Utah Off-Road Trails

Smith Camp Road is a maintained gravel road that accesses numerous other scenic routes within the San Rafael Swell region. As you drive along, note how the landscape changes dramatically from the flat plain. The route quickly travels to an old ranch site with a couple of structures still standing. You will also pass a massive area for a free group campsite. Be sure to combine this with Cottonwood Canyon Road and the petroglyphs at Waypoint 08, then onto Green River Cutoff to create a memorable day on the trail.

Winding its way through BLM land south of Red Fleet State Park, Widow Maker is a moderately rated trail acting as an alternate way north from Vernal to the reservoir. This trail is narrow and rocky at times, although stock high clearance 4WD vehicles should not struggle under dry conditions. With the roughness of the trail, airing down is highly recommended. Full-width and long vehicles may feel a bit uneasy around a few of the narrow bends. Although the majority of this trail is on BLM land, no existing campsites are available.

BLM 2341 is a sandy shortcut trail that makes an excellent "brief" Steel Bender Loop, as it cuts down the middle of the larger, main Steel Bender Loop. The trail offers a few mild challenges as you make your way through a mix of sand hills, rocky climbs, and slickrock ledges. This is a lesser-used trail with spectacular views in all directions. The trail is generally 1 to 1.5 vehicles wide, with plenty of pull-out opportunities to pass oncoming traffic. BLM 2341 trail is suitable for any high clearance 4x4 vehicle with low gearing.

Although dispersed camping is allowed, there are no suitable or existing campsites along this trail.

If you are looking for remoteness and solitude in the Moab area, and you are also a lover of history, it may be worth your while to put Beef Basin on your list. Situated between the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park and the relatively lesser-traveled Abajo Mountains, this easy, but extremely remote track offers access to quite a bit of history, including ruins and granaries from the Anasazi. Navigating out here is not for the faint of heart. Be prepared, as your easiest route is about 90 miles of driving to Moab. The road surface is mainly comprised of packed dirt with pockets of sand, and the potential to travel through washes that might have water flowing in them, depending on the time of year. There are a decent number of campsites located at the beginning of this lollipop-shaped route, but very few within the loop itself. Be prepared with communications, food, water, and shelter, as it will be a long time before someone can rescue you.

Located within portions of the Uinta National Forest, Maple Canyon is primarily known for its challenging rock climbing. Still, few know the trail crossing through the area is scenic and fun. Trail 69 is 15.3 miles and connects two popular areas used for camping and climbing.

Just 3 miles from Freedom, UT, the southern trailhead begins as an easy gravel road winding through a narrow slot canyon before reaching the Maple Canyon Campground, where shady campsites are below the rock climbing walls.

Once past the camping area, the trail becomes very tight and brushy as it zigzags above the craggy rocks of the canyon below. You will continue to climb to over 9100 feet, traversing along the top of the mountain, with massive views on both sides. Once up top, there are a few campsites with beautiful views and possibly snow in June.

Dropping into the next climbing area on the northern section offers numerous primitive campsites near more epic climbing.

The trail is ideal for stock 4x4s with high clearance and durable tires. Numerous narrow ledges with switchbacks, deep ruts, and potholes may be muddy. Do not attempt the route in wet conditions.

This track follows the border of the Blackridge Wilderness out to a set of radio towers on a west-facing overlook. During scouting, thick rain clouds and fog impeded the expansive views from the top of this route. A single, large campsite just before the radio towers has room for 3-4 vehicles if you park tightly. The site isn't well suited for ground tents as chunky black lava rock protrudes from the soil in abundance. Airing down is a good idea for this spur due to the multiple rocky sections that toss around your vehicle. In wet conditions, the surface becomes a very slick mud, making climbing and descending a slow and precarious journey.

Horseshoe Canyon Access Road is an easy offroad trail for almost any vehicle. The trail ends at a large camping area and a hiking trailhead. This area is known for its rich pre-European history. The 8-mile round trip hike into Horseshoe Canyon begins with a descent and then follows the sandy canyon bottom. There are several dinosaur footprints in the ancient sandstone. Along the walls of the canyon are at least four pictograph panels. The famous Great Gallery is the final panel along the hike. Massive painted figures from the Archaic period stare down from high on the sandstone walls of a large alcove. Archeologists can't date them precisely, but they are at least 2,000 years old and perhaps up to 6,000 years.

There is ample camping at the trail's end, with plenty of flat places, established fire rings, and a vault toilet. The camping is close quarters. The likelihood you will have this area to yourself is extremely slim. If private camping is more of your thing, there is an unnamed spur just off this road with a few secluded campsites that still allow easy access to wake up in the morning and tackle the hike.

This little gem sits just north of the summit of the La Sal Loop out of Moab and takes you up into the true alpine timber and snowpack of the La Sal mountains and to an old west mining ruin that includes an abandoned US Post Office and a small alpine lake. Excellent hiking and views are to be found along the way, and also a roadside overlanding campsite or two. There is some scree, so a 4x4 is ideal, but you'll make it in a 2WD under good conditions. There will be snow up here except in midsummer.

