Smiley Rock

Watched a number of videos before running this trail. Saw everything from a 4Runner that had no problems to a highly modified Jeep that struggled on the trail. Seems that the difference in difficulty is a result of the monsoon season moving boulders around. Which brings up a warning ... if there is any chance of rain storms on the day you're going to run the trail, pick another trail to run. Once in the rock/boulder/ledge canyon, there are no side trails to escape to high ground. The weather report showed no chance of rain for us, and yet, about halfway through the trail the radio warned of a sudden rain storm in the area ... seemed like an eternity until we broke out onto level ground. The funniest part of the trail run was when our leader asked over the radio; "Are we on the right track, the trail ahead looks like crap?" Yes, we were on the correct trail, and yes, the area ahead was crappy. The rock garden was run in 4L first gear to slow everything down. Only had to use rear lockers once to get over a ledge. Ran with a JLRU with 35" tires and a 2.5" lift. Others on this run had 35" or 37" tires and 3.5" lifts.

This is a fun half day trail if you're in the Prescott area. We left early hoping to stop in Jerome, note that a lot of the little shops don't open until 9 or 10 in the morning. The mine opens at 10 am as well. The description is spot on, the one rock patch is really the only hard part. We ran this with my TJ on 35" tires and lockers. I used the lockers, but probably could have gotten away without. I had plenty of clearance through the rock patch. We're going to try it in my dad's XJ on 31's and report back here. There is now a yellow smiley face flag right over the infamous rock. There is a LOT of camping area at the end of the trail. It's plenty big for trailers capable of dry-camping. As of June 2022, fire restrictions are in place, but no closures.

Very fun and beautiful trail. For a good video review, watch youtube video by Ken Crawford below. I found it was very accurate. On March 2, 22 there was still plenty of snow on the trail. We did not encounter any icy conditions. The snow and mud made the trail a bit more challenging. A few of the steeper climbs towards the end were quite slippery. A decently built rig with clearance and some traction aid will have no trouble on the trail. Two of the Jeeps in our group of 3 were mostly stock JKU's. Both on 35" tires. One with lockers and one with open diffs. Both drivers were new to any type of rock crawling. With just a bit of spotting and a small amount of rock stacking, all got through easily. We did pull cable once towards the end just to save time rather than stacking some rocks to get over a couple of the bigger boulders. Although the trail can be easy for some, there are opportunities to take much harder lines. All in all, and with a long stop at the smiley rock, we did it in 4 hours from the actual trail head. A couple pictures added to show the snow conditions. And a muddy TJ at the end because the very top was like going through mud bogs

Trying to upload photos

Here ares some trail pictures in the snow

Snow on the trail from Smiley Rock to the summit. Muddy and slippery in the trail probably added a couple of points of difficulty. We had to winch a couple of times for one of the folks with an JL on 37” tires. This is probably a good rating for dry conditions.

Stage III fire closures have been lifted. Stage II remains in effect - no fires, discharging of firearms, etc. Be mindful, trails can close quickly due to events that can change rapidly.

We did this trail on 6/20/21. It’s a funny trail!! We didn’t see anyone else on it when we ran it. We ran it from Jerome ending on the 89A. The first portion from Jerome to the start of the actual Smiley Rock trail is a groomed forest road. This is a very scenic drive. Once you get to the actual trail the fun starts. The trail eases you into its technical areas. The Boulder fields are long but fun. Good tire placement and a good line will get you through it. We were in a 18 JLU, 2.5 inch lift, on 35s. Hit my sliders on a couple of boulders, but that’s what they are for. The trail has lots of shade and you shouldn’t get any AZ pin striping. Lots of fun!!

Great views if you start in Jerome and come around the edge of the canyon. Some of the turn-offs are easy to miss, so be careful. Fairly easy except for a few climbs at the beginning. Several areas are very narrow and you are guaranteed to get Arizona pinstripes, so if you are highly concerned about the integrity of your paint job, this is not the trail for you. There are no bypass routes to avoid these narrow areas. Once you hit the wash/dry creek bed, it is pure fun. This trail is NOT for stock vehicles or mall crawlers. This trail requires significant clearance, large tires, and for some even lockers. Inexperienced drivers should not try this trail alone.

This is a really fun trail! It has some steep hills with loose rock and some sections with big boulders. With some good spotting the trail can be done with a stock height Jeep, or in our case, stock height FJ Cruiser with 33" tires. The wash is surprisingly green and it's really a beautiful trail!

Did the entire loop from Jerome. The hill up to Smiley Rock was really rutted out badly. Had to take a creative line and use the boulder in the middle to push you around in order to keep from rolling sideways. Heading up through the creek to Potato Patch was a lot of fun.

Great trail, amazing sights driving up to the trail. Not a whole lot of views on the trail, but it is pretty entertaining to drive the last portion, and gets a little difficult (rocky) for a short section of the trail.

This is an alternate answer to "Can you get there from Prescott?". You can go through Chino Valley, then east on Perkinsville Rd CR70, to FR318A. This goes the the trail head as well. I've run this trail many times and enjoy it. Nice write up Todd! A big rainfall will jumble up the rocks in the "Rougher Section". Then they get stacked and packed as groups wheel through it.

I attempted this in a stock F150 4x4 and wasn't able to make it all the way.

This is a fun trail with several challenging stretches. Additionally, you get some nice long stretches in the shade to knock the heat down. There is a lot to do in this entire area, so making this trail part of one your summer adventures would be a good idea.