Beginner Off-Road Trails
Near Brimhall Nizhoni, New Mexico

Relatively easy trail to one of the more remote ruins of the Chaco Canyon culture. The trail was rutted and uneven, and the last few hundred yards had significant mud due to recent rains. Otherwise, the trail to the ruins was relatively easy, with incredible views of the high desert and Chaco Canyon...
Learn more about Chaco Canyon to Kin Klizhin

This is a point-to-point route that takes you from Road 550 in Nageezi to the Valley of Dreams trailhead/parking lot. The first quarter to half mile or so is paved but quickly turns to a graded dirt road which gets increasingly less groomed the closer you get to the trailhead. Rutted and rough in pl...
Learn more about Valley of Dreams East

Off of Da-Na-Zin Road, this short spur trail takes you to an overlook right on the edge of the Bisti badlands. There is a closed gate at the entrance that should be closed behind you. This short two-track trail has a few washouts but can be done in any typical 4WD SUV or truck. The trail is tight, s...
Learn more about Bisti Badlands Overlook

This double-track trail takes you through cattle grazing farmland and ends at an overlook. Cows can be seen near the trail. There is nowhere to camp or turn around until the end of the trail. The trail is smooth and can be done in 2WD under good conditions. The overlook is a great place to camp, rig...
Learn more about Chaco Overlook

This trail is a mixed-use oil and ranching road that runs between Route 550 and Road 7007. It offers relatively rapid access to the trails that zig-zag between Angel's Edge and Largo Canyon. From 550, the trail starts as a clay-based, deeply rutted road that cuts across the open, high desert grassl...
Learn more about Jacquez Canyon Road

The route is relatively easy except for washboarding and ruts in spots. It takes you to breathtaking views of rock formations, including Castle Rock and Angel Peak. Picnic tables overlook the amazing canyons. The campground can accommodate single-vehicle campers and small trailers. There are several...
Learn more about Angel Peak Picnic and Campground

This 4x4 road is a great intro to overlanding, with stunning views and minimal technical obstacles. Starting from Grants, the road climbs almost 5000 feet to within 1/2 mile of Mt. Taylor peak. The road starts off as graded gravel, giving way to a more primitive dirt road, which is easily passable i...
Learn more about Mt. Taylor Peak 4x4 Road

While this trail is not technically challenging there are a lot of terrain changes over it's 7.5-mile length. The west end of the trail starts with dirt, packed clay, and sand in a fairly open setting before climbing up over some bare sandstone with some minor ledges to drop down through surrounding...
Learn more about Kutz Canyon East

CR 7020 is a 7-mile off-road trail and oil access road that serves as the easiest and most direct route from Highway 550 to the Angel Peak Loop and Kutz Canyon. The trail combines sections of deep sand and packed dirt, providing a generally smooth drive under dry conditions. However, its accessibili...
Learn more about RD 7020

This easy route takes you from Highway 550 on CR 378 through Johnson Canyon to Largo Canyon. The sandy, rutted trail travels around incredible rock formations with black, yellow, and red layers of sedimentary rock. Wind and water erosion has created intriguing shapes with the harder rocks on top of ...
Learn more about Johnson Canyon

This oil road starts out wide and sandy but gradually becomes increasingly narrow as it winds its way deeper into the canyon. There are some ledges when entering and exiting washes, but this is a fairly easy trail for anyone with a high-clearance vehicle. Look out for narrow, deeply eroded cuts acro...
Learn more about Kutz Canyon West

Starting in the high desert immediately adjacent to a canal, the loop utilizes BLM oil roads to dip down into the badlands surrounding Angel Peak. Zig-zagging across the sandy washes that weave through the bottom of Kutz Canyon, the loop encircles Angel Peak for an all-angles view of the peak and fo...
Learn more about Angel Peak Loop

This excellent day trip starts on the western edge of Malpais National Monument, drives by the Big Tubes cave system and then crosses an easy introduction to driving over rock before accessing the "Hole in the Wall" in back country of Malpais Wilderness. Malpais consists of a series of large lava fi...
Learn more about Hole in the Wall at Malpais National Monument

The northern half of this loop goes through a wide white sand wash, with big sweeping curves through the open desert. It's lined with bushes and pinyon trees and is smooth with no obstacles. Shortly after a powerline, the wash splits, and this trail goes southeast into another almost similar wash th...
Learn more about Choke Cherry ATV

This is an easy desert ATV trail through the Glade Run Recreation Area. It's a mix of hardpacked dirt and slickrock with 1-foot ramped rock ledges and uneven layers of slickrock. It goes between cool rock formations and big juniper trees, making quick curves through the trees. It's a fun and fast tr...
Learn more about Glade Run ATV

This 3.3-mile-long easy ATV trail leaves from a main dirt road on the south end and climbs up a loose dirt hill, then winds up and over the small rolling desert hills and into the washes. It's marked with trail signs to help follow the route. A lot of it is easy sandy washes, but it also has some lo...
Learn more about Coyote Cat ATV

This trail is designated for dirt bikes but is actually a road-width trail that accesses the oil wells. It's flat and straight, with essentially no features except a few small ruts. It's a bit sandy and loose but stays very easy the entire time. There are still signs indicating that it is limited to...
Learn more about Oilwell Road (Dirt Bike)

This is a point-to-point route that takes you from Road 550 in Nageezi to the Valley of Dreams trailhead/parking lot. The first quarter to half mile or so is paved but quickly turns to a graded dirt road which gets increasingly less groomed the closer you get to the trailhead. Rutted and rough in pl...
Learn more about Valley of Dreams East

This double-track trail takes you through cattle grazing farmland and ends at an overlook. Cows can be seen near the trail. There is nowhere to camp or turn around until the end of the trail. The trail is smooth and can be done in 2WD under good conditions. The overlook is a great place to camp, rig...
Learn more about Chaco Overlook

This trail is a mixed-use oil and ranching road that runs between Route 550 and Road 7007. It offers relatively rapid access to the trails that zig-zag between Angel's Edge and Largo Canyon. From 550, the trail starts as a clay-based, deeply rutted road that cuts across the open, high desert grassl...
Learn more about Jacquez Canyon Road

The route is relatively easy except for washboarding and ruts in spots. It takes you to breathtaking views of rock formations, including Castle Rock and Angel Peak. Picnic tables overlook the amazing canyons. The campground can accommodate single-vehicle campers and small trailers. There are several...
Learn more about Angel Peak Picnic and Campground

This is a point-to-point route that takes you from Road 550 in Nageezi to the Valley of Dreams trailhead/parking lot. The first quarter to half mile or so is paved but quickly turns to a graded dirt road which gets increasingly less groomed the closer you get to the trailhead. Rutted and rough in pl...
Learn more about Valley of Dreams East

Off of Da-Na-Zin Road, this short spur trail takes you to an overlook right on the edge of the Bisti badlands. There is a closed gate at the entrance that should be closed behind you. This short two-track trail has a few washouts but can be done in any typical 4WD SUV or truck. The trail is tight, s...
Learn more about Bisti Badlands Overlook

This double-track trail takes you through cattle grazing farmland and ends at an overlook. Cows can be seen near the trail. There is nowhere to camp or turn around until the end of the trail. The trail is smooth and can be done in 2WD under good conditions. The overlook is a great place to camp, rig...
Learn more about Chaco Overlook

This trail is a mixed-use oil and ranching road that runs between Route 550 and Road 7007. It offers relatively rapid access to the trails that zig-zag between Angel's Edge and Largo Canyon. From 550, the trail starts as a clay-based, deeply rutted road that cuts across the open, high desert grassl...
Learn more about Jacquez Canyon Road