A 42-rider starting gate now stands on land in Millville that once had a much quieter purpose. Where sand was once extracted, dirt bikes now launch into sweeping turns, tabletops, whoops, and rutted corners at Field of Dreams Off Road Vehicle Park.
Head down West Buckshutem Road and the change in soundtrack arrives before much else does: engines barking, bikes warming up, and the occasional burst of PA chatter carrying across the property.
Field of Dreams opened in 2014, and today the family-run facility combines three motocross tracks with trails, organized racing, youth programs, camping, and special off-road events.
It is serious enough to host AMA-sanctioned competition but not reserved for racers with matching trailers and trophy shelves. Four-year-olds can start on tiny bikes, experienced riders can attack the Pro Track, and parents can watch from the bleachers without pretending they are not slightly jealous.
How a Former Sand Mine Became a New Jersey Off-Road Playground
Millville has always made sense as a place for this kind of second act. Cumberland County sits in the sandy southern half of New Jersey, where glassmaking, agriculture, wooded tracts, industry, and motorsports have shared the landscape for generations.
The property that became Field of Dreams had been shaped by sand extraction before off-road riders entered the picture, giving its next use an unusually appropriate starting point. Planning for the motocross facility took years.
By 2014, land on Buckshutem Road had been purchased from the City of Millville, construction moved forward, and Field of Dreams opened to riders later that year.
Early plans called for multiple professionally designed tracks, youth riding areas, woods trails, training, rentals, and competition, rather than simply bulldozing a few jumps into an empty lot and calling it a motocross park.
The operation has changed hands and evolved since those early days. Richard Schmidt, an original founding partner and longtime figure in New Jersey off-road riding, eventually returned with his family and now runs the facility with his wife Tammy and sons Rich and Travis.
Schmidt’s background is unusually hands-on: he previously managed the motocross track at Raceway Park in Englishtown, raced professionally from 1994 through 2000, and has taught motocross since the early 1990s. That experience shows in the way Field of Dreams operates today.
Tracks are groomed, riders are divided into appropriate sessions, flaggers work practices, and medical personnel are on site. The old industrial ground did not get prettied up beyond recognition.
Its open, sandy character became part of the reason motorcycles work so well here in the first place.
Three Motocross Tracks Give Riders Room to Test Their Skills
The quickest way to understand Field of Dreams is to look at the three tracks, because they are not scaled copies of one another. The Pro Track is the big one: 1.4 miles of AMA national-style motocross with a 42-gate starting line, sweeping corners, tabletops, rhythm sections, and enough room for experienced riders to carry real speed.
Despite the name, you do not need a pro license to ride it. The jumps are designed so they can be rolled instead of cleared, which gives less aggressive riders a reasonable way to learn the layout without committing to every obstacle at full pace.
The Amateur Track changes the equation. At just under a mile long, it uses a hard-clay surface and has fewer jumps and technical obstacles.
Practice is divided into sessions according to ability and wristband classification, so a rider learning clean corner entries does not have to spend the afternoon being buzzed by somebody preparing for Sunday’s A class. Then there is the Pee Wee/Pit Bike Track, where the scale drops dramatically.
It is intended for STACYC electric stability cycles, 50cc motorcycles, and pit bikes, with manageable jumps, whoops, and wide bowl turns. Young beginners on 65cc and 85cc bikes are generally directed to the Amateur Track instead.
Parents of the smallest riders can even obtain a safety vest from the office and assist their children on the youth track. Put all three together and you get a setup where a kid learning throttle control, a weekend rider polishing technique, and a racer looking for fast lines can share the same facility without needing the same piece of dirt.
The Sandy Terrain Gives the Park Its Distinctive Character
Sand has a way of reminding a rider who is in charge. A line that felt planted on the previous lap can loosen up, a corner can develop a rut, and the rear tire may start wandering just when you thought everything was under control.
That shifting surface is part of Field of Dreams’ personality and a nice bit of continuity with the property’s sand-mining past. Riders familiar with South Jersey will recognize the general character; this is a region where sandy soil is hardly unusual, and the park’s terrain has repeatedly been described as sandy by motocross directories.
But do not picture 100 percent beach-like soil from fence to fence. Track construction adds variety, most obviously on the Amateur Track, which is built from harder clay.
That mixture matters because it changes what riders have to do with braking, body position, throttle, and line choice over the course of a session. It also means the track you ride at 10:15 in the morning may not feel identical several motos later.
Field of Dreams openly warns riders that track conditions evolve from week to week, day to day, and even moto to moto. Grooming and maintenance keep the courses usable, but motocross dirt is supposed to move; that is half the education.
After enough bikes pass through a corner, smooth soil can turn into grooves and braking bumps, and the fast line may migrate somewhere else. Riders who normally spend their time on firm, predictable ground get a useful lesson in staying loose on the bike.
