Santa Maria Road

Santa Maria Road is a 3.3-mile out-and-back trail that travels along Seepage Creek through a gorgeous valley between Antelope Mountain and Bristol Head Peak. The trail starts at Highway 149, passes alongside private property, and then quickly enters Forest Service land with several old corrals and a few campsites at the base of massive cliffs, including a large open grassy area with numerous fire rings. The road continues northwest past the whithering shorelines and often dry lake bottoms of Lower and Upper Seepage Lakes. The trail passes abundant dispersed campsites well spaced out from each other before entering a thick pine and aspen forest before dead-ending near Ghost Lake. In the past, the road continued to Santa Maria Reservoir but is now long blocked by downed timber and was removed from the official route.

This road is highly scenic and great for day-trippers looking for a quiet drive or for campers looking for seclusion. Hunters often use it heavily in the fall, but it is lightly used the rest of the year.

The road surface is hardpacked dirt with occasional potholes and ruts but has no significant obstacles. This trail is suitable for any high clearance vehicle and small offroad trailers. RVs and travel trailers can only safely travel a few hundred yards into the trail to the first camping area.