Sandstone Canyon

Such a fun venture down sandstone! Narrow high walls. Scenic formations and a fun time driving this path! A MUST if you’re in the area!

I took my 2019 Ford Ranger, plus some buddies with their 2020 Toyota 4Runner Sport (bone stock), 2020 Ford Ranger Tremor (bone stock), and 2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (not stock) out an back. The narrow spots were fun for the newbies and the canyon walls are worth stopping to admire. Good shady spots to take a break. Nice trail, pretty easy.

Still a great trail, even with the closure. No deep sand on 10/9/21, very little traffic, and a great spot to get into the shade.

This trail is beautiful! Highly suggest running it without the top if not fully nude. The canyon walls begin to close in and makes you feel like Indiana Jones! Unfortunately couldn't get to the good stuff because of the closure but it was still worth it! Highest rating now would probably be a 3 just because of the deep sand you will encounter on the trail. Definitely worth the visit if you're in the area. Didn't get to get out and take too many pics cause it was busy. Lots of traffic in and out of the canyon along with campers too.

Sadly it was closed where it becomes difficult but the drive was still amazing and is an awesome experience. It’s not a long drive so if you’re already in fish creek it’s definitely worth the time.

This is another trail closed report, however it might not be permanent. I went out to Sandstone Canyon after I found out about the closure online. I hiked the canyon from the closure signs to the Wilderness Border way up canyon. There were old vehicle tracks going into the Wilderness. This was partially why it was closed. It is also reported that some one had gone into the wilderness all the way to the saddle between Sandstone Canyon and June wash, then drove in an anchor and winched into June wash over the saddle. This is the main reason the canyon was closed. I saw no signs at the Wilderness border warning users they were crossing into Wilderness. I called CORVA, and San Diego Off-road Coalition. to let them know and ask for advice. I have also been in contact with Ray Lennox, the Superintendent for the desert district in charge of Anza Borrego. I am working to reach a compromise with the State Parks system. If you want this canyon back open, at least some of it, support CORVA, and the SDORC. Call and Email Ray Lennox, and ask him to re open the canyon at least a reasonable distance and give users back some of the trail before the Wilderness boundary. Most importantly we as off-roaders, need to not let this happen, we are often our own worst enemies, and one of us doing the wrong thing can get a lot of land access taken away. In fact, who ever created this trail log for the website crossed into Wilderness by looking at waypoint 15. the color change from light green to a darker green on the map is the Wilderness boundary. We as off-roaders, need to be better than this if we want to keep access to our beloved trails.

Sad to say that this trail has been closed to Vehicle Traffic starting at Waypoint 7! Camped a bit to the front of the canyon and jogged in. There’s a sweet Canyon Slot Hike which does not show up in these waypoints provided. Followed it in and it goes on for miles!! It’s a little further ahead of waypoint 7 and I’m curious to where it ends. Definitely get GPS when venturing in. Sad to see this closed. I still think it it’s worth it to visit this beautiful canyon! Just no rock crawling anymore :(

Ran the trail, feel it might be at the easiest it has been in a long time in the lower half. The middle landslide is getting really easy too. But be warned, someone dug out the backside of it so with the sand it is easy to slide into a rock and hit your door.

Great views on this trail that wows at every turn. We made it through waypoint 7 and the waterfall, but decided to turn around at waypoint 10 as the 100 series was just slightly too big to be comfortable. Got a couple of scrapes and bumps going back down 7 as noted. There were several other big groups meandering the canyon, but nothing past 7, so it was indeed a gatekeeper. Good mix of trail exploration and rock crawling. Great times, sliders definitely recommended if going through 7.

Sandstone Canyon seems to have changed quite a bit from the pictures posted on way points 3, 4, 7, 9, 11, 14. Way point 9 seems to have changed the most from the picture. Still difficult, but much easier than what the pictures show. A few technical spots that may require a spotter especially if you have a wider vehicle. Definitely recommend this trail for an adventure and beauty.

Was an amazing day running Sandstone Canyon, excellent weather and a great group of people. We were able to do all the obstacles, all the way to the end of the canyon, vary beautiful and scenic location.

Rolled into the canyon about 8 pm looking for campsite. Drove about 1/3 way in but turned around because the camping seemed better at start because the canyon was wider. There was only one other guy in canyon doing the same. The walls were high and well shielded from wind. I chose area that I scrambled up in the morning. The views from above were amazing.

Ran the trail well into the rock crawling part. The trail is clear but the obstacles at 10 and 11 are back. This will be a problem for anyone that has no lift. Also, long wheelbase will struggle through this spot. On a fun note, I was able to push through the wash at the large waterfall. Based on what I saw, I believe I might have been the first person to do that since the landslide. #FalkenTires #JeepAdventures #Raceline

The “new” gatekeeper at waypoint 4 seems to have been washed out or worn down because we made it to the main gatekeeper without having to traverse it. Then the waterfall is much more challenging now because the rains have washed away the sand at the foot of the ledge, exposing more rocks and making it a taller climb. Finally, the group of 9 vehicles that were in front if us turned around not far past the waterfall because there was a large boulder blocking the trail now. We were unable to confirm this as we were forced to turn around at the top of the waterfall before the other large group.

