Arizona Off-Road Trails

On FR128 to Marshall Lake, or the "South of Walnut Canyon," you will discover Boondocking and ATV heaven, with scattered views of the San Francisco Peaks! There are many side roads and dispersed campsites accessible to more robust RVs and trailers for camping. Usage on the trail's northern end close to I-40 is low even during peak season when the rest of Flagstaff is bonkers.

New River Mesa, FR 17, is an out and back trail that offers several opportunities for secluded camping and great photography along the mesa's eastern and southern edges. The trail starts easy and remains so for the first two miles. Once you turn west into the gate to go up on the mesa, the trail becomes more challenging and bumpy. Up on the mesa, sections of the trail become difficult to follow. Sometimes, the main trail is washed out, and you must work around the damage. The trail has faded into grass and scrub growth in other areas. The payoff is fantastic views south in the Valley of the Sun.

Traveling along the edge of Buck Farm Canyon, this is an easy route that leads to Buck Farm Point and the edge of the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Here you can find epic campsites and amazing views above the Colorado River. The trail surface is primarily hard-packed dirt with occasional small rocks. Suitable for any high clearance vehicle.

The vast 2.9 million acres of the Tonto National Forest provide many opportunities to experience everything from the desert floor to mountain peaks over 7,000 feet. Whether you want to run the full Montana Mountain Loop in your offroad vehicle or head to the Superstition Wilderness's vast network of hiking trails, Rogers Trough helps you fully experience all the Tonto offers.

Connecting Rogers Trough with Hewitt Canyon Trail and Happy Camp Road creates the Montana Mountain Loop OHV route. The loop has sandy washes, deep canyons, and a shelf road with vast views of the valley below. Wrapping around the 5,528-foot Montana Mountain on a narrow rocky trail leads to multiple dispersed camping opportunities before returning to the desert floor through an array of tight turning switchbacks.

For the hiking enthusiast, Rogers Trough Trailhead at the end of the trail provides access to the Arizona Trail, Grand Enchantment Trail, West Pinto Trail #212, and Reavis Ranch Trail #109. Hiking north from the trailhead takes you deep into the 160,000-acre Superstition Wilderness, where, if you're lucky, you may come across the famed Lost Dutchman Gold Mine.

Established as a smelter town for the nearby Helvetia District copper mines, Rosemont Junction provides a beautiful afternoon of shady exploration through Arizona's hill country. This trail heads straight for the Santa Rita Mountains, then turns south to parallel it for several miles, providing stunning views of 'Old Baldy' and Gunsight Pass. The trail has impressive large tree riparian areas. Wildlife sightings are common in the canyons. You might get lucky and spook up a mule deer or a herd of coatimundi with their tails in the air.

Price Road is the primary southern entry into the Florence OHV area. The road also serves the two small ranch communities and mining operations. The views of the Rincon Mountains on the eastern horizon loom higher as you travel the desert road. Nearby Box Canyon, Martinez Canyon, Old Silverbell Mine, and many other sites provide visitors with fantastic scenic views and opportunities to hike, explore, offroad, and enjoy the Sonoran Desert. Price Road is a gravel and semi-maintained dirt road that all vehicles can navigate. Durable off-road tires are highly recommended.

Dispersed campsites are located all along Price Road. Camping on Arizona State Trust Land requires a permit. State Trust Land is normally well marked, but a land use map is helpful. The area has abundant primitive campsites and multiple large staging areas. There are no services, facilities, or potable water in the area for campers.

In its day, Crimson Road was the main thoroughfare between Flagstaff and the Mormon Lake area. Bypassed by the paved Lake Mary Road, today it simply transports you quickly into the magnificent ponderosa pine woodland that is the heart of the 1.8 million-acre Coconino National Forest. The well-maintained road meanders gently along the contours of an otherwise rugged landscape. After 11 miles, the forest gives way to Antelope Park, a large alpine meadow at an elevation of 7,000 feet. The meadow begs you to camp along its wooded edges to watch elk, deer, and pronghorn graze early and late in the lazy day. Crimson Road leaves the open meadow, plunging back into the forest and Newman Canyon. The road passes a picturesque old cattle corral, unused these days. Before you are ready, the road deposits you back onto the pavement.

