Adventure Dual-Sport Motorcycles (ADV) are one of the hottest travel trends for 2025. An ADV motorcycle is a purpose-built bike that incorporates aspects of a touring bike and an off-road motorcycle. They open a world of options for the adventurous rider. Back Country Discovery Routes (BDR) is very popular with ADV riders across the country. Since 2010, Backcountry Discovery Routes has inspired thousands of adventure riders and those new to the sport, to take advantage of the riding opportunities available in the United States.
BDR creates, preserves, and protects off-highway motorized access to public lands. Through education, safety initiatives, responsible land use ethics, and positive financial impact on rural communities BDR seeks to preserve backcountry motorcycling opportunities for generations to come.
One of the most popular rides in the Eastern U.S. is here in our region. It is called the PA Wilds BDR-X and runs through Elk and Cameron Counties. It is a spur off the Mid Atlantic BDR in Pennsylvania designed by one of the original architects of the Mid Atlantic Backcountry Discovery Route (MABDR). The east side of this loop includes parts of sections 7, 8 and 9 of the MABDR but then turns west into the PA Wilds before looping back to the start near Lock Haven, PA nearly 500 miles later. Like the MABDR, the route runs mostly on dirt and gravel roads through Pennsylvania State Forests with short stretches of pavement at the start, in between the forests, and at the end of each section. The route is designed in 4 sections with convenient places to eat, camp or lodge overnight at the end of each section. The beauty of being a loop route is that riders can start and finish from any point along the route.
The PA Wilds BDR-X has a familiar feel to that of the beloved MABDR with a few more optional advanced sections for those looking for a bit of a challenge. Ride it in conjunction with the MABDR and extend your adventure or ride the “X” alone and get your BDR fix over a long weekend. Backcountry Discovery Routes Films has produced a 17 minute film featuring the PA Wilds BDR-X ride.
You can watch the PA Wilds film and find more information at ridebdr.com/pawilds.
