Open in App
Upload to Gaia GPS
Please wait - Uploading to Gaia GPS
Phillips Canyon West
Barstow,
California
(SanBernardino County)
Last Updated:
03/22/2023
Trail Information
Highlights
Phillips Canyon is a harder trail in the Calico mountain range network. Phillips Canyon is a narrow path, just a single vehicle width with several hard obstacles. Some of these obstacles are a double 3-foot waterfall, rocky hill climb with 1-4 foot ledges in the middle, narrow canyons with large boulders, and a long, even steeper hill climb with 3-foot ledges in the middle. But the obstacles are not what most people remember of Phillips Canyon. Phillips Canyon has some of the most amazing views in Southern California, including red rock canyons, mud hills you can explore, sandstone canyons, natural stone arches, and old silver mines. Besides the trail, there are ample things to do in the area, including Calico Ghost Town, the robust trail network in calico, exploring abandoned mines, the Mojave River / Road, and exploring the Mojave Desert.
Trail Difficulty and Assessment
Start your next adventure on Phillips Canyon West
Upgrade your Membership
Unlock all of the details on every Trail Guide and Scout Route.
Start a 7-day Free Trial
Josh Noesser
Official Crew
Trail Navigation
Trail Reviews
Open
Visited: 11/26/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
Definitely need big tires and under armor!
Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 03/27/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
The trail can be hard to follow when in the red rock area. Once you get to the slot canyon (we ran this from waypoint 8 to 1) that is where the waterfalls begin. It is about as challenging as I would safely say a stock Tacoma could handle without sliders and rear quarter panel protection. I did barely drag the rear bumper, but luckily only scuffed the black plastic on the bumper. Capable stock, midsize SUVs (4-Runners and Grand Cherokees) can probably avoid the drama that a Tacoma or Gladiator at stock height deal with. I did not measure some of the drops, but due to our heavy rains, I am going to say that the waterfalls are larger than before our record rainy season here in Southern California.
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 03/22/2023
My old go-to, found some people that were on the trail that weren't ready. Helped them out and continues on my way.
Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 09/17/2022
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
A couple of good rocky hill climbs on this one. Not overly technical, but the bounciest trail that I encountered until we got to some of the red trails.
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 12/26/2021
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
We ran this trail just before sunset and it offered just enough of a challenge to keep it interesting. Our friend in his largely stock 60 Series Land Cruiser opted to stay behind while we ran up the trail and back in our two Wranglers.
From the Community
Start a free trial and get this level of detail on every trail
guide
Start Free Trial
Purchase
Company
Community
