California 4×4 Trails

California Desert Tortoise emerging from a hiding place...

Achy-Breaky

Achy-Breaky is a very difficult, trail which circumnavigates Watkins Peak in San Bernardino County, California. This trail is one of many on the Stoddard Wells…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Aguereberry Point Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Aguereberry Point Road is a roughly 6–6.5-mile unpaved side road off Emigrant Canyon Road (also called…
Looking down on the Alabama Hills and Owens Valley from Whitney Portal

Alabama Hills

Located near Lone Pine, CA the Alabama Hills are an awesome spot to visit and explore in Inyo County.  Large boulder formations erupt from the…
Aurora, NV Photograph by James L Rathbun

Aurora Nevada – Mineral County Ghost Town

Aurora, Nevada, was a prominent mining boomtown in Mineral County, founded in 1860 during the early silver and gold rushes of the American West. Known…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Badwater Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Badwater Road is the primary paved route running south through the heart of Death Valley National…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Butte Valley Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Butte Valley is a remote and captivating backcountry destination in the southwestern corner of Death Valley…
Camp Osito Road - 2N17 - Trailhead from Knickerbocker Road near Big Bear, California

Camp Osito Road – 2N17

Camp Osito Road is a back country 4x4 trail which connects Knickerbocker Road to Skyline Drive in Big Bear, California. The seldom travelled road is…
Cerro Gordo overlooking the then full Owens Lake.

Cerro Gordo California – Inyo County Ghost Town

Located in the Inyo Mountains on the eastern side of Owens Valley, Cerro Gordo California is a currently a ghost town after almost 100 years…
Crowells Mill under construction in Chloride City, CA about 1915

Chloride City California – Inyo County Ghost Town

Chloride City is a remote ghost town and historic mining site located in the Funeral Mountains on the eastern side of Death Valley National Park,…
Clarks Grade 1N54 Trail Head dropping down into Barton Flats from Skyline Drive.

Clarks Grade 1N54

Clarks Grade 1N54 Trail Head dropping down into Barton Flats from Skyline Drive. Clarks Grade 1N54 is a steep and scenic descent from the top…
Cleghorn located outside of Big Bear, CA

Cleghorn Ridge 2N47

Cleghorn located outside of Big Bear, CA Cleghorn Ridge is a 4x4 trail which leads from the I-15 at the Cleghorn exit to Silverlake State…
Dishpan Springs, Big Bear, CA

Dish Pan Springs 3N34

Also known as the Deep Creek Trail, Dish Pan Springs offers a short but hardcore trail in Big Bear. Dishpan springs trail contains large boulders…
Emigrant Canyon Road - Death Valley National Park

Emigrant Canyon Road

Emigrant Canyon Road is a scenic, paved mountain road in the western portion of Death Valley National Park, California. It provides the primary paved access…
William Lewis Manly (April 6, 1820 – February 5, 1903)

Fish Canyon Escape Trail

William Lewis Manly (April 6, 1820 – February 5, 1903) The Fish Canyon Escape Trail is a route discovered by William Manly as an escape…
The cabin at the Belleville California townsite is not original but moved to the location to represent the style of the structures of the town.

Gold Fever Off Road Trail

The Gold Fever Off Road Trail is a back country drive by some historical sites in Holcomb Valley, in the San Bernardino Mountains. The trail…

Gold Mountain 3N69

Gold Mountain Trail Head The Gold Mountain 3N69 Trail can be found in the San Bernardino National Forest near Big Bear Lake. The favored direction…
Barker Ranch - The building complex was heavily vegetated with trees, with a sparsely planted understory. Note the Manson bus in the left hand side of the image. View northwest, 1969 (DEVA collection). - NPS

