Knoxville Devilhead Road is the southern entrance into the Knoxville Recreation Area in Napa County, CA. If traveling in from Lake Berryessa, 30+ miles of the roughly paved, bumpy, narrow Berryessa Knoxville Road will make this soft dirt trailhead a welcome relief. This road offers access to other trails in the Knoxville recreation area including Hunting Creek Road, Cement Creek Road and Adams Ridge (currently closed for burn rehabilitation). The entire Knoxville Recreation Area spans from Napa County into Lake County, however this trail is contained within the Napa County borders. The network of trails in this area include scenic mountain views, lush forrest landscapes and multiple creek crossings.
Trail Difficulty and Assessment
Recommended Vehicle:
2WD Vehicle with High Clearance
Concerns:
Summary:
It's a dirt road the entire way.
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Mandatory
1 -
EASY
The hardest part of the trail that you
cannot bypass - you have to drive it.
Optional
1 -
EASY
The hardest part of the trail that is
purely optional - you can bypass it.
Dirt and/or rocky road. Potential rocks and/or tree stumps less than 5" tall and/or vertical ledges less than 5" tall and/or near vertical ledges or waterfalls less than 6" inches. Good tire placement likely. Can be steep, but with good traction.Read More about our Rating System
Knoxville Devilhead Road is an out & back trail in the Knoxville Recreation Area in Knoxville, CA. This is a wide fire-road that serves as a connector to numerous other trails in the Knoxville area. Knoxville Devilhead Road is 5.4 miles in length. It starts at Berryessa Knoxville Road and ends at a locked gate and fence line marking private property (Waypoint 6). This road is easy, however wet weather can create moderate sections due to deep, slippery mud. Beginners will be comfortable on the trail while advanced wheelers might only use it to access more technical trails.
The access road to this trail, Berryessa Knoxville Road, includes half a dozen creek crossings, south of the Devilhead intersection, which are prone to flooding during heavy rains.
1. Trailhead (0
mi)
Knoxville Devilhead Road begins at Berryessa Knoxville Road. A sign reading Knoxville Public Lands clearly marks the trailhead.
2. Hunting Creek Road Intersection (0.61
mi)
This intersection includes a wide open area and makes for a good spot to air down the tires.
A right turn here will take you on Hunting Creek Road. Continue to the left to stay on Knoxville Devilhead Road.
3. North Zim Zim Trail Intersection (1.82
mi)
Continue straight to stay on Knoxville Devilhead Road. A left turn up the hill will take you on the North Zim Zim trail toward the Zim Zim Water Falls.
4. Cement Creek Road Interesection (4.12
mi)
Continue to the left to stay on Knoxville Devilhead Road. A right turn will take you on Cement Creek Road.
5. Adams Ridge Road Intersection (4.69
mi)
This large intersection has plenty of room to stop for a break or play in the mud. Continue straight to stay on Knoxville Devilhead Road. A left turn will lead you to a locked gate on Adams Ridge Road, blocking access to a burn rehabilitation area.
6. Locked Gate - Trail End (5.36
mi)
This marks the end of the trail. Private property owners have blocked access beyond this point of Knoxville Devilhead Road. Turn around and head back the way you came and maybe, check out Cement Creek Road on the way back.
Dispersed
Designated
Camping is permitted anywhere you can find a spot in this area. If you are looking for improved campsites, you have a ways to go. Spanish Flats at Lake Berryessa has toilets and lake side camping, but you have a 30+mile drive on a roughly paved road between Lake Berryessa and this trail.
From Napa; Head north on CA-121 N/Silverado Trail.
Turn right onto CA-121 N and follow 121 N for 12.3 miles.
Turn left onto CA-128 W.
After 4.8 miles, turn right onto Berryessa Knoxville Road/Knoxville Road
Continue on Berryessa Knoxville Road/Knoxville Road for 32.3 miles.
Turn left onto Knoxville Devilhead Road.
From Lower Lake; Head east on Main St and continue onto Morgan Valley Road for 14 miles.
Continue onto Berryessa Knoxville Road/Knoxville Road for 3.8 miles.
Turn right onto Knoxville Devilhead Road.
Nice and easy mountain off road day trip. It’s through a bush forest so you have a gorgeous panoramic view of the mountains most of the way. This is a no challenge for any off road vehicle at this time but I can imagine it to be a lot more fun after a rainy day. I will definitely return this winter and have some fun spinning the wheels and slide side to side.
Super fun easy ride. Great way to kill the day. We went the most of the ride without seeing anyone. Super dry making it even easier. I wouldnt do it with my Jetta but my Touareg did it no problem. Some one set up a cool little ovstacle course across from the mud stadium which was worth a try as well
Perfect for a rainy winter day if you're bored! No challenge here (the only challenge is to put your vehicle in 4x4 - I forgot....)
Different landscape, non typical for the region, nice little dirt road, cool when wet and muddy!
Make the loop coming from lake county and then proceed to lake berryessa or the other way around, its nice out here, though you still see a lot of the fire damage. I forgot to put my jeep in 4WD but it was fun no matter what.
Easy trail for stock F150 FX4. Not a lot of space to turn around at the end of the trail. Would recommend taking Cement Creek Rd over this for better views and a little more challenging terrain.
We took a couple ZR2s, one Chevy Colorado and one Chevy Tracker, all over in Knoxville and had a great time. There are a lot of trails in this area. Not much for rock crawling, but fun for lesser built 4x4 rigs.
Drove our new F-150 out to this trail to test out its capabilities. No issues on this trail. Great conditions with what looks like recent grading work by the county.
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G. Martin
Mapping Crew - California
G. Martin, gm4x4 on Youtube , is a California native, born and raised in northern California and now living and wheeling in southern California. He enjoys exploring new trails and setting up camp in the remote outdoors.
You may come across him in the middle of the Mojave Desert, the mountains of Big Bear, in the central Sierras near Shaver Lake or any other dirty, rocky road in the southwest.
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