California Off-Road Trails

Blair Valley is a popular destination in Anza Borrego State Park due to its rich cultural and historical significance and stunning natural beauty. This valley was once home to a thriving community of Native American people, who left behind various fascinating artifacts and structures that can still be seen today.

One of the highlights of Blair Valley is the pictographs and petroglyphs found throughout the area. These ancient rock paintings and carvings provide a glimpse into the rich cultural history of the Kumeyaay people who once lived in the region.

In addition to its cultural significance, Blair Valley is known for its stunning natural beauty. Rugged mountains and hills surround the valley, home to various unique desert plant and animal species. Visitors can hike through the valley, take in the stunning desert vistas, or explore nearby trails and canyons.

Blair Valley is also a popular spot for camping, with several designated camping areas throughout the valley. Visitors can enjoy a peaceful and secluded camping experience with the sounds of nature and the stars overhead.

Overall, Blair Valley is a unique and fascinating destination that offers something for everyone. Whether you're interested in exploring the region's rich cultural history and stunning natural beauty or simply enjoying a peaceful camping trip, this hidden gem in Anza Borrego is well worth a visit.

Front Line Road is in the 823,000-acre San Bernardino National Forest just south of Big Bear Lake. It provides a casual meandering adventure alongside a shallow canyon formed by the 8,000-foot San Bernardino Mountain Range to the north and the 10,000-foot San Gorgonio Wilderness mountains to the south. There are numerous places to pull over for lunch or to take in the many commanding views of the mountains and tall pines that guide your way.

Located across the valley from Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the lower 48 states, Reward Mine offers a one-of-a-kind offroad experience. Unlike most trails, this destination allows visitors to experience underground offroading, making for an unforgettable and thrilling ride. The journey takes you about half a mile into the Inyo Mountains, with even more opportunities for on-foot exploration. Whether you're a seasoned mine enthusiast or just looking for a unique and slightly eerie adventure, Reward Mine takes mine exploration to an exciting new level.

Steeped in history, the Reward Mine was the first operational mine in Owens Valley, running from 1860 through the 1980s under several different names. Between 1889 and 1951, it yielded an impressive 600,000 ounces of gold, along with silver, copper, and lead. Today, visitors can still see remnants of the past, including stone building ruins, ore bins, and mining equipment. However, the true highlight of this destination is the rare opportunity to drive directly into the mine itself, an experience that sets Reward Mine apart from any other offroad trail.

Deep in the deserts of Southern California lies a trail that few of heard of but all of them wish they had the opportunity to drive. Devils Canyon outside of Ocotillo and near San Diego, California is a life changer for most off-road enthusiasts. Full of some of the most intense rock crawling, this permit-required trail can easily be one of the legends. For many, this trail is simply just too hard. Others are forced to turn around in defeat. But for those lucky few, this is a trail of a lifetime and will likely be one of your favorite trails of all time. Full of technical obstacles, this epic 4x4 trail will be testing both man and machine to their limits. What keeps this trail as a unicorn of the off-road community is that it is only available one to two days a month at the max. So, if you think you're up for it, get your information below, gather a group, and attempt one of the most legendary trails the SoCal desert has to offer the off-roading community, Devils Canyon.

A drive down Mule Canyon Road provides a visual feast of interesting shapes and colorful landscapes. Wonderful dispersed camping locations are abundant along the trail for a great evening getaway to enjoy the sunrise and sunsets that light up the Calico Mountains. Camping here serves as a staging point to explore the many BLM trails of the Calico Mountains and view the extensive silver mining that once drove the area's economy. Be sure to visit the nearby restored Calico Ghost Town.

The trail was used in the 2004 "Kill Bill 2" movie. Moving 1.3 miles east into the trail, a flat, dusty box canyon off to the west was the location for Budd's (Michael Madsen) trailer.

