Beginner Off-Road Trails
Near White Mesa, Utah

This trail leads to Recapture Pocket, a scenic collection of hoodoos and cliffs. The trail north of Recapture Pocket is a very lightly used oil field access network, with rocky and sandy sections. Some of the more remote sections include rock ledges, sand dunes, and other challenges. A stock 4x4 or ...
Learn more about Recapture Pocket

Trail 1 is a 1.3-mile loop off of South Elks Road. It's a narrower Jeep trail on hardpack dirt, between small bushes and pinyon pine on a gravelly surface. It joins up with a wider Jeep road as it makes a loop. The surface of the trail is mostly dirt, but it has some embedded slab rock, one section ...
Learn more about Trail 1

This trail starts at Highway 95 through a fence. It's a faint trail in the beginning, going through pinyon pines and sagebrush. It's elevated above Butler Wash as it parallels the wash after leaving the highway, and steadily climbs up to the top of the mesa. It continues along the top of the mesa wi...
Learn more about Fence Trail

Trail 2 is a rutted, narrow Jeep trail near Blanding, Utah, that goes between pinyon pines and sagebrush with views toward the Abajo Mountains. It's a fun trail to explore in the fall and spring when it's not too hot or cold while connecting to many of the other trails in the area. This is a good pl...
Learn more about Trail 2

County Road 240 is a 9-mile-long full-width graded dirt road. It's smooth, hard-packed dirt, with nice views of all the surrounding green hills and mesas and pink sandstone layers. It's really scenic in a landscape with contrasting pink and green colors. The east end starts off of South Elks Road. I...
Learn more about 240

This 3.4-mile 4x4 route starts on County Road 240 and goes south until it dead-ends at a cliff over Butler Wash. The cliff comes up suddenly, so don't go too fast at the end of the trail. This trail is less trafficked and more faint through soft dirt. It has lots of dips into ravines and washes with...
Learn more about Butler Wash

This is a narrower Jeep trail on dirt, through sagebrush and pinyon pine in the Cheese and Raisins Hills. The trail is less trafficked, with ruts and washouts on the side of the trail to watch out for. It has some slab rock and a couple of steeper loose downhills that are full of loose rocks, making...
Learn more about Cheese and Raisins

Recapture Rim Trail is a 5.9-mile ATV/UTV/Motorcycle -only point-to-point trail rated 3 of 10 located in San Juan County. This trail is the closest trail to the now-closed Recapture Canyon. The trail starts on the eastern side of Blanding and after passing multiple farm fields arrives at the western...
Learn more about Recapture Rim Trail

This is a wide graded dirt road that starts off of South Elks Road, which is also wide and easy. It goes for 1.3 miles, making a sharp left turn when it comes to a T in the road. It accesses several other 4x4 high-clearance roads that you can explore, most of which are unmarked. This road is overall...
Learn more about 274 Shumway Mines Road

This is a 2-mile-long 4x4 road in the Brushy Basin area near Blanding, Utah. It goes through a high desert terrain full of sagebrush and pinyon pine, and the area is full of similar Jeep trails to explore. The southern entrance is a bit hard to find because it is faint and overgrown with hardly any ...
Learn more about Cottonwood Creek

This 4-mile scenic track starts from County Road 240 as a wider dirt trail on top of a desert mesa. As it goes south, it has lots of unmarked intersections for spurs you can explore. The trail is overall really easy but has features such as dips across ravines, wash crossings, tight turns, and ruts....
Learn more about Chimney

This 17.3 mile out and back box canyon trail features amazing Utah bluffs and rock formations and numerous water crossings. You will turn left before crossing the water that leads to Hotel Rock. There is a sign that shows Arch Canyon entrance. Depending on how much rainfall the area has received,...
Learn more about Arch Canyon

This is a 3-mile spur off of Shumway Mines that heads west into the Cheese and Raisins Hills and dead-ends at nowhere in particular. This trail is most likely used for hunting access or just exploring on OHVs. Although it dead-ends and has to be ridden as an out-and-back, it does have some nice view...
Learn more about Dead End Spur

Road 205 starts off of Comb Ridge Descent and goes north for 2.2 miles on a full-width graded dirt road. As you drive north, you'll have views looking towards Comb Ridge and the tall red sandstone canyon walls. The road is flat and wide between sagebrush, with scenic views in every direction under t...
Learn more about 205

