Arizona Off-Road Trails

Nestled within the Tonto National Forest lies a paradise for offroad enthusiasts seeking a challenging trail run. The area is known for its rocky terrain, stunning vistas, and untamed wilderness.

However, if you're looking for a more leisurely experience, a shorter and easier trail is available. FR 11 allows you to explore the area without navigating the more difficult trails. 

For those interested in historical experiences, FR 11 is an excellent option. This trail takes you back to when Highway 87 had not yet been constructed, offering a glimpse into the past of what it would have been like to travel through the desert mountain wilderness. The first trail marker is labeled "Old Highway 87," which further adds to the intrigue of the journey. 

The area has a rich native American history. The Yavapai and Tonto Apache tribes left their mark on the land. American trappers and miners also frequented the area during the 19th and 20th centuries, leaving remnants of their presence behind. Today, the area is teeming with Arizona's signature flora and fauna, including the palo verde bush, prickly pear cacti, roadrunners, quail, and coyotes. The area's sights, sounds, and smells will leave you feeling invigorated and connected to nature.

Cedar Flat Road is a tale of two trails. On its southern end, the well-behaved road climbs out of the desert to offer camping with views, driving with views and hiking with views. Looking west, the sacred red rocks of Sedona are below you. Mingus Mountain tents horizon due west. Farther south the rugged Bradshaws stand out above the haze. North you catch glimpses of the San Francisco Peaks towering above Flagstaff. Closer in you get a look deep into the canyon of West Clear Creek and Blodgett Basin. The tall stalks of century plants stand sentinel over prickly pears with their crimson fruits. Ocotillo spread their firesticks skyward along the roadside. The daggers of the agaves make you watch your step. And then Cedar Flat Road throws a temper tantrum, all be it a beautiful outburst. The finely graded road becomes a rock-strewn two-track weaving among junipers, testing your tires, your suspension, your kidneys, and your ability to pick a good line. But the rugged beauty of the place, the sudden openings onto wide tree-dotted savannah grasslands, and a short stretch through a pristine pine forest make you forget to keep your eyes on the trail. Apache Maid Mountain begins to appear larger and larger until it looms over the mesa. Too soon, it seems you reach the junction with Apache Maid. You'll want to stop and catch your breath. Nice is good. Naughty is fun. Why not have a little of both?

Situated in the vast ponderosa pine woodlands of the Coconino National Forest, Fry Canyon Trail offers peaceful serenity only minutes from downtown Flagstaff. The numerous designated shady campsites on the western end of the trail make excellent base camps for exploring the area while still providing easy access to all the services found in Flagstaff. The high country abounds with elk, deer, and wild turkey, often seen when hiking one of the many area trails. The road's namesake, Fry Canyon, is a favorite with the canyoneering and climbing crowd. Beautiful red rock Sedona is just a 30-minute drive south through the scenic Oak Creek Canyon. There are plenty of forest roads to explore through the high country pinelands and wide-open prairies. There are even a few gnarly trails to provide offroading challenges for those so inclined. Whatever you are looking for, it isn't far away from the Fry Canyon Trail.

The Walnut Canyon area is one of Arizona's most well-preserved and scenic regions, still easily accessible by 4x4 vehicle. The scenery includes towering canyon walls, some as high as 800 feet, and numerous narrow canyons you can hike for days. There are sporadic willows and saguaros that line the trail. Wildlife includes released bighorn sheep, black bear, and even mountain lions. The trail ends at the Rincon Road starting point and the entryway to incredible backcountry scenery.

Located within the Bulldog Canyon OHV Recreation area in Tonto National Forest, 3554 is an almost beach-like oasis in the desert. This scenic drive connects FR 10 and Bulldog Canyon to Usery Pass by traveling along a dry creek bed filled with coarse sand. The sand is well-traveled and thus very packed but can quickly become a deep sand pit outside the main tracks. The wash passes several towering rock faces that make great photo backdrops. There are numerous areas along the wash used for dispersed camping. However, those campsites could flood during a moderate rain event. As the road exits the wash and treks westward towards the Usery entrance, it becomes a mix of hard granite and packed dirt. Due to Forest Order 03-12-03-22-34, camping is prohibited within 1 mile from the Usery steel gate until at least January 12, 2026.

