Best UTV Tires for Trail Riding

What a Trail Tire Has to Do

A trail tire has the hardest job description in the catalog. In a single weekend it has to climb loose rock, hold a line on hardpack, shrug off the occasional mud hole, ride smooth enough that your passengers still like you at mile forty, and last long enough that you are not shopping again next season. Dedicated mud and rock tires can ignore most of that. A trail tire cannot — it is a compromise by design, and the art is in which compromises each brand chose. These are the all-terrain trail tires we stock, from the value benchmarks to the premium rock-biased options, and every one of them is a radial built for exactly this mixed use. If you are not sure what the numbers on your current sidewall mean, start with how to read a UTV tire size, then come back.

The Lineup

Tusk Terrabite — The Benchmark

The tire every other trail tire gets compared to, and the one we sell across more machines than any other single model. The Terrabite runs a truck-style tread on a radial, 8-ply rated carcass, with aggressive shoulder and sidewall tread for protection and extra bite in dirt, sand and rock. Its own listing calls out high load ratings for today's larger machines and a 3/4-inch tread depth, and the size range is the deepest here — 25 inches up to 35, including the 34x10-15 that big-tire trail builds want. The Aramid Terrabite is the same idea armored: bead-to-bead Twaron aramid belting and a 10-ply rating for riders whose trails are mostly sharp rock.

Single: Terrabite 28x10-14 $206.99 · 30x10-14 $231.99 · 32x10-15 $239.99 · 34x10-15 $264.99 — Tusk Terrabite · Aramid Terrabite 30x10x14 $204.88 · 32x10x15 $229.88 — Tusk Aramid Terrabite

Maxxis Bighorn and Bighorn 2.0 — The Originals

The Bighorn is the tire that defined this category — the tread pattern half the industry has been politely borrowing ever since — with a wide, self-cleaning footprint that works on everything from forest service roads to slickrock. The Bighorn 2.0 is the lighter evolution of the same idea, with a tighter tread that rolls easier and wears slower on hard surfaces, which is why so many machines shipped with a set from the factory. Both are radials, both run 25 to 30 inches, and both remain the safe answer when a rider asks for one tire that simply works everywhere.

Single: Bighorn 28X10R14 $246.00 · 30X10R-14 $265.00 — Maxxis Bighorn · Bighorn 2.0 28X9R14 $235.00 · 30X10R14 $316.00 — Maxxis Bighorn 2.0

ITP Terra Hook — The Rock-Biased Trail Tire

The Terra Hook is what happens when a trail tire spends its development time in the rocks: an alternating tread with big biting edges and reinforced shoulders, on the larger, heavier side of the category. It gives up a little of the Terrabite's hardpack polish in exchange for grip and toughness where the trail turns into a rock garden, and it sizes up to a 35 for the machines that clear one. Riders choosing between this and a pure rock tire should read our rock crawling guide — the Terra Hook is the trail tire end of that conversation.

Single: 30X10R-14 $278.46 · 32X10R-15 $291.21 — ITP Terra Hook · 35x10r15 $396.31 — ITP Terra Hook (grouped sizes)

Sedona Rock-A-Billy, Ridge Ripr and Trail Ripr — Three Flavors of Trail

Sedona splits the trail job three ways. The Rock-A-Billy is the rock-biased option, built around a tread meant to conform and grip on stone. The newer Ripr lines split it further: the Ridge Ripr leans toward ridge, desert and mixed trail work, the Trail Ripr toward general trail duty, and both run the modern 28-to-35-inch size range at prices that undercut most of this page. The Coyote is the budget door into the brand — a 6-ply in the small sizes and an 8-ply radial at 28 inches — for riders who trail ride a smaller machine and do not need a 32.

Single: Rock-A-Billy 28x10R-14 $285.95 · 32x10R-15 $321.95 — Sedona Rock-A-Billy · Ridge Ripr 30X10.00R14 $261.95 · 35X10.00R15 $339.95 — Sedona Ridge Ripr · Trail Ripr 30X10.00R14 $258.95 · 32X10.00R15 $281.95 — Sedona Trail Ripr · Coyote 28x10R-14 $230.95 — Sedona Coyote

Before You Buy

  • Match the tire to your worst mile, not your average one. If the ride home crosses a rocky pass in the dark, buy for the pass. The average mile takes care of itself.
  • Pressure is half the tire. The same tire at the wrong pressure rides harsh, grips less and wears fast. Our tire pressure guide covers how to set it by terrain and load.
  • Size up with your eyes open. Bigger tires change gearing, clearance and steering effort. The sizes-by-machine guide lists the biggest tire popular machines clear with the arms we stock.
  • Riding pavement between trails? A small number of UTV tires carry an actual DOT rating — see DOT UTV tires explained before assuming yours is one of them.

Most of these tires are also sold as sets of four in the Tire Package Deal collection, and the full range lives in the UTV tire collection. Tell us your machine and where you ride and we will point you at the right trail tire — contact Dirti Motorsports before you order and we will confirm fitment.