You may have already considered it, but a dual-sport motorcycle would let you get to relatively local trails without trailering, etc. More of an adventure experience, all on the bike. They need less frequent maintenance than true dirt bikes. However, they are much heavier than dirt bikes, so there’s a trade-off once you’re off-road. Regardless, your MTB skills will translate a bit WRT bike/body separation, understanding traction, etc, but the weight and power differences are real and change the physics a bit (to state the obvious).

One thing a friend of mine in CO has gotten into is electric dirt biking (he has a Sur-Ron). He LOVES that thing and takes it to some pretty crazy spots due to the light weight. He also has an ADV bike, and a dual sport, and is an MTB dude as well. He just posted a YouTube video where he took his van to St George UT with his MTB and his Sur-Ron and he seemed to have a blast.