Arizona Off-Road Trails

MT1854 starts at the Sycamore Creek staging area and heads east. This trail is mostly deep sand and requires 4WD.  The further you travel, the trail transitions to dirt becomes narrower.  There are a few sections of high-banked turns with overgrown brush that will put your vehicle a bit off camber.

The best place to camp is near the western end, close to the beginning of the trail. You can also set up in one of the wider sections along the route.

Directly off of the 44.5-mile Rim Road, General Springs is a quick side trip well worth your time when navigating one of the best roads along the Mogollon Rim. Through the tall pines, you end at a beautiful Arizona style meadow with the well preserved General Springs Cabin. This is an excellent side-trip for anyone looking for good camping and access to fantastic hiking trails.

Diamond Rock runs from the paved FR 249 in the north to very near the Buffalo Crossing bridge on the Black River's East Fork. In the north, the trail passes through a pine forest with numerous large dispersed campsites. The trail parallels the East Fork on the southern end, dotted with pullouts for river access and numerous small waterside campgrounds. The campgrounds all offer picnic tables, fire grates, vault toilets, and potable water in season. The area is very popular with anglers in search of wily trout. The trail is generally easy, with mountain grades, sharp curves, and one-lane bridges.

Corral Road takes you off the beaten path in the rugged Camp Wood area of the Prescott National Forest. This trail isn't for the timid or those who value their rig's paint job. If there's a touch of the explorer in you, give it a try. Corral Road aptly begins at an old corral just off Walnut Creek. Almost immediately, the trail becomes narrow, with dense vegetation pushing in from the sides. When the brush clears a bit, you are enticed onward and upward by the impressive views of the twin 7200-foot peaks of Camp Wood and Hyde Creek Mountains. After a slow and steady 2.7 miles, you cross Hyde Creek for the first time. The trail winds upward along this drainage until topping out at the saddle between Hyde Creek Mountain and nearby Pinetop Mountain. This is an actively ranched area. Expect to see cattle in the summer among the pines near trails end. Deer, turkey, and javelina are also common in the area. The road ends at an old cattle watering tank near Brown Spring. The turnaround is a good place for a shaded picnic with nice views.

So you're having a great time running the wonderful variety of trails found in the majestic Coconino National Forest and definitely not ready to put asphalt under your dusty wheels. Why not use the delightfully dirty FR 132A to cut over from Crimson Road to Casner Park Road and the spider web of trails available from there? Why not, indeed! FR 132A winds through a ponderosa pine forest with old-growth trees along its curvy 4.5 miles. The trail also offers a side trip to the summit of Mormon Mountain, elevation 8510 feet, and its antennae farm and views. You might spot elk watering at Mud Spring Tank or maybe a wild turkey crossing the road near Rock Dike Tank. If not, be happy. You're still on dirt.

Many of the roads on the Mogollon Rim go through impressive forests and pass scenic alpine meadows. They are also fairly smooth, easy driving, and sometimes crowded. If you are looking for all that minus the smooth and crowds, FR 109 might be for you. This seldom-used road follows along the Bargaman Draw. A draw is a western term for a shallow canyon. Starting at the northern end, you leave Bargaman Park, a wide and beautiful alpine meadow. The road quickly becomes a rock-littered two-track. The pines on the west side of the trail show some soot from 2016's Jack fire. But the forest is in largely good health. Looking through the pines to the west, you can make out the slopes of Pine Mountain, a promontory topping out at almost 8,000 feet. The road makes a rocky crossing of Bargaman Draw just over four miles from the start. Large boulders are strewn haphazardly, making you choose your line with care. The crossing changes frequently following summer monsoon storms. Not long after clearing the crossing, it is almost a shock to round a curve into a large, open meadow. There are some great campsites on the southern side of this unnamed park. FR 109 deposits you onto Willow Valley. If you want more of what you just went through, turn left for a rocky ride. A right turn takes you onto the smooth part of the Willow Valley trail.

This rugged trail serves up everything an experienced off roader could ask for—steep, rocky climbs, several topping 20 degrees, a series of rock ledges, and off-camber sections that trace along a narrow shelf road with over 1,000 feet of elevation change. Once you pass the northern intersection with FR2359 (Bear Tank Ridge), the difficulty ramps up sharply—this stretch is not for beginners or the faint of heart. Careful tire placement and a confident line are essential through the more technical obstacles and uneven terrain.

Along the way, history buffs will find a couple of must-see stops. At 0.88 miles from the southern intersection with FR650 (Happy Camp Trail), look for a cave dwelling tucked into the wash, offering a glimpse into the area’s ancient past. Then, at 1.1 miles, you’ll encounter the remains of an old stagecoach jail, a weathered reminder of the wild frontier days.

