Arizona Off-Road Trails

What begins as a well-maintained dirt road off Barnard Pipeline Road quickly drops into a sandy-bottomed canyon. There’s evidence of road maintenance as the trail twists and turns through the scenic little canyon. The trail ends abruptly at a parcel of private property and a locked gate, complete with creative warnings against trespassing.

Though sandy, the road is passable for 2WD. Camping in the wash is possible but not advisable since the area is prone to flash floods.

FR 3345 is a very short loop trail off Edward's Park, FR 422. FR 3345 provides access to an Arizona Game and Fish wildlife water catchment, a good place to pull off the main trail to take a break. Due to its proximity to the water catchment, it cannot be utilized for camping.

Upper Gardner Canyon passes through an oak, juniper, and sycamore forest hugging Gardner Creek. Along the way are five rocky bottom creek crossings and eleven shady campsites. The largest campsite sits at the trailhead and can host a larger group. The remainder of the campsites are more suited to single vehicles. The trail ends at a turnaround area just past a wire gate.

Dye Ridge Road, FR 717, is packed dirt with a few loose rocks and easily driven by any vehicle. Dispersed camping is abundant along the southern portion of the trail, with shaded sites large enough for RVs and large trailers and enough smooth ground for tents. The northern half of the road is almost park-like, with brush and smaller trees crooked for fire prevention and forest management. Spur trails lead out to campsites set well off the main road. 

Old 90 is a straight-through connector road that travels through two national forests. Confusingly, the Kaibab National Forest calls this road KNF90 on its side of the boundary, but the Coconino National Forest calls this road 760A on its maps and labels it 767 with signage on the ground. The road travels west to east and is an occasional scenic drive along Juniper Ridge and Bull Basin Mesa. It is primarily used to access many other forest roads in the area that make up the Kendrick Peak trail system. There are a small number of dispersed mountain view campsites accessible to overlanders on the spur roads such as 128, but no campsites directly on KNF90 itself. In dry conditions, the trail is an easy drive, but during monsoon season it can get quite muddy and may be challenging when snow resides on the ground as well. There are one or two spots on the eastern end of the trail that require high clearance and possibly 4x4 due to ruts created by water runoff.

Fenway Road, a short, dead-end spur road off Arizona Bay Road, leads down to the shores of Arizona Bay along the Colorado River. This road is much sandier than any other in the area, and although the trail can be done in 2WD, a high clearance 4WD vehicle is recommended. The end of the trail travels through extremely tight, dense brush sure to pinstripe your paint. The trail ends at a small beachside campsite large enough for one or two vehicles, offering good views of Arizona Bay and the Black Mountains.

Although this road is within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area fee area, there are no entrance stations along the way to obtain a pass.

FR6001 is a trail that starts from FR231J and leads to a Forest Service wildlife water catchment area at the trail's end. The trail mainly consists of packed dirt with random small rocks. There are a few fallen trees that will require maneuvering around.

Similar to FR231J, per the Forest Service, the initial part of this trail is a designated dispersed camping area on both sides, allowing limited cross-country motor vehicle use within 300 feet of the trail's edge for dispersed camping purposes. There is a good campsite shortly after the start of this trail. It is grassy, flat, somewhat shaded, and can accommodate 2-3 vehicles.

You may be tempted to set up camp at the end of the trail. However, camping is not permitted there as it is within 1/4 mile of the wildlife water catchment.

Trail 3492 is a very short easy connector trail that offers a large camping area. It can easily accommodate ten or more vehicles and has several fire rings. It is a good area to stage vehicles with trailers in the same location as your camp. This area is also used for target shooting.

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

Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona was established in 1985 for the reintroduction of masked bobwhite quail and the restoration of natural landscapes and their native wildlife, including the Sonoran Pronghorn. The 118,000-acre refuge lies in a broad Altar Valley between the Baboquivari Mountains, with their prominent main peak in the west, and the lower San Luis Mountains to the east. In the 1850s, Pedro Aguirre, Jr. built a homestead here in 1864 and named it Buenos Ayres, or "good air," because of the constant winds. His ranch changed hands several times before being purchased to form today's wildlife refuge. The refuge's visitor center is located in the adobe ranch house.