Following the boundary of the National Scenic Area through Kearny Pass of the Clark Mountains, the Boulder corridor takes you through beautiful undisturbed expanses of joshua tree forests and eventually provides views overlooking Ivanpah Lake and the massive Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System near the Nevada border. This narrow strip of BLM land lies between the Kingston Range Wilderness and the Mesquite Wilderness areas to the north and the Mojave Preserve to the south. The road starts on the sandy desert floor, and at its halfway point begins its rise into Clark Mountains, where it becomes very rocky, rugged, and with several difficult obstacles caused by rain runoff. Some of these obstacles are on narrow shelf roads with deep dropoffs to one side and require precise wheel placement. This road should only be driven in a four-wheel drive, high clearance vehicle, and groups of 2 or more, and be prepared for self-rescue as any help is far away. Several locations are suitable for dispersed camping when following the camping guidelines of the BLM Needles Field Office.

Just to the East of Bishop, CA in the Inyo National Forest lie the White Mountains and Silver Canyon Road will take you right to their heart. These mountains, which extend north into Nevada, are the home of desert bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, mule deer and some of the oldest trees on the face of the earth. The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is home to living trees exceeding 4000 years old in two separate groves, the Schulman Grove which has a visitors center open during the summer, and the Patriarch Grove which is home to the world's largest bristlecone pine tree. Both of these groves are easily accessible during the summer from the top of the White Mountains.

Echo Canyon boasts Death Valley's best qualities with its spectacular scenery, twisty canyons, rock arches, and mining history. It leads to the once famed "Inyo Mine," which was one of the earliest gold discoveries on the west side of the Funeral Range and also the only mine on that side, that produced more than an occasional sack of gold. The drive is peaceful through the sometimes tight canyon and is complete with an arch named the "Eye of the Needle" that you can't miss. With its nine designated and reserved campsites, scenery, and history, it's the perfect stop for a night on the way in or out of Death Valley.

If you want insanely hard, then the Hammer Trails are for you. Sledge Hammer is the southernmost trail of the Hammers in Johnson Valley, California. This extreme 4x4 trail is a collection of large boulders, massive ledges, towering waterfalls, vertical climbs, and spots you just have to drag through. This trail is going to make you work for it if you are wanting to complete it. Once on this trail, it is clear why this is one of the hardest trails in the country and why it makes the cut for one of the hardest parts of the King Of The Hammers race. If you think you have what it takes to do this run, have a rig that is built for the extreme, and have plenty of off-roading experience, then this is for you!

A trail that many have heard of, Chocolate Thunder is a popular rock crawling trail in Johnson Valley, California. The trail is usually part of the famous King of the Hammers track and has even been one of the famous Shootout Challenges. The short but fun trail is full of large rocks that are big enough to flip even the largest vehicles, sand that can make climbing the countless ledges and waterfalls impossible, and unique and tight obstacles that can easily destroy a body panel or two. One of the unique things about this trail is it has some great spots on the sides of the trail that any stock 4x4 can get to, making it a popular place for people to gather to watch others work their way through. Now, if you want a good challenge or are looking for a unique night run, check out Chocolate Thunder in the home of KOH, Johnson Valley, and see if your offroad rig has what it takes to complete this trail.

Powerline Road CL8315 is a 51-mile trek through the Mohave Desert, following a narrow path between Fort Irwin and the Soda Mountains Wilderness. Enjoy the many stunning views out over the desert and seemingly endless dry lake beds along the way. The main trail intersects many other desert roads that invite exploration and lead to abandoned mines, historical locations, and protected archeological sites. Experienced drivers with a four-wheel drive high clearance vehicle can manage this trail. This trail provides a wide range of trail conditions, from fine sand and bumpy ancient lava beds to rough, steep, and tight twisting paths through the mountains. Summer monsoons can wash out sections of the road, so be prepared to scout safe detours or turn back. This is a trail that should only be attempted as a vehicle team. Plenty of extra water and the ability to self-rescue are requirements to travel through this hot desert. Dispersed camping is available along the trail when following the BLM Barstow Field Office guidelines.

Just outside the sleepy desert town of Borrego Springs, Rockhouse Canyon Road is another fun out-and-back trail to add to your Anza-Borrego Desert State Park list, especially in the springtime. This backcountry trail runs directly along a sprawling dry lake bed in a barren valley between two mountain ranges creating interesting photo opportunities. Climbing out the back of the lake bed, the trail travels a sandy wash filled with tall Ocotillo. Although you won't find much camping on this trail, check out this scenic route through the desert if you are sightseeing in the area.