Goler Wash and Mengel Pass

Goler Wash and Mengel Pass over a route into Butte Valley from Panamint Valley. Although not technically in Death Valley, this trail is consider part…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Greenwater Valley Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads The Furnace Creek Wash Road, also commonly known as Greenwater Valley Road on official National Park…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Hanaupah Canyon Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Hanaupah Canyon Road, situated in the southern Panamint Range within Death Valley National Park, is a…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Harry Wade Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Harry Wade Road is a remote dirt through-route that crosses the far southern end of Death…
Henry Wade Escape Route Monument located on Highway 127

Harry Wade Escape Route

The Harry Wade Escape Route (officially Harry Wade Road, California Historical Landmark No. 622) is a historic dirt road that crosses the remote southern end…
Holcomb Valley, San Bernardino Mountains, CA

Holcomb Valley Road 3N14

Holcomb Valley Road 3N14 takes you through scenic Holcomb Valley Holcomb Valley Road 3N14, is a main artery in the road system above and behind…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Hummingbird Spring Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Hummingbird Spring Road (access spur off the Wildrose/Mahogany Flat Road) in the Panamint Mountains of Death…
The Lost Burrow Mine is located off Hunter Mountain Road in Death Valley National Park, CA

Hunter Mountain Road

Hunter Mountain Road is a lightly used moderately difficult road which delivers you to one of the most remote and beautiful parts of Death Valley…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Ibex Dunes Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Ibex Dunes is a remote, relatively little-visited sand dune field in the far southeastern corner of…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Ibex Spring Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Ibex Spring Road is a remote unpaved backcountry route in the far southeastern corner of Death…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Indian Ranch Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Indian Ranch Road is a scenic, graded dirt road located in the Panamint Valley within the…

Jacoby Canyon 3N61

Jacoby Canyon 3N61 Trail head Jacoby Canyon 3N61 is a trail which can be found in the San Bernardino National Forest near Big Bear Lake.…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Jail Canyon Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Jail Canyon Road is a rugged, scenic 4WD trail in the western Panamint Mountains, branching east…

John Bull Trail 3N10

The John Bull Trail 3N10 has the solid reputation as one of the toughest and most challenging trails in the Big Bear mountains of San Bernardino…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Johnson Canyon Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Johnson Canyon Road, located in the southern Panamint Range of Death Valley National Park, is a…
Big Bear Lake viewed from Knickerbocker Road.

Knickerbocker Road – 2N08

Knickerbocker Road - 2N08 is a steep and beautiful drive from near the town of Big Bear, California to Skyline Drive. The route is a…
These mine cart rails are a little small to pull the amount of gold claimed to be here.

Kokoweef Mine

The Kokoweef Mine (more accurately known as the legendary caverns or lost river of gold beneath Kokoweef Peak) is not a conventional operating mine but…
Lippencott Mine Road from Racetrack Valley, Death Valley National Park, CA

Lippincott Mine Road

The Lippincott Mine Road is a one way trail from Death Valley's Racetrack Playa to Saline Valley. It is a steep trail which is not…
The cabin found at the Lost Burrow Mine is in good shape.

Lost Burro Mine

The Lost Burro Mine is one of the best-preserved historic gold mining sites in Death Valley National Park, California. Located in a remote draw at…
Mill site from the middle section of Masonic, California. Photograph by James L Rathbun

Masonic California – Mono County Ghost Town

Originally known as Lorena, Masonic California is a ghost town located in the mountains north east of Bridgeport, California.  Masonic was founded in 1860 by…
A horizontal shaft in the Ivanpah Mountains.

Morning Star Mine

Located in the Ivanpah Mountains, the Morning Star Mine is a gold / silver mine located near to California / Nevada border near Mountain Pass.…
Government Holes in the central section of the Old Mojave Road.

