Beginner Off-Road Trails
Near Las Palomas, New Mexico

This trail picks up right off of the Paloma Gap trail and veers off and follows the river. The overall trail is very scenic but exercise caution. When rain is present the levels of the washouts and the river rise rapidly so make sure to check the weather prior to taking the trail. The trail overall ...
Learn more about Rio Grande Trail

Penasco Springs is a wonderful desert experience that takes you down into the canyons at the base of the mountains and through some fun terrain that most 4x4 vehicles will handle. Starting out, the road is overall well maintained and gradually becomes more rocky before cutting through a dry river be...
Learn more about Penasco Springs

Burma Road-Garcia Falls begins on a decently maintained dirt and rock road that is wide enough for two vehicles for the first several miles and will be easily traveled with most high-clearance AWD and 4x4 vehicles. There are a few low-lying washes throughout the trail that will have the potential to...
Learn more about Burma Road-Garcia Falls

Springtime is one of the longer forest trails in the area and provides diverse exploration, areas for dispersed camping, designated campsites, and hiking trails. Springtime connects from Highway 1 at the east and runs through the base of Vicks Peak southward where it connects with FSR-139/Red Rock. ...
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Holdup Spur is a short end-to-end trail that is intersected at its midway point by FSR-377/Burma Road-Garcia Falls and gives anyone exploring more ground to cover, as well as additional dispersed camping. The surface is primarily a combination of dirt and rocks but is tame enough for most AWD vehicl...
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Seven HL Ridge is the furthest northeast trail that takes you just inside the foothills of the Black Range Mountains in the Gila National Forest. The entry point of this trail is clearly indicated and appears to have been moved due to heavy erosion in the area. The surface is comprised primarily of ...
Learn more about Seven HL Ridge 4053N

Antelope Tank is an extremely well-maintained road and will be a pleasant exploring experience for most high-clearance 2WD and AWD vehicles. While some sections of rocks interrupt the dirt surface, there are no large obstacles and only a couple of small low-grade climbs. Views are wide open for a ma...
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This is a two-mile-long ATV trail accessed off of FS Road 4079R. It makes a quick and easy loop with #966. The trail is mostly flat, with very little elevation gain. It weaves on top of a flat mesa top, between pinyon trees, on a wide trail along a fence line. It parallels #966 on the other side of ...
Learn more about 965

This is a 1.7-mile-long ATV trail through the Gila National Forest that makes a short loop with trail #965. The trail is mostly flat, with very little elevation gain, and is very similar to trail #965. It weaves between juniper trees on a flat mesa top. The trail is wide and silty, following along a...
Learn more about 966

This narrow two-track is an out-and-back that dead-ends at private property, more specifically, Frank's Ranch. The surface is a combination of rocks and dirt, with some rocks being around 8 inches in size, but no large obstacles. However, there are several steep grades along the trail, with some bei...
Learn more about Frank's Ranch Road

Just under half a mile long, this is a short and lightly trafficked spur to explore while riding the longer ATV Trail #968. It departs from #968 at the trail sign, and gradually descends towards its eastern point. The trail is more overgrown with grass, which obscures some of the loose rocks underne...
Learn more about 969

Just under a mile long, this short and easy ATV trail descends off of North Star Road on a semi-rocky path, overgrown with grass. It’s mostly a gradual two-track, with a few steeper spots that are covered in softball-sized rocks that make it more interesting. It rides through grassy fields of junipe...
Learn more about 975

ATV Trail #970 is a short spur off of Trail #968. It is 0.8 miles long, and the route is mostly gradual and on smooth dirt, curving between juniper trees on a flat hilltop through grassy fields. The trail is unmarked where it starts on #968, but follows a fence line, and is well-tracked, so it will ...
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Just over half a mile long, ATV Trail #971 is a short spur off of ATV Trail #968 that rides across a flat hilltop and through grassy fields of juniper trees. It is a very minor and gradual descent from Trail 968, but mostly flat. The trail is smooth dirt lined with tall grass, with very minimal rock...
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A scenic but straightforward out and back leads to some dispersed camping options in the Chloride Canyon area. Not a challenging trail by any means, the trail crosses Chloride Canyon from Silver Monument and follows a fence leading into some open areas and rock formations. If you explore the Chlorid...
Learn more about 4073W