Most of this road can be completed with a high clearance 2WD vehicle, but 4WD drive is highly recommended for the sandy wash section.

A Tonto National Forest Off-Highway Vehicle Permit is required to travel this road.

The solitude and a rock-crawling adventure within an hour of Phoenix, Arizona, make Ruby Wash a great place to explore and spend the day. Located in the Buckhorn Mountains, this trail offers a gateway into an entire network of trails with various difficulty levels and optional routes. The area is filled with old mining activity, with the most prominent being the Independence Mine which started its operations nearly 100 years ago in 1919. The entire off-road trail is interesting and challenging, even for modified vehicles. The route has a little bit of everything from sandy washes, rocks, boulders, canyons, and hill climbs.

A short drive from the sometimes hot bleak desert floor, Boriana Mine Trail is a part of the Arizona Peace Trail. Boriana Mine Trail will lead to higher ground with cooler temps, juniper, and pine trees swooshing in the breeze. The concrete foundations and ruins of Boriana Mine are interesting to walk around and explore, plus there's a year-round spring with a pond of crystal clear water, goldfish, and a beautiful view over the valley floor over a half-mile mile below. Boriana Mine was the second-largest tungsten mine in the US operating intermittently from 1915 to 1980. The underground workings consisted of 12 levels and nearly 3 miles of drifts! Secondary minerals from this tungsten mine included gold, silver, and copper. An article with photos of this mine in operation and more detailed history can be found here.

Twisting its way through a rocky and narrow canyon, Orville's Loop is an exhilarating and scenic roller coaster ride through the Sonoran desert. Dense desert vegetation hangs overhead off the tall canyon walls. During winter, water often trickles down the canyon's walls, pooling at the base of the rocky waterfall you will have to climb. The waterfall is Orville's Loop's standout obstacle, a favorite with local crawlers. The climb up the steep and super narrow ledge road provides spectacular panoramas before the trail merges with Jack Handle.

McPherson Pass connects the broad King Valley with the very flat Castle Dome Plain by crossing the low but ruggedly beautiful Castle Dome Mountains. The entire trail is inside the remote and sparsely visited Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, the second-largest wilderness area in Arizona. The trail crosses broad scenic valleys, pushes through a sandy wash, and climbs through a majestic mountain pass. The best part of all that is that along the way, you are likely to encounter more desert bighorn sheep than people. The Lower Sonoran Desert of this part of southwestern Arizona receives very little rainfall. That doesn't mean life is not abundant here. Both plants and animals have adapted to the harsh environment. Cacti include the stately saguaros and spindly ocotillo called fire sticks by natives for their bright red flowers, which seem to pop out purely randomly. Several species of cholla cactus call this area home. The teddy bear cholla looks cute, but the spines stick like velcro on steroids and hurt like Hades. Owls, various hawks, doves, and hummingbirds abound. Small mule deer hang close to the few available water sources. Coyote serenades at night are common. But the reclusive desert bighorn sheep reign supreme here. The entire purpose of the Kofa NWR was to preserve habitat for the surefooted mountain denizens. Keep your eyes on the slopes, and you might catch a glimpse of a few of them near McPherson Pass.

