Beginner Off-Road Trails Near Gallup, New Mexico

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…
Learn more about Hole in the Wall at Malpais National Monument

The trail travels along the south and west boundaries of the El Malpais National Monument and surrounding BLM land. The trail begins in a wide-open plain with desert scrub largely used for cattle grazing before…
Learn more about Chain of Craters Backcountry Byway

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,…
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…
Learn more about Valley of Dreams East

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…
Learn more about Mt. Taylor Peak 4x4 Road

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.…
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.…
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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,…
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…
Learn more about Angel Peak Picnic and Campground

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…
Learn more about Kutz Canyon West

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…
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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…
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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…
Learn more about Angel Peak Loop

Sawtooth is located at the most western portion of the Datil Mountain range in Cibola National Forest and will be easily driven by most vehicles including passenger cars. The road is very well maintained with…
Learn more about Sawtooth FS6A

Lone Mountain is a spur that leads to the foothills of Lone Mountain and Castle Dome just to the west of the Sawtooth trail. The trail is primarily soft dirt and sand that will be…
Learn more about Lone Mountain FS312

This out-and-back trail runs through the central portion of the Datil Mountain Range and offers a little bit of everything from dirt and rocks to low-level washes that have the potential to be water crossings…
Learn more about Davenport Canyon FS6

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.…
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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…
Learn more about Choke Cherry ATV

This trail follows BLM 1103 from the floor of the Rio Puerco Valley up a steep, rocky section to the top of a mesa. The route travels between the Ignacio Chavez Wilderness Study Area, Chamisa…
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This 5-mile-long dirt bike trail is an easy singletrack flowing through a flat desert terrain of pinyon bushes, sagebrush, and lots of whoops. It dips into ravines and goes up and down small rolling dirt…
Learn more about Apple West Singletrack

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…
Learn more about Glade Run ATV

This area is a local Bloomfield favorite. The trail crisscrosses Crouch Mesa, with the northwest end starting in Flora Vista near Road 3100 and the northeast access point picking up a little off of 550.…
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This is a 1.6-mile-long easy ATV trail that is a mix of dirt trail and easy wash. The west end starts on an oil well road and heads east towards the wash on a dirt…
Learn more about Wash 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…
Learn more about Oilwell Road (Dirt Bike)

This is a mid-width trail ideal for 60" SXSs, ATVs, and dirt bikes that goes through a badlands-type desert terrain between Aztec and Bloomfield, New Mexico. It goes on a ridgeline on the soft clay…
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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…
Learn more about Coyote Cat ATV

This is an almost 4-mile-long wash loop that is designated for ATVs. The southeast entrance enters the North Twin Wash and heads west. It's a smooth and wide white sand wash, with rock walls to…
Learn more about North Twin Wash to Pickering Arroyo ATV

This is 1.6 miles of Jeep trail through a sand wash. It starts on oilwell roads on either end and stays in the wash the entire time. There's an off-camber entrance into the wash on…
Learn more about Casanova Mount Wash

This is a 4-mile-long ATV loop in the Glade Run Recreation Area. It mostly goes through washes, oilwell roads, and easy ridge lines. The washes are smooth and sandy, with lots of tracks to follow,…
Learn more about ATV Loop

This is an easy ATV trail in the Glade Run Recreation Area that winds between juniper trees in a high desert terrain. It's mostly dirt, with a bit of sand, with lots of whoops. It's…
Learn more about ATV Rim