Old Mojave Road

The Old Mojave Road (Government Road) is an east-west route that enters the Mojave National Preserve off the highway 95 in Nevada, and Afton Canyon…
The Old Spanish Trail BLM Sign

Old Spanish Trail

The Old Spanish Trail was a historic trade route that linked Santa Fe, New Mexico to Los Angeles, California. The trail was established in the…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Owl Hole Spring Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Owl Hole Spring Road (also called Owl Springs Road or Owls Hole Springs Road) is one…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Pleasant Canyon

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads The Panamint Mountains, forming the western boundary of Death Valley National Park in California, offer some…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Queen of Sheba Mine Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Queen of Sheba Mine Road, located in the southern part of Death Valley National Park near…
The Racing stones.

Racetrack Valley

TeaKettle Junction lets you know you are starting to get close to the Racetrack. Racetrack valley is a rough graded road which departs the Ubehebe…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Saratoga Spring Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Saratoga Spring Road is a graded dirt backcountry route that leads into the remote southern tip…
Silver Star Mine Cabin - Photo by James L Rathbun

Silver Star Mine

The Silver Star Mine is a small mine site located off of the Zinc Mountain Road in San Bernardino County, California.
Skidoo, CA 1907

Skidoo California – Inyo County Ghost Town

Skidoo, California, once a bustling gold mining town in the early 20th century, now stands as a ghost town within Death Valley National Park. Located…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Skidoo Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Skidoo Road (also called Skidoo Trail) is an approximately 7–9 mile one-way (roughly 8 miles by…
Skyline Drive 2N10 offers higher elevation views of Big Bear, California

Skyline Drive 2N10

Skyline Drive 2N10 offers higher elevation views of Big Bear, California Skyline Drive 2N10 is the unofficial name for USFS Road 2N10 that begins just…

Snow Slide Trail 2N13

Snow Slide Trail (2N13) connects Green Valley Lake to Fawnskin, in San Bernardino, California. The Green Valley Lake trail head is located by the campground…

Sugarpine Mountain 2N49

Sugarpine Mountain trail is moderately difficult and starts at the edge of San Bernardino and finishes in the Silverlake State Park.  The trail is designated…
Titus Canyon, a narrow canyon drive in Death Valley National Park, CA

Titus Canyon

Titus Canyon has it all, rugged mountains, colorful rock formations, a small ghost town, mines, petroglyphs, wildlife, rare plants and spectacular canyon narrows as a…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Trail Canyon Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Trail Canyon, located in the southern part of Death Valley National Park, is not one of…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Tucki Mine Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Tucki Mine Road is a roughly 10-mile (one-way) unmaintained 4x4 backcountry road in Death Valley National…
Ubehebe Mine with tramway visible at the top of the hill, Death Valley, CA

Ubehebe Lead Mine

The Ubehebe Lead Mine is located just west of theRacetrack Playa Road off of the Bonnie Claire Road.  Discovered in 1906, the mine is located…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Warm Springs Canyon Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Warm Springs Canyon Road is a rugged, scenic backcountry route in the Panamint Range of Death…
Looking down at the Lippencott Mine Road from the Lippencott Mine, with Saline Valley in the distance.

Warm Springs Road

A short side trip from the Saline Valley Road to the Saline Valley Warm Springs in Death Valley National Park, California. The road is used…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

West Side Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads West Side Road is a prominent backcountry route in Death Valley National Park, running parallel to…

White Mountain Road

Locathed in Inyo County, the White Mountain Road is a high altitude road that travels north from Highway 168 out of Big Pine and into…
White Top Mountain Road view from the Lost Burrow Mine Road, Death Valley, CA

White Top Mountain

White Top Mountain road is located off of Hunter Mountain Road, in Death Valley National Park, California. A hilly and mountainous road connecting the Hidden…
Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads

Wildrose Canyon Road

Death Valley National Park 4x4 and Back Country Roads Wildrose Road (also called Wildrose Canyon Road or Upper/Lower Wildrose segments) in the Panamint Mountains of…

Willow Creek Road 3N34

Willow Creek road is an easy gentle ride located near Big Bear, California. The easy trail runs from Hooks Creek Road to Highway 173 and…