Powderhorn Ridge begins in a short section of private land tracks before meeting the Gila National Forest boundary that is designated via a large sign and a water crossing that cuts through the Mimbres River. The trail shows recent signs of being maintained as of 04/2024 and is primarily a dirt surf...
Learn more about Powderhorn Ridge

This easy, well-maintained trail begins off of Highway 59 and connects to the Chloride Canyon trail. This trail appeared to see a fair amount of traffic. There are no technical sections on this trail, but it does connect to other trails in the area that offer some degree of difficulty. Dispersed cam...
Learn more about Silver Monument

Easily accessed from highway 52, this simple trail leads into the Cibola National Forest ending with a view of Mt. Welty. This trail passes private property, please be respectful. The end of this trail offers access to other routes to continue your adventure. Sloping canyon walls, grazing cattle and...
Learn more about West Red Canyon

ATV Trail #974 is short and easy, only 0.6 miles long. This is a good starting point to access the few trails in this part of the Gila National Forest. You can park at the horse pasture and easily access this trail after a cattle gate. The route is mostly gradual, with minimal rock and a few shallow...
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North Star - Sapillo to Chloride Canyon has a long history in New Mexico dating back to the 1800s. The road itself is overall well-maintained except for some washboarding along the route. While there are no major obstacles along the route, there are several steeper grades and sections in the lower c...
Learn more about North Star - Sapillo to Chloride Canyon

This trail picks up right off of the Paloma Gap trail and veers off and follows the river. The overall trail is very scenic but exercise caution. When rain is present the levels of the washouts and the river rise rapidly so make sure to check the weather prior to taking the trail. The trail overall ...
Learn more about Rio Grande Trail

Penasco Springs is a wonderful desert experience that takes you down into the canyons at the base of the mountains and through some fun terrain that most 4x4 vehicles will handle. Starting out, the road is overall well maintained and gradually becomes more rocky before cutting through a dry river be...
Learn more about Penasco Springs

Burma Road-Garcia Falls begins on a decently maintained dirt and rock road that is wide enough for two vehicles for the first several miles and will be easily traveled with most high-clearance AWD and 4x4 vehicles. There are a few low-lying washes throughout the trail that will have the potential to...
Learn more about Burma Road-Garcia Falls

Springtime is one of the longer forest trails in the area and provides diverse exploration, areas for dispersed camping, designated campsites, and hiking trails. Springtime connects from Highway 1 at the east and runs through the base of Vicks Peak southward where it connects with FSR-139/Red Rock. ...
Learn more about Springtime

This trail picks up right off of the Paloma Gap trail and veers off and follows the river. The overall trail is very scenic but exercise caution. When rain is present the levels of the washouts and the river rise rapidly so make sure to check the weather prior to taking the trail. The trail overall ...
Learn more about Rio Grande Trail

Penasco Springs is a wonderful desert experience that takes you down into the canyons at the base of the mountains and through some fun terrain that most 4x4 vehicles will handle. Starting out, the road is overall well maintained and gradually becomes more rocky before cutting through a dry river be...
Learn more about Penasco Springs

Burma Road-Garcia Falls begins on a decently maintained dirt and rock road that is wide enough for two vehicles for the first several miles and will be easily traveled with most high-clearance AWD and 4x4 vehicles. There are a few low-lying washes throughout the trail that will have the potential to...
Learn more about Burma Road-Garcia Falls

Springtime is one of the longer forest trails in the area and provides diverse exploration, areas for dispersed camping, designated campsites, and hiking trails. Springtime connects from Highway 1 at the east and runs through the base of Vicks Peak southward where it connects with FSR-139/Red Rock. ...
Learn more about Springtime