Winding its way across the vast Uinta Mountains in northeastern Utah, Lake Creek - Currant Creek is an easy journey for any recreation enthusiast. Rising only 1,000 feet, you may think there are no impressive views to be had, but you would be wrong! At its highest, Lake Creek has seemingly endless views in all directions of the western hills of this expansive mountain range. Due to its proximity to major cities and ease of access, this is a popular trail for all forms of recreation, including camping, hiking, hunting, and fishing. The best time of year to visit is early fall when the leaves of the maple and aspen trees are at their peak! So pack a cooler and your sleeping gear, and create an overland adventure across the Uintas along Lake Creek.

Rattlesnake Gulch Escape is a connector between Toquerville Falls trail and Rattlesnake Gulch. The track connects to Rattlesnake Gulch at Waypoint 11, putting you north of the most challenging obstacles. There is no camping along this connector, and the 600 feet of elevation change can be precarious, especially in wet conditions. A crumbling rocky shelf on a steep section is the hardest part of the route.

The Big Ridge Road, also labeled Happy Canyon on some maps, follows a long mesa top above Hatch Canyon and the Poison Springs road, with many amazing views of the surrounding area. It starts in the Orange Cliffs portion of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, adjacent to the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park, splitting off from the Flint Trail just above the famous Flint Hill switchbacks. The first 12 miles are an easy, well-maintained county B road consisting of graded dirt mixed with sections of broken slickrock. The first 7 miles are inside the Glen Canyon NRA, where camping is prohibited except at the Happy Canyon Campsite near the beginning of the trail. The highlight of this section is where the road traverses a narrow ridge with amazing views of the surrounding canyons on both sides.

After crossing onto BLM land, the road follows a flat mesa top past the top of the Simplot Dugway and crosses a backcountry airstrip. This section alternates between open fields and juniper forest. Camping is allowed here, though there are a few established sites.

The last 2.5 miles have a quite different character, transitioning from an easy graded dirt road to a moderate four-wheel-drive road, which is mostly a narrow shelf road skirting along the edge of a series of cliffs near Two Pipe Spring. The views here are spectacular. While there are no major obstacles along this section and the road is consistently wide enough for full-size vehicles, it may be intimidating to people who don't like shelf roads. Recent rockfall could render this section impassible or increase the difficulty level considerably.

At the end of the shelf road portion is a three-way junction. The road straight ahead leads to a hilltop overlook on an outcropping portion of the mesa. This road was closed in the 2025 Henry Mountains Fremont Gorge travel plan, but you may wish to hike the short distance to see the viewpoint at the end.

To the right is the beginning of a much harder road that climbs steeply up and over the highest terrace of Big Ridge before looping around the north rim of the mesa and reconnecting with the main Big Ridge Road near the backcountry airstrip. While most of this road is passable for full-size vehicles, there is a narrow, shelf road section in the middle that is only wide enough for ATVs and dirt bikes, preventing full-size vehicles from driving it as a loop. The east end of this side loop is easy and offers some nice viewpoints of Happy Canyon, while the west end is more challenging and requires navigating a series of steep, tight switchbacks with some difficult ledge obstacles and narrow pinch points. This side loop used to access a spur road that continued further out along the top of Big Ridge, but that road was also closed in the 2025 travel plan.

Muskrat Canyon is a moderately challenging 2.5-mile out-and-back trail just off I-80 west of Salt Lake City, perfect for an off-pavement break from freeway traffic. The trailhead sits just off Highway 196 beyond two gates (as always, leave them as you found them) and features incredible views of the salt-flat valley below. The lower section of Muskrat is hampered by rutting and is best avoided after a rainstorm. As the trail gains elevation, the sandy rutted path gives way to a more narrow and rocky traverse up the 800 feet of elevation change. About three-quarters of the way up is a peaceful campsite nestled amongst Juniper trees in the shadow of snowcapped mountains. Beyond the camp spot, the trail enters a recent burn area and gets a little more technical before hitting a gate at a wilderness area line. Muskrat Canyon Trail is short, restful, and challenging enough to be interesting.

Trout Creek is your direct dirt route from Strawberry Reservoir to Currant Creek Reservoir. This is a popular recreation area, so dispersed camping is plentiful, but expect to share the space with campers, anglers, hikers, ATV/SXS, and hunters. The low-lying campsites are more popular with trailer campers, but additional sites are available higher up. The forest is filled with aspen, making late September and early October a beautiful time to visit. Be aware of possible prescribed burns and management agency closures. Check with the Heber-Kamas Ranger District.

While exploring the Courthouse Pasture region, take this short out-and-back trail leading to a scenic overlook. The out-and-back spur is high above the sweeping s-turns along Highway 313. The trail is easy enough for most stock 4x4s with high clearance and durable tires. There are 6-8 inch rock ledges, loose off-chamber sections, and deep sand. Camping is not allowed in the Courthouse Pasture area. There is camping on trails to the north or at one of the established campgrounds along Highway 313.

Miller Canyon trail is a relatively easy out and back off Highway 50 on BLM land in Utah's western desert. This graded trail has occasional small water crossings during the snowmelt. As the trail gains elevation, the canyon offers beautiful views and shaded relief from the hot desert sun with multiple large dispersed camping sites throughout, complete with rare desert tree cover. The upper section of the trail also runs along the northeastern border of the Notch Peak Wilderness Study Area. There are signs of old mining claims everywhere, with occasional old rock dwellings dotting the trail for history buffs. The trail is just minutes from the beautiful Sevier Lake salt beds, which have great dispersed camping in cooler months.