A driveway on a wooded parcel closes in a few feet a year. First the branches scrape the truck, then the saplings crowd the edges, then the propane delivery will not come down it. The same thing happens to the two-track back to the barn, the lane to the back forty, and the access road a utility or a builder needs to reach a site. Opening it back up is a mulching job, not a chainsaw job.
We run the mulcher down both sides of the drive, grind the saplings and brush to a chip layer at the edge, and trim the overhead so a box truck or a dump truck clears it. The chips stay at the shoulder and hold the edge, so the drive drains instead of channeling. A new drive on a wooded lot is cut the same way: a clean corridor from the road to the house site, ready for gravel.
Driveway work is priced by length, width and how dense the growth is, as one project. Most are a half-day to a day. Send a photo down the drive from the road and one from the house end, and we can usually price it from that.
What we clear
- Saplings, brush and grapevine on both shoulders, back to the width you want.
- Overhead branches to the height of a delivery truck, a fire truck or a dump truck.
- Sightlines at the road so you can see traffic both ways when you pull out.
- New driveway corridors on wooded lots, cleared for the gravel crew.
- Two-tracks and farm lanes to the back of the property, wide enough for a tractor or a side-by-side.
- Access roads for builders, well drillers, septic installers and utilities.
What you get
- A drive at full width with a chip shoulder that drains.
- Overhead clearance you do not have to think about for years.
- No brush piles along the drive and nothing to haul.
- A clean edge the mower can run along.
How the Job Goes
Two photos
One looking down the drive from the road, one from the house or barn end. Tell us how wide and how high you need it.
Set the width
We mark the edges with you, including any trees along the drive you want kept.
Grind and trim
The mulcher works down each side, and the overhead is trimmed to the height you need.
Drive it
The drive is open the same day. Gravel or grading, if you want it, comes next and is not slowed down by anything we left.
When to do it
Any season. Winter is the best time for a drive through wet ground, and fall is when most people notice the branches on the way to deer camp. Our plow-ready driveway guide covers what to cut back before the first storm.
How it is priced
By the project: length, width, density and overhead work. A typical driveway or two-track is a half-day to a day. Our pricing guide explains what moves the number.
The Ground This Work Happens On
Where We Do This Work
Counties and townships where this job comes up most. Every page covers the local ground and the common jobs.
Questions About This Work
How wide should a driveway corridor be?
Twelve feet of surface with the overhead trimmed to fourteen feet works for concrete trucks, propane trucks and moving vans. We can go narrower for a lane you only drive a pickup down, and wider at the road for the turn.
Can you open a drive through wet ground?
Yes. We schedule it for frozen ground or the dry end of summer so the tracks leave no mark, and the chip shoulder we leave helps the drive shed water afterward.
What is the drive ready for when you finish?
Gravel, grading or a delivery truck. The corridor is cleared to a chip layer at the width and height you asked for, so the next crew can start the same day.
Will you clear just the overhead?
Yes. Branch trimming down a drive is a common half-day job on its own.
Other jobs we do
Related Guides
Forestry Mulch vs Wood Chips vs Bark Mulch: What Is What
Three materials share the word mulch and do three different jobs. Forestry mulch is the whole plant ground where it stood; arborist chips are limbs through a chipper; bark mulch is bagged bark. What each is made of, where each belongs, whether chips rob nitrogen, how long each lasts, and seven uses for the chips a clearing leaves behind.
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Ice Storm Tree Damage: What to Clear First in Michigan
Half an inch of ice brings down a woodlot. What to clear first (access, then the hung-up and split trees), the rule of thumb for which damaged trees recover, why hardwoods get judged in June, what to do with the brush, and how we sequence a storm cleanup on acreage.
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Get a Long Driveway Plow-Ready: The Brush to Cut Before the Snow
A fall walk-through for long driveways: where saplings and edge growth close the lane, how much room plows need, and what to cut before the first snow.
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Clearing a Lot for a New House in Michigan: What to Clear, What to Keep, and When
How lot clearing for a new home works in Southeast Michigan: what gets cleared, which trees to keep, mulching versus dozing, timing and pricing.
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What drives a forestry mulching quote in Southeast Michigan: acreage, density, terrain, access and finish.
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How to Choose a Land Clearing Company in Metro Detroit: Nine Questions to Ask Before You Hire
Nine questions that sort out land clearing contractors in Metro Detroit: machine, project price or day rate, debris, insurance and a written scope.
Read the guide →Ready to Get This Done?
Send the address and a few photos through the quote form, or call. You will get one project price for the whole job.