By Dom Santina, Contributing Writer
Photography by Wilder Images
The biggest and one of the best known mudding events will take place on August 16-21. The Michigan Mud Jam will once again be hosted at the Iosco County Fairgrounds in Hale, Michigan.
Michigan Mud Jam features a variety of events including: Freestyle, Royal Rumble (Team Racing), Open Pits, Side by Side Racing and Tuff Trucks. Not to mention the spectator events, like Mr. Mudder and Ms. Mudder and other fun contests. All this is topped off with a DJ in the evening.
The huge party, that started in 2003 will continue on strong for after only missing one year for COVID. This year 90 Mega trucks will be in attendance coming from Florida, Georgia, Texas, New York, Minnesota and many more.
But according to Ron Heal, co-owner of Michigan Mud Jam it is not all the trucks or all the mud that means the most to him. The best of part of the week is “getting to talk to all of the people and having those great conversations.”
Schedule of Events
The event will kick off on Monday with the gates opening at noon. There will be VIP vendor food from 5 pm to 7 pm. A concert will begin at 9pm to conclude the first day.
On Tuesday, the gates will once again open at noon, with a gate fee of $100 for early access admission. There will be truck and SXS show at the fire hall from 6 pm to 8 pm. A DJ will start at 9 pm.
The gates will open earlier on Wednesday, the pits will be open from 8 am to 8 pm. The gate fee will be $80 and the pits will be open all day. The SXS races will start at 9 pm, with Tuff Trucks starting at 10 pm. The DJ will return after the Tuff Trucks competition.
The pits will be open again at 9 am on Thursday and they will be open until 8 pm that evening. When the lights come on the off road racing series will take to the track. The night will conclude once again with a DJ.
The action will really ramp up on Friday. The day will start off with open mud pits from 9:30 am – 11 am. After the open pit will be the Royal Rumble Race from 12 pm to 3 pm. The event is made up of 8 teams, with 5 trucks per team. There will be a break in action from the end of the races until 6 pm. At 6:00, the championship bracket rounds will begin with the Royal Rumble Race. At 9 pm, the Mr. Mud Jam obstacle course will commence. At the same time will be the Ms. Mud Jam obstacle course and bikini competition. The day will conclude with tugs starting at 10 pm and going late into the night.
The event will end on Saturday, but will still have quite a bit of action. The day will once again start with an open mud pit at 9:30 am until 2:30 pm. There will be a break for a freestyle competition at 3 pm and then a return to the mud pits at 4:30 pm until dusk. The Hoopty Cruise contest will be located in the grandstands and will be at 7:00 pm. The Freedom competition will be right after at 7:15 pm, where you will need to be wearing all the red,white and blue that you can find.
With your free tickets into the event, you get free rustic camping. Which makes it worth it to go for the whole weekend. There are also a lot of trails that allow ORV enthusiasts to visit the surrounding area and allow you to get away from the party and go enjoy some riding as well.
While the event is meant for everyone to enjoy and have a good time, there are a few safety rules to keep in mind. Which is kind of a must with a big crowd.
Here’s the top 10
1. Do not tear up the grounds.
2. Do not dump any waste.
3. Do not save any camping spots for anyone else.
4. Do not sell anything unless you are an approved vendor.
5. No drones, no exceptions.
6. All trucks entering the pit, are entering under their own risk and must have solid pull points and must be trailered in and out of the pits.
7. Any Sport quads, ATV’s with a clutch, dirt bikes and 3 wheelers are not allowed.
8. You may not ride in the back of trucks in the mud pit, no exceptions.
9. There is no fighting at any time, if anyone fights, the entire camp will be sent home.
10. All ORV riders must follow a trail into town or you will be ticketed.
If you can keep the top ten in mind and have a great time, this group also puts on a couple other events throughout the year. The Michigan Madness event takes place June 24-26 at the Iosco County Fairgrounds and features ATV/ SXS action and events.
Then on October 8, the group will host an Outlaw Halloween Bog and Outlaw Racing Series. Trick or treat starts right after the racing. While visiting the area for these great events in Hale, make sure to to stop by the local businesses and sponsors like Roger’s Family Foods and Hale Hardware.
The Michigan Mud Jam has become an event that you will not want to miss and has become one of the most popular events in the country. Make sure to visit Hale, Michigan during August 16-21. •