The first obstacle (waypoint 4) seems to have been run down or washed out because we made it to the main gatekeeper without realizing we’d gone through it. The V-notch is completely filled in with sand, so it not even an obstacle now. But, the waterfall is much gnarlier as the rains seem to have washed out a lot of the sand leading up to the ledge, exposing more rocks just before it. There is still an easy bypass to the right side. The last thing of note is we were told by a group of 9 vehicles who were running the trail ahead of us that there is now a large boulder blocking the trail not too far past the waterfall. We weren’t able to confirm this as we were forced to turn around because of the big group.

Great trail sliders are a must have if you are bigger than a 4runner or inexperienced. My 100 series land cruiser came very close to rubbing.

Great trail, had a ton of fun. A new landslide made for interesting times as one of our vehicles in our group just couldn't do it. But overall, still my favorite in the area by far.

What a trail! It was quite the change from driving though most of the other trails and washes in the area. This was essentially the first rock crawling experience I've had, but with good spotting and taking it nice and slow, our two 3rd gen 4Runners (2"+ lift, 33" tires, rear locker) were able to make it through the gatekeeper both ways. It was pretty hairy coming back down with no bumpers or sliders, but both trucks made it though with the only casualty being a rear fender that popped half-way off from tire rub. We saw a 100-series Land Cruiser go through and his added width and wheelbase meant he didn't make it through unscathed. He had to make use of his front steel bumper and his rock sliders weren't able to protect his rear passenger door from contact with a boulder. It took 20-30 minutes to get him back through. That being said, know your vehicle and it's limits, but if you're up for a challenge and aren't afraid of a few scratches and dings it's a fun challenge.

What a beautiful place! We went out in a two 4Runners with no lifts and stock-size tires. Made it through waypoint #4 above easily, but did not attempt waypoint #5. We walked the canyon up to the "Big Rock Slide" (waypoint #6). Only really hardcore rigs are going to make waypoint #6, but by our judgment stock rigs are also not going to make waypoint #5. We chose not to try it. Maybe if you spent some time with shovels filling in areas, building up ground, and/or brought a lot of Maxtrax=type devices you could make waypoint #5 in an unlifted vehicle without damaging your rig, but without that, you're definitely doing damage without a lift--as it currently sits.

Love this place... It has it all, both scenery and the wheeling. This was also the second trail I got to really test out my new Falkens M/T's on. Boy, did they work great. I crawled a 4 foot ledge in the back of the canyon and didn't even slip a tire while the others in the group struggled. Because of my new found confidence we pushed way further back into the canyon... I am thinking we might find an out pretty soon.

Wow, what a great trip. We went out with a group of friends and also did a update run all together. There was a giant flash flood sometime either in late Sept or Oct that caused some major changes to the trail. Overall I would say the trail is a lot easier. But you can now get farther back into the canyon then before. Some of the obstacles changed including the gate keeper that is no longer there and the v-notch now has filled in with sand. The major land slide has been covered with sand making it easier, but now there is two more land slides, a deep v notch that requires to drive deep on your side, and a large rock in the middle of the trail that requires you to straddle a big hole... Stay tuned for a rewrite on this trail. Attached is the video from March 2017

Sandstone Canyon changed dramatically from early June 2017 to November 2017. One or more flash floods in September/October has completely erased the first rock slide, also known as the gatekeeper. The overhanging rock from the canyon wall and a few remaining tire marks are the only things left to identify where it once was. The large boulders that blocked the trail before have moved fifty or more feet due to the flooding. On the way into the canyon we completely passed them, not realizing that they had moved. It wasn't until exiting the trail that we saw what had happened to this once memorable obstacle. That being said, other rockfalls and shifting sand has created some new challenges further into the canyon. A large new rockfall blocking the main path, around a quarter of a mile deeper, marks a new gatekeeper and forces you to take a previously existing up and over on the left that is rocky and moderate, but can be traversed by a high clearance 4x4 with small lift. The second Rock Slide at Waypoint 3 still exists and is mostly unchanged, however much of the sand filling gaps between boulders has washed away, slightly raising the difficulty of this obstacle. After the Waterfall at Waypoint 4, two new challenges have presented themselves. First, much of the sand floor after the waterfall has washed away, possibly up to a foot depth. This now creates a very technical and off-camber section where you must balance between riding up on a smooth slanted wall while leaning into the opposite wall. Inches now make the difference between success and fender scrapes. Not far after, a new boulder creates an interesting challenge where you have to ride an edge with your sidewall to avoid getting your differential caught on the lip of this new boulder. We stopped at Waypoint 5 and turned around like most do, yet have plans to attempt to explore further back in the near future.

Full video of the trail