Due to the steep, rocky terrain, there are no viable campsites along this trail, but when combined with Moose Rock Ridge and Kat Walk Ridge, you can create a full, challenging loop that’s as scenic as it is demanding.

This flat, dirt, and gravel road provides access to the Palatki Heritage Site. The road is signed and mapped as FR 795, as it branches off Loy Butte Road, FR 525. Most passenger cars with 2WD should be able to navigate during dry weather conditions.

The Coconino National Forest website offers the most up-to-date information on visitation. Reservations and a Red Rock permit are required to visit the Heritage Site but not to run the trail.

The Palatki Heritage Site and its sister site, Honanki, were the largest cliff dwellings in the Red Rock Country between AD 1150 and 1350. There are three trails at Palatki Heritage Site. One trail takes you up to the Sinagua cliff dwellings. This trail includes 60 uneven fairly strenuous steps. Please be aware of personal limitations. Another is wheelchair accessible and takes you to a view of the dwellings. The third goes to the alcoves that shelter the painted pictographs and petroglyphs from every native culture to ever occupy the Verde Valley.

No camping or campfires are permitted along this trail. Loy Butte Road has designated dispersed camping available nearby.

In 1878 Sam Hill discovered gold near the present site of the Zulu Mine. The mine operated via an underground shaft following a vein of gold encased in diorite. The mine ceased operation in 1940, and little is left of the site beyond the tailings and the road leading to it. Cattle graze over the former site, more interested in the sparse grasslands of this high chaparral biome than any gold that might be left. Located in the Tonto National Forest, at 2,873,200 acres, the largest of Arizona's National Forests and seventh largest in the nation, Zulu Mine Road, FR 523, is in the looming shadow of the jagged Mazatzal Mountains to the west. Indeed the views afforded from the small hill on which the mine sat are worth a bit of gold themselves and definitely worth the effort negotiating the final steep, narrow portion of the trail. Come check them out for yourself.

North Woodpecker Trail connects from the northeast end of the Woodpecker Trail to the south end of the Highway to Hell trail. It is a great connector to use if you do not want to backtrack the Woodpecker Trail and you don't want to do Highway to Hell. The road has a couple of optional minor rock-crawling spots that may require something more than a stock 4x4. There is a memorial at the south end of North Woodpecker Trail where it connects to Highway to Hell. This trail has amazing views of the eastern section of the Middle Gila Canyon. Interestingly the trail is almost completely on BLM land, with a little section right in the middle that shows it is private land owned by the AZ State Assoc of 4 Wheel Drive Club, Inc. No camping was observed.

Did you know there are alligators in Arizona? There are. They are Alligator junipers, named for the checkered scales of their dark bark. They are the most ancient plant species in the state. Alligator junipers may live a thousand years but exist only at a certain elevation band above the classic cactus desert and below the higher elevations of the Ponderosa Pine. Alligator junipers, along with their fuzzy barked cousin, the Utah juniper, pinion pines, Gambel oaks, and the red-limbed manzanita bush, define the rocky high desert chaparral. Conger Water runs along the southern slopes of the Prescott National Forest's Chino Valley Ranger District through a pristine chaparral forest with impressive Alligator junipers. An outstanding example of the species canopies over the shady campsite at Waypoint 5. The botany alone would make Conger Water worth the drive, but it offers much more. Conger Water offers surprisingly good views of the varied and dramatic topography of rugged west-central Arizona. B.T. Butte lords over the smooth eastern section of Conger Water. The rounded shoulders of the butte are like all the others in the area, but the rocky-scaled promontory on its southern side sticks up like a rhinoceros horn making it unmistakable. The rocky shelf road climb up the side of Anderson Mesa slowly reveals a topographical tapestry of buttes, mesas, canyons, valleys, and mountain ranges as far away as the Bradshaws. Visit Arizona's alligators and take in the views while you are at it. Conger Road is short in distance but long on interest.

Florence Kelvin Highway is a scenic 12-mile graded dirt road that winds through creosote bushes, chollas, and ocotillos, and, depending on the time of year, colorful wildflowers that carpet the desert floor after heavy winter and spring rains. Along the drive, you will also be rewarded with the sights of a rare crested saguaro for those with a keen eye. This is an easy drive, and the traffic is usually light. The road dips and goes from gravel to sand at times and begins to curve much sharper, where the landscape morphs from vast, open Sonoran desert to rugged mountain terrain on the approach to the Tortilla Mountains. In the distance, you'll see a huge hash in the mountainside, courtesy of an open-pit mine. You'll also glimpse a lush riparian area fed by the Gila River. After you pass the A-Diamond Ranch headquarters, the road begins to climb and near the end of the dirt road, you'll cross over the Gila River on the one-lane bridge called the "Jake" Jacobson Bridge of Unity.