The refuge has over 80 designated campsites identified by a numbered sign. Camping is free and allowed for 14 days in a 30-day period, but only in the designated campsites. Most campsites have a fire ring/grill. Site sizes vary from a single vehicle to large enough for multiple RVs and trailers. Most are suitable for tents.

Fuel and limited supplies are available in the nearby small towns of Sasabe and Arivaca.

State Tank - Rock Tank Loop combines roads 213 and 249. The loop begins and ends near the visitor center and Aguirre Lake. While narrow on the western ends with grass in the middle, the trail widens out on the east. Campsites 68 and 68A sit on the northern portion of the loop. 68 is a large site capable of accommodating several trailers. 68A is a small one-vehicle site off a small spur with excellent views. Both sites have a metal fire ring. When mapped, the refuge was removing invasive mesquite trees near the trail to restore the open native grasslands.

This trail runs along the highest elevation point of the Hewitt Station inner loop network, giving drivers the feeling of being on a “KAT Walk,” with wide-open views overlooking the town of Superior and the valley below. Its difficult rating comes from the rocky, high-elevation shelf roads that edge both sides of the trail in sections, along with a few challenging rock steps to navigate. A notable one-mile stretch features an 800-foot elevation change that drops into a scenic canyon before climbing steeply back out. When connected with Pucker Ridge and Moose Rock Ridge trails, it creates a memorable and scenic loop that rewards experienced drivers with incredible ridge line scenery and technical terrain. With its steep drop-offs and narrow width, this route isn’t for the faint of heart. There are no viable camping spots along the trail.

It appears, on the ground, the trail continues west of the intersection with FR1903 (Moose Rock Ridge) however this section of trail is closed and not included in the GPS guided track.

This skinny, rocky, and bumpy side trail off Woody Mountain Road takes you to a scenic and secluded meadow. While camping is not allowed along this short trail, it does provide an opportunity to stretch your suspension and break up the monotony of the relatively easy Woody Mountain Road. This trail is suitable for any high-clearance vehicle.

Lost Cienega (FR576) is a short connector between paved US191 and Buffalo Crossing (FR24). The first half is through heavy forest, but the road then skirts a deep depression surrounding Balke Spring, which has many snags standing and some long vistas to the south and west. 

The road is gravel, but small rocks make for a bumpy drive. Shelf portions can be narrow but not sufficiently so in most places to prevent two vehicles from passing.

Camping opportunities are limited, with two sites within the first 1.5 miles in from US191. The farther in of those was among the trees, had a fire ring, and would accommodate a small trailer.

Swansea Cutoff is a graded road between Mineral Wash and Planet Ranch Road. Besides being a nice shortcut, the trail offers decent views of the Buckskin Mountains. An abandoned dirt airstrip on the western end makes for a huge camping area with multiple fire rings and views northeastward of Tunnel Peak. There are also two slot canyons nearby. One is drivable, and the other makes a nice short hike.

Have you ever seen an alligator in Arizona? You might and yet not recognize it. We aren't talking about the 4-legged large-toothed swamp-dwelling reptile, of course. The alligators along this short connector trail are instead among the oldest species of trees in the southwest. FS 9495F boasts impressive specimens of the alligator juniper, so named for the dark checkered bark reminiscent of the swampy reptilian's skin. The Coconino National Forest is known mostly for its vast stands of Ponderosa pines, and there are plenty of those along the short stretch of almost parklike forest alongside FS 9495F. However, a combination of elevation and soil type supports a beautiful stand of alligator juniper as well. This is not a difficult trail, and any vehicle with high clearance will be just fine. Camping is not found along this short spur, but many nearby spurs have great dispersed camping opportunities.

Nicknamed Prairie Dog Town, Los Posos Gulch runs northeastward from East Yucca Farm Road towards cottonwood-lined Cienaga Creek. Blacktail Prairie Dogs disappeared from the Arizona ecosystem in the 1930s. The Las Cienegas National Conservation Area is reintroducing them in a project along this trail. A pullout serves as an observation area for the burgeoning prairie dog town.

The trail starts wide and well maintained with several RV-sized campsites near the trailhead. The track tightens and becomes rougher after the prairie dog town, with grass growing in the middle. The trail parallels the lush Cienaga Creek drainage before unceremoniously ending at a fence with little room to turn around. One small spur goes off southward to a small pond.