame. The GPS location in the photo proves you were there. No signal? It saves the photo and uploads it when you are back in range.

  4. 04

    Earn it

    Verified checkpoints add points, badges and progress. Finish three challenges in a season for the Season Finisher patch, and reach published point levels to earn sponsor gear. No drawings, no luck.

App screen showing a challenge with numbered checkpoints on a topo map, each with GPS coordinates and a clue
App screen confirming a sponsored cafe checkpoint was verified by the GPS location in the photo, with a button to share the photo with the cafe

Every machine

Same coordinates. Your way in.

ADV bikes, ATVs and side-by-sides ride most of the same gravel forest roads and two-track, but they are not always legal on the same ones. With coordinates instead of a set route, every rider picks a legal way in for their own machine. Same checkpoints, same badges.

Dual-sport motorcycle stopped before an old wooden plank bridge
ADV

Adventure and dual-sport motorcycles

Plated for the road, so highway-legal-only forest roads and paved connectors into town are open to you.

Red ATV with a strapped dry bag parked on a rocky trail above a forest lake
ATV

ATVs

Most ATVs fit 50-inch trails. If yours is not plated, the app map leaves out roads that are closed to you.

Tan four-seat side-by-side stopped beside a rocky creek crossing in the woods
SxS

Side-by-sides

Bring a passenger or the whole crew. The map shows which trails fit your width and, where your state requires plates, which roads you can use.

How the app keeps you legal

When you sign up, tell the app what you ride, whether it is plated for the road and whether it is over 50 inches wide. The map highlights the roads and trails open to your machine, and every checkpoint card says which machines can reach it and what the last stretch is like.

  • EveryoneReachable by all three. Most checkpoints.
  • Plated onlyThe last stretch is a highway-legal-only road.
  • 50 in. and underThe last stretch is a narrow trail for bikes and ATVs.

Nationwide

Challenges we are scouting for 2027

Sample challenges from across the country. The checkpoints are still being ridden and checked, so names and locations may change before launch.

Adventure motorcycle and side-by-side parked together on a red dirt two-track below sandstone mesas

Southern Utah

EveryoneModerate8 checkpoints

Red Rock Two-Track

Eight points among the mesas: slot canyon trailheads, sandstone overlooks and a small-town diner. Every one is reachable by all three machines.

Muddy ATV with a dry bag on a rocky switchback above treeline with snowy peaks behind

Colorado

Everyone1 narrow checkpointAdvanced

High Passes

Pass summits and old mining camps. One point sits up a narrow shelf road open to bikes and ATVs only.

Dual-sport motorcycle on a rocky overlook above Lake Superior

Minnesota

Everyone2 plated checkpointsModerate

North Shore Gravel & Overlooks

Lake Superior overlooks and fire towers above the shore. Two points sit on roads open to plated machines only.

Rider's view over the handlebars down a sandy two-track forest road

Every launch region

FreeEveryone5 checkpoints

Starter Challenges

Five easy points near main roads in each launch region, to learn how it works. Free for every rider, on any machine.

Ground rules

Built the way riders actually ride.

Legal access only

Every checkpoint sits on or beside an open road or trail. Access for each machine is checked against Forest Service motor vehicle use maps, BLM travel maps and state OHV and street-legal rules.

No speed rankings

Points come from checkpoints, never from time. There is no prize for getting there first, only for getting there.

Works with no signal

The best checkpoints are where your phone has no bars. Photos and maps are saved on your phone, and photos upload when you get back in range.

You choose who sees your photos

Checkpoint photos are shared with DirtRecon. At a sponsored checkpoint, you decide whether to share yours with the business too. You are credited by name, plates are blurred and your location history is never shared. Read the photo terms.

Two adventure motorcycles parked outside a small-town cafe with picnic tables

Pricing

Start free. Unlock the season for $49.

Free

$0

Find the starter checkpoints and see how it works.

  • The Starter Challenge in your region
  • In-app checkpoint photos
  • Offline capture in no-signal areas
  • Starter badge
Join the waitlist
Most riders

Rider Pass

$49 per year

Every challenge, points, badges and rewards for the full season.

  • Coordinates for every challenge nationwide
  • Season points and point levels
  • All badges and the Season Finisher patch
  • Sponsor gear and checkpoint rewards
  • Offline maps of legal roads for your machine
Get early access

FAQ

Questions riders ask

When does DirtRecon launch?

We are building the app now and plan to open the first challenges in several regions for the 2027 riding season, then add more each year. Waitlist riders get first access, including early testing this winter and spring.

Will it be in the App Store and Google Play?

Yes. DirtRecon is being built as a native app for iPhone and Android so captures and maps work reliably with no cell signal.

How do you know I was really at the checkpoint?

The app takes the photo itself, so it can't be an old one, and records the GPS location with it. If that location is inside the checkpoint zone, the checkpoint counts right away, sponsor stops included. If it is outside the zone or the signal is weak, the app asks you to move closer and retake it before you leave.

Do you give directions?

No. You get the coordinates and a short clue, and finding the way is the fun part. The app map highlights roads and trails open to your machine, and each checkpoint card says what the last stretch is like. You can also open the coordinates in Gaia GPS, onX or Google Maps.

Who sees my photos?

Every checkpoint photo is shared with DirtRecon, which is part of using the app. At a sponsored checkpoint, you will see a Share button after your check-in. Tap it and that business can use your photo in its marketing. Skip it and nothing goes to the business, and you still get the same points and rewards. We credit you by display name, blur license plates and never share your location history. The Photo-Sharing Terms have the details.

What can I ride?

ADV and dual-sport motorcycles, ATVs and side-by-sides, all hunting the same checkpoints. Tell the app whether your machine is plated and whether it is over 50 inches wide, and the map shows the roads and trails open to you and the checkpoints you can reach.

Do ATV and side-by-side riders need anything special?

Street-legal rules for ATVs and side-by-sides vary by state, and some forest roads are open to highway-legal vehicles only. The app map accounts for those roads. You still need whatever the state requires, such as registration, an OHV permit or a safety certificate. Each challenge lists the ones we know apply, but posted rules always win.

Is this a race?

No. There are no timed or speed rankings. Ride at your own pace, stay on roads and trails that are open to your machine, obey speed limits and closures, and stay within your ability.

Can I cancel the Rider Pass?

Yes. The pass is billed once a year and you can cancel any time before it renews.

Get on the list for the 2027 season.

Be first to ride the new challenges and help test the app before launch. Add your ZIP so we know where riders want checkpoints first. One email when it is ready, and no spam.

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