Utah Off-Road Trails

The Bert Mesa road is a stunning but seldomly traveled trail that descends a steep, deteriorated dugway down the side of Burr Point and travels across Bert Mesa, ending at a cliffside overlook of the Dirty Devil River and Happy Canyon. Along the way you wind through magnificent petrified sand dunes and colorful buttes, with many amazing views of the surrounding area. Most stock vehicles would likely find this trail too difficult, so it is only recommended for modified vehicles.

The first mile is the most technical, involving steep descents on uneven rock ramps and numerous rock ledges. While the road is faint and somewhat overgrown, it is not too hard to follow, as it is the only possible path down the cliffs. The hardest obstacle is at the bottom of the dugway, where the road climbs up a 3-foot-high slanting ledge that tips you toward a ditch to the left. Past this obstacle, the road levels out as it crosses the mesa top as a faded two track, ultimately ending at an overlook on the rim of the canyon above the Dirty Devil River. This spot offers panoramic views across to Happy Canyon and Big Mesa and looks down on the remains of the old Black Jump road on the bench below. 

Just before the overlook is a complex, triangle-shaped junction. A faint spur road leads north out onto another point above the Dirty Devil River before fading out in the middle of the mesa. You would have to walk to the rim to see any real views from this road. Another more prominent spur leads to the south out to a spectacular overlook of the Black Jump trail and the crossing of the Dirty Devil River along the Poison Springs road. Unfortunately, this road was closed to vehicles in the Henry Mountains and Freemont Gorge Travel Plan in early 2025.

The only established campsites along this road are at the top of the dugway just below the junction with the Burr Point trail. These sites are nestled in a small bowl against cliffs and are more sheltered than any others in the area. No established campsites exist on Bert Mesa itself, but one could camp basically anywhere, including at the overlook at the end.

Part of the historic Spanish Trail Corridor, Red Creek is a scenic and mild 4x4 challenge within the pristine and rugged Fishlake National Forest landscape. The lower elevation section of the trail near Interstate 70, is a dense cottonwood canyon with red cliffs and a couple of shady campsites near the trailhead. The trail winds up through Pando forests with loose rock and dirt sections and mild washouts. Along the higher sections of the trail, there are a few limited campsites. As you approach the southern end of the trail, you will encounter loose, jagged rocks within hard-pack dirt.

Black Mountain Resource Road is a tale of two roads despite being one continual road name. Located west of the Great Salt Lake, this West Desert trail provides vast views of some of the lesser towering mountain ranges of Utah. The western portion is a maintained dirt road, often combined with Black Mountain Road, to reach the cell towers at the peak. There are no notable obstacles in this portion. After the split with Black Mountain Road, the eastern half is an unmaintained 2-track with a mixture of loose dirt, embedded rock, and scattered loose rocks upwards of 6" in diameter. Although 4wd is not needed on this half, higher clearance will be. Although portions of this trail cross BLM land, camping was not found. There are a few nearby dispersed options on other roads, however.

Wedge Cutoff is a short gravel road shortcut from Green River Cutoff to the Wedge Overlook trail. It's a well-maintained gravel road with views of Cedar Mountain. Look for pronghorn hanging around the middle of the route, near the shallow reservoir and cattle crossing. No camping was found along the route.

Island Mesa Road is a remote, adventurous traverse across the Utah and Colorado Stateline. Coupled with Gypsum Valley Road, this half-day crossing is full of distant mountain views and moderate challenges that keep things interesting for the driver. The steep, loose hill on the edge of Island Mesa, leading to Gypsum Valley, has numerous switchbacks, narrow spots, fallen boulders, and one near vertical ledge. The hill requires low-range 4x4, off-road tires, and high ground clearance. Because of the remoteness of the area, experience is necessary to ensure confidence on the hill. Slow, steady momentum and confident tire placement are required. Large overland camper top vehicles are not recommended for this trail. The trail is significantly narrow and prone to washouts, which could present issues for full-width pickup trucks.

The western end of the trail within Utah begins as an easy gravel road with access to a large group camping area miles before the trail becomes difficult. The eastern trailhead begins at the end of Gypsum Valley Road and at the bottom of the switchback hillclimb. Camping within Colorado and the Tres Rios BLM area is limited to sporadic small spots on old mining spur trails. They are hidden in the boulders and look like old cowboy camps.

Volcano West Road is a short and easy route cutting through the far western end of Silver Island. As you climb the track, you'll pass directly by Volcano Peak and its oddly shaped rock features. The hardest part of the trail is a section where the surface is softer sand, easily handled by 4WD. An exposed campsite at the top of the climb is large enough for 1-2 vehicles and provides an incredible view of the Bonneville Salt Flats and West Desert of Utah. Technically, you can probably also see across the Utah/Nevada border.