This 3.3-mile trail goes west from South Elks Road, connecting to another Jeep trail that makes a loop back to South Elks Road. It goes between pinyon pine and sagebrush with big ruts running alongside the trail. It has lots of big dips and G-outs as it crosses ravines running perpendicular through ...
Learn more about Whiskers Draw

This 3.6-mile route continues south from the graded road Whisker Draw South until it meets up with County Road 240. It starts at the intersection with Whisker Draw South at the point where it becomes narrow and off-camber, which is very different from the wide graded road. It's narrow between tall ...
Learn more about North Fork Whiskers Draw

This is a 2-mile spur off of County Road 240 that goes to a cool view of a canyon overlooking Comb Ridge. It's a dirt road with sandy sections and long sections of flat slick rock. It's bumpy and uneven, but it's all flat and easy with no ledges. It goes along the rim of the mesa in the pinyon pine ...
Learn more about Comb Ridge View

This 2.7-mile trail starts on South Elks Road and goes west, connecting to Whiskers Draw to make a loop back to the main road. It's a narrow track through pinyon pine trees on soft dirt, with loose rocks, ruts, ravine crossings, and some sharper corners. Tree branches stick out over the trail and bi...
Learn more about Wild Horse

This is a 2-mile spur off of the graded road Whisker Draw South. It's a wider dirt trail between sagebrush on soft dirt, with lots of ruts and unmarked intersections. It winds through the pinyon pine with tight turns and starts to narrow up, with tree branches sticking out over the trail. It goes th...
Learn more about Whisker Spur

Whisker Draw South Road is a full-width graded dirt road. It's smooth dirt, wide, and goes through a high desert terrain of pinyon pine on green desert mesas. It has lots of unmarked intersections and also goes through a small section of Ute Indian Land. There is a sign saying not to shoot or leave ...
Learn more about Whisker Draw South

This trail leads to Recapture Pocket, a scenic collection of hoodoos and cliffs. The trail north of Recapture Pocket is a very lightly used oil field access network, with rocky and sandy sections. Some of the more remote sections include rock ledges, sand dunes, and other challenges. A stock 4x4 or ...
Learn more about Recapture Pocket

Trail 1 is a 1.3-mile loop off of South Elks Road. It's a narrower Jeep trail on hardpack dirt, between small bushes and pinyon pine on a gravelly surface. It joins up with a wider Jeep road as it makes a loop. The surface of the trail is mostly dirt, but it has some embedded slab rock, one section ...
Learn more about Trail 1

This trail starts at Highway 95 through a fence. It's a faint trail in the beginning, going through pinyon pines and sagebrush. It's elevated above Butler Wash as it parallels the wash after leaving the highway, and steadily climbs up to the top of the mesa. It continues along the top of the mesa wi...
Learn more about Fence Trail

Trail 2 is a rutted, narrow Jeep trail near Blanding, Utah, that goes between pinyon pines and sagebrush with views toward the Abajo Mountains. It's a fun trail to explore in the fall and spring when it's not too hot or cold while connecting to many of the other trails in the area. This is a good pl...
Learn more about Trail 2

This trail leads to Recapture Pocket, a scenic collection of hoodoos and cliffs. The trail north of Recapture Pocket is a very lightly used oil field access network, with rocky and sandy sections. Some of the more remote sections include rock ledges, sand dunes, and other challenges. A stock 4x4 or ...
Learn more about Recapture Pocket

Trail 1 is a 1.3-mile loop off of South Elks Road. It's a narrower Jeep trail on hardpack dirt, between small bushes and pinyon pine on a gravelly surface. It joins up with a wider Jeep road as it makes a loop. The surface of the trail is mostly dirt, but it has some embedded slab rock, one section ...
Learn more about Trail 1

This trail starts at Highway 95 through a fence. It's a faint trail in the beginning, going through pinyon pines and sagebrush. It's elevated above Butler Wash as it parallels the wash after leaving the highway, and steadily climbs up to the top of the mesa. It continues along the top of the mesa wi...
Learn more about Fence Trail

Trail 2 is a rutted, narrow Jeep trail near Blanding, Utah, that goes between pinyon pines and sagebrush with views toward the Abajo Mountains. It's a fun trail to explore in the fall and spring when it's not too hot or cold while connecting to many of the other trails in the area. This is a good pl...
Learn more about Trail 2