Also known as the Waterfall Bypass, this northern section of Box Canyon winds its way up narrow ledges and over the mountains for an alternative way around the waterfall obstacle on Mineral Mountain Road. The trail is ideal for stock-type 4x4 owners who want a mild challenge while exploring the Florence OHV area. The trail has narrow ledge switchbacks and steep rocky climbs requiring low range, high clearance, and durable offroad tires. The trail is excellent for beginners looking to cut their teeth on Arizona desert trails without difficult rock crawling. You'll climb high up into the mountains with immersive panoramas of the surrounding peaks before dropping into Box Canyon.

Camping is minimal. There are only a few old mine platforms where you could set up tents for the night.

Jack Handle is one of those trails that's earned legendary status with local rock crawlers. The trail's name comes from the first difficult waterfall obstacle, Jack Handle. Back when the rock gap was thinner, if your hi-lift jack was on the passenger rear, it would get hung up on the rocks. Hence the name. The trail offers multiple optional rock crawling obstacles, including a difficult and super off-camber rock waterfall appropriately named Jackass.

For over a century, the surrounding mineral-rich area has been profitable for the region. There are many abandoned as well as active mines in the area. Along the route is a spectacular array of desert plant life, from massive saguaros to towering cottonwoods hidden deep in one of many secluded canyons that litter the region. The area is remote. The rocks are sharp. And everything here wants to poke or bite you. Be cautious. This is a desert, and it's not very forgiving, especially in the summer. But it does have an irresistible rugged charm.

Trail 1829 can be run as an out-and-back or as a loop when connected with trail 1345. This trail is rocky and has aggressive hills, narrow sections between trees and cacti, and a fence line. The 360-degree scenic views from the top of the ridgeline are amazing. There are several steep rocky hills to contend with on this trail. One of which has crater-sized holes that can lead to body and bumper damage if not maneuvered correctly. High clearance and 4Low are required on Crater Hill. Lockers are recommended, and a spotter would be helpful. The top of Crater Hill is located at coordinates 33.60405, -111.46011. Running as an out-and-back will have you going downhill first and then uphill on your return. Take connecting trail 1345 on the right after 1.3 miles to run the hills only upwards. This will reconnect with 1829 at the bottom of the hills. Rated difficult due to "Crater Hill." The rest of the trail is moderate. There is a large camping area at the lower junction of trail 1829 and 1345. This area can accommodate many vehicles and has a large rock fire ring.

Please note that an OHV permit is now required on this trail.

Take a trip along an easy desert trail to one of the best petroglyph sites in the Arizona Strip region. The Little Black Mountain Petroglyph site contains some outstanding rock art from 6,000 years of human habitation. The site has over 500 different rock art examples on the boulders surrounding the base of a 500-foot mesa. The designs were etched by Native Americans from the Great Basin, Western Anasazi, and Lower Colorado River cultures that once passed this way. Some of the art pieces are of turtles, deer, lizards, bear paws, and many symbols that are unknown to historians. Both the driving and the hiking trail to the petroglyphs area easy enough for everyone of all ages. Bring the whole family for a wonderful walk around massive stones with ancient artwork chiseled into them.

Beaver Creek's slow curves and sweeping vistas leisurely take you back to an older Arizona, a land with an ancient history and rugged pioneer ranchers. Beginning in the fertile Verde River Valley, the trail winds upward through fields of prickly pear cacti and dry grasses waving in the breeze to junipers and pinion pines. Walker Creek's towering cottonwoods shimmer in the sun. Campsites tempt you to stop and stay awhile. Cattle guards rattle under your wheels, often reminding you this was, and remains, ranching country. Signs on side roads bear the brands of the V Bar V and M Diamond. You occasionally glimpse horses in a green pasture or cattle grazing among the junipers. Ahead, the buff-colored fortress buttes front the red rock cliffs of the Mogollon Rim, the geologic boundary between the Sonoran Desert and the uplift known as the Colorado Plateau.