Engesser Pass is likely the most remote trail in Arizona based on travel distance to the nearest human habitation. Engesser Pass traverses the midsection of the beautifully rugged Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, which covers over 1,000 square miles with not a single human inhabitant. The 2,000 square miles of the Yuma Proving Grounds cradle the bottom of the refuge. No one lives there either since the Proving Ground is where the Marines test things that explode. Approximately 3,000 square miles of uninhabited BLM land lie east of the refuge. That is 6,000 square miles. Four states, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Connecticut, are smaller. In all that space, no human resides full-time. No light bulb burns at night. Very few roads exist. And in the middle of all that splendid remoteness is Engesser Pass. When traveled east to west, Engesser Pass begins as an easy two-track on a ridgeline above the vast saguaro-studded Palomas Plain to the east. Mountain ranges sawtooth the horizon in every direction, near and far. Ocotillos reach skyward, flaming red flowers on the ends of their long tendril shafts. Thickets of thorny silver cholla scatter their pin cushion droppings to painfully attach to the unwary. To the west looms the multi-hued sawtoothed Kofa Mountains. Before long, Engesser begins its slow rise to the mountain pass that gives the trail its name. Cutting through the ruggedly beautiful Kofa Mountains, the view westward from the pass is unsurpassed. The trail dives steeply to join Engesser Wash, brushy and sandy, as it slolams down and out of the mountains. Turning northward, Engesser parallels the colorful west side of the ancient volcanic Kofas. To the west across the broad King Valley lies the Castle Dome Mountains, the round spire of Castle Dome clearly identifiable. Engesser Pass ends near the King of Arizona mine, whose initials gave became the name of the area. It is far more likely that you will see a desert bighorn sheep, the reason for the refuge's existence, or perhaps a tiny kit fox than it is you'll see another human on your traverse of Engesser Pass. Solitude. Beauty. Good wheeling. All fine reasons to explore one of Arizona's most remote trails.

Behind the Peaks is a scenic gem accessible by all kinds of vehicles! In the Spring, there are alpine meadows and wildflowers aplenty. The Fall brings glorious golden aspen on the slopes of the San Francisco Peaks, which dominate the skyline. You’ll have better views of the San Francisco Peaks along this route than anywhere else in the Flagstaff area and without the crowds. This route also provides access to major hiking trails like Bear Jaw, Abineau, Alto Spring, and the Arizona Trail. Like most of Flagstaff, this area is also great for mountain biking.

Box Canyon is a visual delight, assuming you like shelf roads, mountain views, and distant vistas. The road cuts across the ruggedly handsome Santa Rita Mountains via Box Canyon's deep pass before breaking out with long views across Green Valley and the distant Twin Buttes Copper Mine. The slopes in the pass are thick with spindly ocotillo cacti. Called "fire sticks" by natives, the long branches of the ocotillo lay gray and dormant much of the time before quickly and randomly growing small green leaves on the branches and firey red blossoms at the top. Much of the trail is in the vast Coronado National Forest, with the eastern end on Arizona State Trust Land set aside as the Santa Rita Experimental Range and Wildlife Area.

The trail ends on the paved Madera Canyon Road, a lovely drive and a bird-watcher's favorite.

Within a stone's throw of the Phoenix Valley, the Superstition Mountains are full of opportunities for adventure. The mountains are rugged and unforgiving while still having a strong and mysterious draw on the adventurous type. While traveling along the historic Apache Trail, you will be able to access different regions that offer a variety of desert experiences. There are sky-high, sheer cliff canyons that you can explore for years. Three wonderful lakes are traversing through the Salt River region. During the scorching hot summer months, Canyon, Apache, and Roosevelt lakes offer a wonderful reprieve from the desert heat. Two Bar Ridge Trail is an old power line access road that eventually connects to a beautiful ridgeline trail, high above the Burnt Corral region. The trail will challenge some stock-type vehicles with its steep and loose hill climbs, but it rewards you with of the best vistas of all the trails in the region. You'll pass a few points along the trail where you can see for miles. Once at the end, you are in a very secluded area that offers unforgettable nighttime interstellar views.

Moores Gulch runs from AZCO Mine Road in the BLM's Table Mesa Recreation Area through Arizona State Trust Land into the Tonto National Forest, ending at a scenic overlook above Black Canyon City. The trail drops into the ordinarily dry Moores Gulch and crosses under Interstate 17. Stately saguaro and thickets of mesquite line the Moores Gulch drainage. The trail turns northeast climbing steeply out of the drainage following ridgelines along the western slopes of the rugged and nearly impenetrable New River Mountains. A gate and signage mark the trail's entry into the Tonto National Forest. Cattle graze almost the entire length of the trail. Please close the gates along the trail.

The trail is rocky, with numerous significant climbs and descents approaching 20 degrees. Low-range gearing is helpful. Several deep washes are prone to flash flooding after significant precipitation.

There are three campsites along the trail in the Table Mesa Recreation Area. Small campsites are scattered along the remainder of the trail. Camping in the Arizona State Trust Land segment requires a permit.

