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…
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 is a ghost town in Mineral County about twenty eight miles southwest of Hawthorne, near the California border. Aurora is often mentioned as…
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 California is located within Death Valley National Park and Inyo County, California. The town arose out of silver discoveries in nearby Chloride Cliff…
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…
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…
Henry Wade Escape Route Monument located on Highway 127

Henry Wade Escape Route

The Henry Wade Escape Route is an easy 4x4 trail suitable for almost any vehicle and connects highway 127 to Badwater Road. The route is…

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…
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…

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.…

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…
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 and in fact all of the trails and mines located in the Ivanpah / Mountain Pass area represent exactly why I started…
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

Founded in 1907 when Bert Shively picked up a rock to throw at some stray burros and discovered gold, the Lost burro Mine is a…
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 Told 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…
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…
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 was famous in the first decade of the 20th century when gold had been found in Inyo County and the town established in…
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…
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 the Racetrack Playa Road off of the Bonnie Claire Road.  Discovered in 1906, the mine is…
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…

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…

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…