Traveling along the border of the Arizona National Guard artillery range, this moderate 4x4 trail crosses the desert flats before dropping into a twisting rocky wash. The trail is ideal for stock, high clearance 4x4s, and beginner off-road users. You'll drive along the artillery range fence line, where numerous signs mark the boundary. The entire region was once used for large artillery testing. Recently, the range has been limited to small arms testing and training within this boundary. Camping is abundant in the northern section of the route. There are numerous wide-open flat spaces for large groups or a solo tent under the stars.

BLM 8002 is mainly a connector road from Komatke Road on the North, to Maricopa Road and the Estrella Road Parking Area on the south. It is a corridor to Margie's Cove East trailhead and also the Butterfield Pass. The road is mostly overgrown, 4x4 is strongly recommended as there is a short section of a silt bed that you have to drive through, and a large off-camber section that low-clearance vehicles may have difficulty on. Good tire placement and attention will make these sections a breeze. Avoid this road if it has been raining, as most of the road traverses through a wash.

The first 0.9 miles is a fairly open dirt road. Once you pass the northeasternmost tip of the Maricopa wilderness area, the trail starts to follow a wash. Much of the trail is overgrown and expect significant pinstriping to occur throughout the next 3 miles. There is a small area suitable for camping just after the 3-mile point (33.10425, -112.43792). At the 6.11-mile mark, the road splits. Continue to the left to stay on 8002. The road on the right is 8002A and will take you to Margie’s Cove East Trailhead. 8.55 miles from the beginning of this trail marks the intersection of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail/Historic Butterfield Stage Trail. The trail continues and gets a bit rough, being at the foothills of the mountains. At the 10.44-mile mark, the road widens and turns into a very well-maintained and graveled road for the last 2.4 miles. The trail terminates at Maricopa Road. There is a large parking lot there with picnic tables available for day use. 

FFR776 is the main access road from US-89 to the Cinder Hills OHV area and FR777. Camping is prohibited until you get into the Hills. There is no through-access to the Sunset Crater National Monument because a closed gate at the end of FR776 prevents you from connecting. There is excellent RV-accessible camping and group camping along FR776 past the sign into the Hills.

People come here for a one-of-a-kind experience: climbing "dunes" made of volcanic cinder at 7000-8000 feet elevation, with amazing views. This is a really unique and excellent attraction. It is also not for the faint of heart or those with low clearance or street tires. Most users come to camp along FR776 and tear it up on quads, razors, dirt bikes, and rails along FR777 and offroad. Some of us, more casual offroad enthusiasts, show up in jeeps or something similar - and will not be climbing these epic slopes. Those who come in RVs will stay close to the main road FR776 and around Cinder Lake. This OHV area is right in Flagstaff, so you can get out, have fun, and return to your home or hotel in time for lunch. This is also one of the best places to camp in Arizona, especially for large groups, because of the unlimited and uncrowded dispersed camping options.

Sunset Crater National Monument has two campgrounds (Bonito and O'Leary Group Campground), but these are on the Sunset Crater side of the area, not the Cinder Hills OHV side. Dispersed camping is allowed throughout the OHV area and is abundant. There are many excellent large-group RV sites along FR776. Camping in the Cinder Hills is fantastic! There are no bugs, and it's such a large area that it never gets crowded.

The astronauts of the Apollo moon landing missions trained to drive their moon rovers and use their equipment here! Cinder Lake, which you see on the east side on the way in on FR776 just inside the Cinder Hills OHV fence, is where that happened. NASA detonated explosives all over this "lake" to form a series of craters, and the astronauts practiced their moon rover-4x4 driving. You can still see some of the craters using satellite photos overhead. When you head across that Cinder Lake in your jeep, you're re-enacting a significant part of U.S. history! According to NASA, this is as close as it gets to driving on the moon. When you're out in the middle of Cinder Lake, it's not hard to imagine driving on the moon or Neil Armstrong training here in the 60's. Head up to the USGS Astrogeology Center in Flagstaff for more of this interesting history (you might need an appointment). Or, visit Lowell Observatory in town, where those same astronauts worked with scientists to map the moon's landing zones using the Clark Telescope there.