Trails that distantly wind out in front for miles disappearing briefly into gullies or hiding on the backsides of hills only to emerge even farther away, snaking seductively up the side of a distant ridgeline until it blends into the far horizon always seem to beckon me more urgently than those hidden away in deep forests or on land so flat that no detail beyond a stone's throw is evident. That type of trail is a seductress, offering you a distant glimpse of her charms, a hint of adventure and treasure if you will devotedly follow her labyrinthine path. Copper Bottom Pass sings that siren song of adventure. From the start, you see the thin white ribbon of trail winding and coiling up the slopes of the Dome Rock Mountains. Cunningham Mountain sits near the high pass with a crown of antennae, a beacon to guide you, staring down as you climb toward the trail's summit. A desert floor of hard igneous gravel cast off the mountain slopes in the erosion of a few million years is covered with ocotillo, cholla, ironwood, and brittlebush cover. They enthusiastically ignore your passing. Copper Bottom sits between two passes of near equal elevation, a bowl atop a mountain range. Copper Bottom Mine on the north side of the bowl is gated off, but the shaft entrances and old structures are easily visible. The two passes offer long views, east over La Paz Valley and into Kofa, west to the green belt of the Colorado River and California. The only wart on this beauty is the powerline that climbs into the pass alongside you. Ignore it and enjoy the plentiful charms and adventure on this winding seductress of a trail.

With more curves than a 1940s-era pinup model, Maggie Mine Road snakes upwards into the foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains. Along the way, it passes its namesake, the Maggie Mine, a small gold operation first prospected in the 1870s. Today it sits on private land and is not open to visitors. The rutted and rocky trail skirts gardens of prickly pear with their red fruits and the very thorny silver cholla. Forests of stately saguaros stand like so many sentinels, always on watch over their desert. To the west, the handsome Bradshaw Mountains dominate the jagged horizon. Glance east now and then, and you will see traffic on the interstate. Smile. They aren't having as much fun as you.

Leave it to Arizona to have what could easily be the coolest desert destination in the U.S. The Desert Bar, aka "Nellie E Saloon," is just what it sounds like, a bar in the middle of the desert. But this isn't any old bar.

In 1975, Ken, a self-described hippy and societal dropout, bought an old mining claim with a few dilapidated buildings. He soon noticed numerous ATVs and Jeeps driving past on weekends. Acquiring a liquor license from a defunct local establishment, Ken began selling beer from a small three-walled trailside shack out of a cooler. Being an industrious hippy, Ken began building outlandish structures on the old mine claim, including a church. Solar power and batteries replaced the ice cooler, and the rest, as they say, is history. Today the mining claim looks a lot like Thunderdome from the Mad Max movies and draws huge weekend crowds. There's usually a band, food, and various libations. And it is still completely off-grid.

The surrounding desert boasts great wheeling and rock crawling. And then there's this totally crazy place to kick back and enjoy. Who offroader could ask for more?

While the actual Vulture Mine is well north, the unpaved remainder of that road runs through the heart of the ruggedly beautiful Belmont Mountains, a seldom visited portion of south-central Arizona. The trail starts in the north as a nicely maintained dirt road that services the Belmont Pit, a rock quarry. Between the quarry and the intersection with Belmont Mine Road, the road is easily traveled rough dirt, crossing numerous sandy washes. The northern trailhead has two large staging areas.

The road deteriorates south of the intersection with Belmont Mine Road as it crosses a rough pass through the mountains. There are several steep climbs with loose rock and a narrow off-camber shelf road obstacle. The trail precariously tilts 28 degrees down the side slope crossing the obstacle. This section of trail is not suitable for full-width vehicles. Use Belmont Mine Road and W. W. Enterprize Mine to bypass this challenging section of trail. Vulture Mine ends in the south at Canal Road.

Abundant spring rains bring colorful wildflowers to the austere Belmonts. Look for the rock window on the west side of the trail just south of the intersection with Belmont Mine Road.

The northern 6 miles of the trail host abundant large flat campsites suitable for groups, large rigs, and toy haulers.