Quartz Canyon - Hot Springs ORV Park

After you check in at Hot Springs Off Road Park's office and get your daily pass, access to Quartz Canyon (J18 on the park's trail map) is on the west side of Mill Creek Road directly across from the park's main entrance . To get to the trailhead of Quartz Canjon, start on H5 and follow it northwest. When you reach the end of H5 turn south on H42, it will lead you to the trailhead of Quartz Canyon. Over most of the trail there is a 15% grade on both descents and hill climbs, with a few minor off-camber sections but nothing of concern. 4-Low is recommended to slow your descents and not rely as heavily on braking.

Upon entering the trail, the next quarter of a mile is a 15 percent grade, 200-foot descent over smaller gravel, dirt, and rocks. Following that is another quarter-of-a-mile hill climb with the rocks increasing in girth from baseball to soccer ball size. In the middle of this climb is a downhill section close to a football field in length. Once reaching this overall peak, the next half mile of Quartz Canyon is a series of seven descents and climbs until you reach the lowest point in the trail at a water hole. Another series of eight hill climbs and descents lead you to the final climb, approximately a quarter of a mile in length and approaching a 20% grade in some areas, where you end up back where you started.