Beginner Off-Road Trails Near Lake Valley, 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,…
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

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.…
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,…
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…
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…
Learn more about RD 7020

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

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.…
Learn more about Johnson Canyon

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…
Learn more about Bloomfield SXS

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.…
Learn more about Crouch Mesa

Just north of Bloomfield, this route is primarily used by locals and oil and gas trucks to access oil sites or the trails that crisscross the area between NM 550. From Bloomfield, it's the access…
Learn more about Arizona Road/CR 4900 Extension

This trail is an unnamed oil road that cuts across BLM land and includes some spectacular views looking south towards Angel Peak and the badlands as well as looking north and northeast towards the Colorado…
Learn more about Arizona to Center Point Fire Station 2

This out and back trail leads to several panels of petroglyphs and a ruin that all require a short walk to view. Simple oilfield dirt roads lead you to the canyon entrance that will take…
Learn more about Largo Canyon to Crow Canyon

This is an easy, scenic trail that can be a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive or an all-day Saturday event. Several spurs and cut-throughs offer the opportunity for more challenging adventures. The trail winds along and…
Learn more about Slane Canyon

This easy route allows access to the incredible Crow Canyon Petroglyphs and Pueblito without having to drive across Largo Canyon. The Five-Mile Bridge crossing Largo Canyon was the main access until it washed out in…
Learn more about Crow Canyon Option

This route follows Largo Canyon winding through the rugged, geographically ornamental, historic canyon. The canyon has a long history of human habitation from pre-contact Puebloan settlements, Navajo settlements, and historic homesteads. The route is muddy…
Learn more about Middle Largo Canyon

This loop starts from an oil well access road and enters the desert terrain on a mid-width trail ideal for 60" SXSs, ATVs, and dirt bikes. Going counterclockwise from the south, it goes out onto…
Learn more about CMT East Loop

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 drops down from the Gould Pass Pueblito trail and loosely encircles Crow Canyon, with multiple spurs leading to the different points that overlook the canyon. This trail ends on the south side of…
Learn more about Crow Canyon Overlook/Road 550

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 mostly an oil well and natural gas line access road that is also used as a trail. It winds through a flat desert terrain, on primitive roads that have shallow ruts and overgrown…
Learn more about Bloomfield Pal Tour

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 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 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 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

The Cutter Dam Trail winds from Largo Canyon up through Cutter Canyon, leading to the Cutter Reservoir Dam and Picnic Area. Along the way, travelers will encounter deep ruts in some sections and stretches of…
Learn more about Cutter Dam