The former mine did not simply provide empty acreage for a motorsports facility. Its underlying terrain helped give the place the restless, changing surface that makes repeated laps more interesting than memorizing a fixed route.
Beginners and Experienced Riders Can Find Their Comfort Zone
Watch a practice rotation for a while and the park’s approach starts to make sense. One group heads onto the track, another stages, and the next waits for its turn instead of every skill level pouring onto the course at once.
Riders are classified by ability, with practice rotations separating groups such as advanced, amateur, novice, veteran, and mini riders when appropriate.
That structure is particularly useful for newcomers, because motocross is intimidating enough without trying to learn while faster riders are appearing over your shoulder every few seconds.
Field of Dreams permits motorized dirt bikes from 50cc through 450cc, along with certain electric dirt bikes, and the general minimum riding age is four unless the office manager approves otherwise. The park is equally clear that beginner-friendly does not mean casual about safety.
Required equipment includes a helmet, chest protector, goggles, boots, gloves, long sleeves or a jersey, and full-length pants or jeans. Shorts are out.
Flaggers work practice sessions, yellow signals mean slow down and do not jump, and a red signal means riders need to exit the track. The facility also maintains an on-site ambulance and EMT team, while employees and safety spotters communicate by radio.
A three-story safety tower overlooks the action and helps operate a warning-light system for incidents on the course. For spectators, state rules keep people behind the chain-link fencing while motorcycles are on track.
All of that organization makes the progression from first laps to faster riding feel deliberate rather than chaotic. Nobody needs to pretend a dirt bike is risk-free, but riders do get a setup designed to keep different speeds, motorcycle sizes, and experience levels from becoming one giant free-for-all.
Family Events Bring ATVs and Off-Road Adventure Into the Mix
On certain weekends, the usual dirt-bike rhythm changes and four wheels join the fun.
This is an important distinction for anyone picturing Field of Dreams as an everyday ATV park: during normal motocross practice, the tracks are currently dirt-bike only, and ATVs, side-by-sides, and UTVs are not permitted to simply show up and ride them.
Quads appear during designated racing weekends, while special programs expand access to other machines in a much more controlled format. The park’s Off-Road Family Adventurefest is a good example.
It is designed as recreational riding rather than racing, with separate areas for sport and utility side-by-sides, adult ATVs, trail and dual-sport motorcycles, and youth machines.
Adult vehicle sessions are capped, with listed capacities of 20 side-by-sides or 25 adult ATVs and trail motorcycles per applicable session, while the youth area is limited to 20 riders.
Youth dirt bikes and ATVs up to 110cc four-stroke are eligible for the youth track during the event, along with PW50 motorcycles. The setup also calls for dealer and manufacturer demonstrations, including free youth ATV demos for children under 12 when participating dealers have machines available.
General admission is listed at $25 for ages six and older, children five and under enter free, and adult vehicle passes are $75 per half-day session. Riders bring their own machines for normal event sessions; Field of Dreams does not supply rentals for Adventurefest.
Quads also get dedicated competition dates, while the annual Turkey Scramble goes in a different direction entirely, combining all three motocross tracks with 60 acres of trails for a GP-style race.
It is less a case of “anything with tires goes” and more a carefully scheduled way of letting different corners of New Jersey’s off-road crowd use the same property.
What to Know Before Planning a Day at Field of Dreams
The address to plug into the GPS is 1801 W. Buckshutem Road in Millville, and checking the schedule before loading the truck is more important here than at the average weekend attraction.
Open practice runs year-round, weather permitting. During spring and summer, Saturday and Sunday sessions run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; fall and winter weekend hours shorten to 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Midweek practice is normally Wednesday from noon to 5 p.m. in spring, summer, and fall, with winter Wednesday hours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Race days can replace regular practice, and questionable weather can change plans quickly.
For 2026, the pricing model has been simplified and annual memberships are no longer required. A full-day motocross ride pass costs $70, while a twilight pass for the final two hours of practice costs $35.
Online ride-pass purchases include the $5 spectator fee; people registering in person pay the additional $5 gate charge. Bring the right protective gear, and families with minors should sort out the required waiver paperwork before arriving rather than discovering a missing signature with a bike already unloaded.
Off the track, the practical setup is better than a bare-bones dirt lot. There are ADA-accessible restrooms and showers, bleachers overlooking the three tracks, a registered campground, and 10 electrical hookup sites accommodating 20-, 30-, and 50-amp connections.
PA announcements are also broadcast on 87.9 FM, handy when engines make normal conversation ambitious. The combination feels appropriately Millville: serious motorsports infrastructure without much fuss, sitting on a piece of South Jersey ground that found a considerably louder second career.