Most trails and camping along the southern-facing side of the Silver Island Mountains look directly out across the iconic Bonneville Salt Flats, a 30,000-acre expanse of hard, white salt crust on the western edge of the Great Salt Lake basin. The Salt Flats are a remnant of prehistoric Lake Bonneville, which covered over one-third of Utah from 10,000 to 32,000 years ago.  Today, the Salt Flats are a BLM special recreation management area open to the public and motorized vehicles and even hosts the annual Speedweek land speed races.

Driving on the Bonneville Salt Flats when wet and camping directly on the Salt Flats is expressly prohibited by the BLM, as stated on the Bonneville Speedway Access Road signage. Please respect management agency regulations and help to protect the top layer crust of the Salt Flats for many decades to come.

North Flats Road is a 4.6-mile dead-end road ranchers use to access a large corral. There is no camping, obstacles, or points of interest. The road can become impassable in wet conditions and does not connect with other legal trails.

Lookout Point Road is an easy loop and spur trail leading out to an overlook of Tenmile Bottom along the Green River in Labyrinth Canyon. The road surface is a smooth dirt two-track that would be easily passable to any AWD or 4WD vehicle. The main spur ends at a parking area and campsite a short walk away from the rim of Labyrinth Canyon. From there, you can climb around on the rocks at the edge of the cliff and look down on the Green River and the mouth of Tenmile Canyon.

While you cannot see Tenmile Canyon itself from this angle, as it is around a corner, you can see the mesa top along its rim and numerous buttes in the distance. You can make out the beach where the Tenmile Canyon 4x4 trail used to come out. With that trail's closure, this road is now the only way you can see the area around Tenmile Bottom from a vehicle.

This road also accesses the Junes Bottom trail and two spurs leading to overlooks of Keg Spring Canyon. There is only one campsite along the main road, at the parking area for the viewpoint of Tenmile Canyon. This spot is in an open plain and is extremely exposed to wind with no significant vegetation. More sheltered camping can be found elsewhere in the area.

Shay Ridge, located within the Manti-La Sal National Forest and near the town of Monticello, Utah offers the outdoor enthusiast a lifetime of forest trails to explore. The area is popular with hikers, hunters and ATV users. The forest system has a vast network of hiking trails that access the Dark Canyon Wilderness area where you will have spectacular views of the endless canyons below. The trail leads to a couple of ATV only trails and remote camping.

Cold Springs is a popular option in the area that provides incredible camping along its entire route. Spanning from Silver Meadows to Soapstone Basin, this trail is usually part of a loop for exploring the refreshing Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The trail is very easy, with only a few potholes to avoid, so just about any vehicle can handle it. There are many campsites to choose from. Along the eastern half of the trail, many of the sites are tucked into the trees, offering a little bit of privacy from the main road, while on the western side, campsites are typically perched on small hills, providing great views of the lush forest and meadows below. Many sites can fit multiple large campers, while a few are considered small and personal. None of the campsites have any amenities aside from man-made fire rings.

East Mounds Road is a picturesque backcountry road through a corner of this secluded desert region of Utah. While traveling along Highway 6, you can detour onto this enjoyable, maintained gravel road. The trail can be completed in 2WD when the conditions are dry. However, there is one bumpy crossing and soft sand crossing at the train trestle. This can be cautiously completed by all overland and camper van-type vehicles. Camping is limited to non-existent along this route. No established campsites with fire rings were found. Connecting the trail to Buried Forest and Price River Road makes for a leisurely scenic trail ride with an exciting hike in the middle.

Home Base Loop traverses the high-elevation rolling hills deep within the San Rafael Swell. It is most frequented by wild burros, horses, and adventurous hikers. The trail accesses what is considered one of the more difficult slot canyon hikes in Utah, Crawford Draw to Eardley Canyon. In dry conditions, the entire 11-mile loop is passable in 2WD with high clearance. There are no obstacles, height restrictions, or narrow ledges. Washouts and deep ruts across the track are the only challenges. The trail drives down a broad grassy draw with sprawling meadow views and back up a similar draw. Limited camping was found along the trail, and the short spur trail included on the track is the unmarked drop-off and staging for the Crawford Draw hiking.

