LEWISTON – Maine woods play host to all sorts of summer fauna such as moose, deer, beaver, and if Don Arel has his way, the mud-splattered ATV driver.

Arel and his wife, Celine, are in the midst of converting a 328-acre parcel of woodlands on College Street into a campground and an off-road trail park for all-wheel drives, ATVs, mud trucks, dirt bikes and anything else with a motor and a driver who likes to get dirty.

“I’m calling it a place to play,” said Arel, who’s been riding off road with his wife for many years. Officially, though, it’ll be known as All Wheels Off-Road Park and Camping.

“Our flier says ‘2-wheels, 4-wheels, 6-wheels, 8; we do not discriminate’,” said Arel with a chuckle.

On Friday, he was busy clearing trees and brush from a 40-acre swath that should yield about four miles of trails. Ultimately he hopes to offer 20 miles of rough trails, complete with obstacles like rocks and mud holes for drivers to dodge. He’s even planning a 100-foot hill climb to test drivers’ gumption.

“They’re rough trails, rough terrain because you don’t want people to go fast and kill themselves,” he said.

Arel said he was motivated to start the park because there are fewer and fewer places to ride off road. New laws require drivers to get permission to cross private property from each landowner along an established trail, many of whom refuse. The upshot is his kids are having a tough time finding a place to ride their dirt bikes.

“They love to ride and kept getting kicked off trails,” said Arel.

Plus he was looking for a way to get some money from his property to offset its $9,000 tax bill.

“I was trying to figure out what I could do with the land that would generate income without ruining the woodlands,” he said. He didn’t want to sell the property, which abuts the Lewiston/Greene townline, to a developer.

The campground idea came from his wife, who enjoyed camping as a kid.

“It’s nice because we’re only 10 minutes from downtown,” said Celine. “You can really get away to relax for a weekend or even a night.”

Initially there will be just rough tent sites without any amenities. But if the park takes off and starts to bring in some money, Arel envisions adding things like fire pits, picnic tables and other comforts.

But first things first. He’s asking for volunteers to help him clear the land and make the trails, who in exchange, can ride and camp for free.

“I’m tenting out here this weekend, and a couple of people have called already and said they’d be here,” he said. His cell phone number, 754-9665, is the contact.

Arel said progress on the park will depend on how many volunteers he gets. Realistically, he hopes to get a lot of the work done this summer and officially open for business next. As long as he operates it for personal use, he doesn’t need permits, Arel said. But once he decides to open it as a for-profit business he needs to go through Planning Board and state channels.

“I’m trying to gauge interest first,” he said. “I don’t want to dump a lot of money into it right upfront.”

Even if the project doesn’t go commercial, Arel will have a great off-road park for his family and friends. He owns a German-made, all-wheel-drive vehicle with more ground clearance than a Hummer.

“I’m really hoping it takes off and attracts people from all over,” said Arel. “There’s just no place to play.”