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Box Canyon
Newberry Springs,
California
(San Bernardino County)
Last Updated:
05/28/2023
Trail Information
Highlights
Box Canyon, in the Newberry Rodman Mountain BLM sub-region of the southern California Mojave Desert, is a hidden gem. Some even call it the "Grand Canyon Of The Rodmans" for its high vertical canyon walls. The walls were created by an ancient lava flow that cut through this region thousands of years ago.
Be aware that temperatures typically exceed 100-plus degrees in the summer months. However, the high canyon walls of Box Canyon can provide a cool safe haven of shade during the morning or late afternoon hours.
Federally protected desert tortoises are located in the Rodman Mountains Wilderness Area. Please stay on the designated trails and stay away from these protected tortoises
Trail Difficulty and Assessment
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G. Martin
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Trail Reviews
Open
Rated
3/5
Visited: 06/16/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Easier
Ran North to South. Mostly sand. Easy trail, but AWD/4WD is necessary for some sand on the South end. Can link up with the Silver Cliff and Silver Bell mines on the way back.
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 04/10/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Harder
Box Canyon is a great scenic trail and should definitely be visited if in the area. It is a very easy trail, but I think it’s more of a 2 than a 1 due to some fairly soft sand on the east end. Regardless of which direction you travel, on the east side at some point you’ll have to drive up sand that is deep enough you will want some clearance and preferably 4wd. This definitely makes it harder than say Camp Rock Road, which a Prius can easily drive. If you skip that section, coming in from the west end and turn around at the east mouth of the canyon rather than continuing through, I’d still say it’s a 2 due to rocks in the wash.
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 04/08/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Harder
We ran Box Canyon from south to north which is virtually down hill all the way. We drove through to Troy/Gas Line road and found the trail more difficult due to deep sand and some large rocks in the trail that required 4WD and high clearance. We camped overnight in the canyon and were greeted by bats as we set up camp just before sun set. Width is only a concern if you are avoiding desert pin striping.
Open
Visited: 03/18/2023
There might be a lot of confusion lately with the San Bernardino National Forest order ( No. 05-12-00-23-03 ) closing almost all forest trails in southern California. This trail is still open.
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