D1091 is an easy, straight-through two-track trail that starts and ends along Mineral Bottom Road. The road is primarily sand with sections of protruding slickrock. Expansive views of the La Sal Mountains, Buck Mesa, and beyond can be seen all along the trail as you trek across Horsetheif Point. On the western end of the trail, you will quickly pass a slickrock campsite good for vehicle camping and then come to a hard, 180-degree turn before reaching Horsetheif Spring. The spring is located on private property and provides no turn-around point, so please adhere to signage and ensure you take the 180-degree turn. The trail then becomes lightly used as it travels through grass and sagebrush and bumps its way back to the eastern side, ending just after a second large, slickrock campsite good for any camp setup and groups. The ground is level and provides ample parking. This trail is suitable for any high clearance vehicle.

Currant Ridge provides a long journey around the ridge line, rising above the many basins that feed Currant Creek Reservoir. The southern start of Currant Ridge provides various dispersed campsites that might be helpful for those seeking a quieter spot away from reservoir traffic. During autumn, the entire area lights up with bright golden colors thanks to the vast aspen grove that spreads across the mountains.

Seasonal ruts and mud holes are possible, with one particular spot seemingly most prone to trouble (approximately 5 miles from the southern end of the trail). The most difficult part of the trail is a steep 0.5-mile section that climbs roughly 300 feet from Coleman Basin up to the ridge line. The terrain is not difficult by technical standards, but it is a loose rubble surface that could require 4WD to assist with traction. This section may provide some excitement for beginners, but trailers are not recommended.

Bird's eye views of the San Rafael Swell from your campsite. Cedar Overlook, sometimes referred to as East Cedar Mountain, is an easy gravel road to the summit, where you'll find a day's worth of adventure. There are carefully constructed overlooks with steel walkways and fences on the edge of building-sized boulders. Shaded campsites and picnic tables are abundant before reaching the multiple radio and cell towers. Cell service is amazing. The trail becomes slightly rougher after the radio towers and ends at the airplane runway. The camping is primitive and free. Small individual campsites are tucked within the trees, and larger sites for RVs can be found along the main route. There is a vault-type toilet at the day-use picnic area. 

OK, it's not quite square. Square Road is a straight line crossing a wide-open prairie of the scrub brush-covered lower San Rafael Desert. The one highlight is the sweeping hill with great views of rocky buttes. Mainly the trail connects Lower San Rafael Road with the scenic Blackburn Wash Road. The trail is bumpy and dusty but suitable for all high clearance vehicles with durable tires. There was no camping found in the wind-blown desert scrub brush.

D1164 is a short and easy dead-end spur road off Mineral Bottom Road that leads to several designated campsites, a few of which sit cliffside overlooking Mineral Canyon. The road is a mix of slickrock slabs and dirt with no major obstacles. It is rough enough that low-clearance vehicles and RVs should not attempt driving it, but any stock SUV or pickup truck would have no problems driving this road to the end. Camping along the road is only allowed in designated spots, of which you can find five along the trail. Portable toilets are required, and users must pack out all trash and human waste. Campsites along the road vary in size from one vehicle to multiple vehicles and are generally either soft sand or flat slickrock.

Winding through a small portion of National Forest, Main Canyon is an easy, maintained dirt road that is part of the large Prospector Trail System winding through the West Desert. Pinyon and junipers line the trail, with occasional springs providing trickling water, green grass, and muddy spots, even in the heat of summer. These patches of mud are the most difficult part of the trail. Camping is available at Vernon Reservoir near the northern end of the forest boundary, where a developed campground borders the small and peaceful reservoir. Free, dispersed camping can be found further south if you do not need any amenities.

Trestle Road is an easily accessible meandering drive across high desert prairies and under the towering Gordon Creek Trestle. Built in 1912, Gordon Creek Trestle is a steel girder bridge 135' high and 634' long with a 60 percent curve in the span. The now closed and rusting frame remains the longest steel girder bridge still standing in Utah. The trail is a dirt and gravel road with washboard bumps, a bumpy shallow water crossing, and steep hills. Because of private property, camping is very limited along the route. One spot below the trestle, along the creek, had a rock fire ring and room for a couple of vehicles with tents.

Known as Beaver Creek Road along the southern half, and Green Canyon Road along the north half, this straight-through trail nestled in the rugged Bear River Range, is a scenic backcountry trail that crosses from northern Utah into southern Idaho, offering a true alpine escape and winding through dense pine forests and hugging the banks of Beaver Creek for much of the journey. The road surface is a mix of packed dirt and loose rock, with the hardest section located halfway through the trail and a few larger potholes.

Dispersed campsites can be found throughout, with several spacious enough to accommodate RVs or larger setups. The trail provides access to several trails that lead deeper into the mountains. This is an ideal route for those seeking a peaceful drive with options for camping, exploring, and enjoying the high mountain terrain.