Off-Road Trails Near Carefree, Arizona

This is a very easy trail that takes you from the Tonto National Forest Border in Cave Creek to the Cave Creek Trailhead in the Seven Springs Recreation Area. This is one of the most overlooked areas in this part of the Tonto National Forest. The first 2.2 miles of the trail are paved, and the remai...
Learn more about Gateway to Seven Springs

FS 483 begins off Gateway to Seven Springs Road (FS 24). A small parking area is located at the start of the trail. This gravel road winds through a wash before transitioning into a popular scenic gravel route. Along the way, you’ll be treated to views of the surrounding hills, tall desert vegetatio...
Learn more about FS 483

FS 285 begins off Gateway to Seven Springs and is an out-and-back gravel shelf road offering beautiful views of the valley to the south. About a quarter mile in, the gravel becomes rougher with larger rocks scattered along the trail, some reaching up to 12 inches. The route is lined with tall natura...
Learn more about FS 285

Camp Creek Road is in the Tonto National Forest and requires a pass, which can be purchased at the ranger station. The road is a mixed surface road combination of sand, rocks, and gravel, most of this trail runs in a wash. Please do not attempt when rainy as this area is very prone to flooding, camp...
Learn more about Camp Creek

This is a very scenic loop between Bartlett Lake Road and Horseshoe Dam Road. The trail takes you through deep sand washes, rolling dirt trails, and passes a few rock formations. This trail is part of the Tonto National Forest St. Clair OHV Permit Zone trail system opened on 1-1-2025. This area is s...
Learn more about St Clair OHV from Camp Creek to Kentuck Staging

This trail is the most direct way to get down to the Camp Creek Wash (Trail 413) from the 144th Street entrance to the Tonto National Forest trails system. This trail is a mixture of hard-pack dirt, deep sand, rocks, and a mixture of all the above. It is a narrow trail used by SxSs, but Jeeps could ...
Learn more about Tonto Trail 2123/2124 to Camp Creek Wash 413

This is the new entrance trail to the Tonto National Forest Desert Vista OHV Area as of October 2024. The entrance used to be farther north, but after the closure due to fires, the USFS built a new entrance trail to the system. This trail is difficult to find from the trail system, so look for the S...
Learn more about Entrance Trail to the Tonto National Forest Desert Vista OHV

This is a short ATV trail in the Tonto National Forest that accesses hundreds of miles of trails near Camp Creek, Arizona. Although accessible by ATV, it's more like a single track and is mostly ridden by dirt bikes because it's pretty narrow. It goes flat and straight through green desert terrain w...
Learn more about Camp Creek Access ATV Trail

You can take this short single track from the staging area off of North 14th Street to access the Powerline Trail, which will take you to the many other off-roading trails in this zone of the Tonto National Forest. The trail is a mile-long meander through the green desert landscape full of saguaros ...
Learn more about Camp Creek Access Single Track

This is a very nice trail that connects the Camp Creek Wash to Bartlett Lake Road and has very interesting geological features along the way. There is a gentle climb to start, with some amazing old-growth saguaro cacti along the way. Once you get to the mid-point, there is a rocky climb to a ridge t...
Learn more about Camp Creek Wash to Bartlett Lake Road

3200 is a shortcut between two halves of the Quail Springs Loop. This trail is more ridden and beat in. It's a hardpack dirt surface with some loose rocks, some steeper grades, and ruts on the sides of the trail, but is much less rocky than Shoemaker, 3197, and 497. It goes through wide-open desert ...
Learn more about 3200

398 is a longer powerline trail in the Tonto National Forest near Camp Creek, Arizona. It's a main route from the west entrance to this OHV area off of North 14th Street and runs east, accessing tons of 4x4 trails before ending at an overlook of the canyon that is Camp Creek. A lot of it is a wide a...
Learn more about 398 Powerline

This 1.7-mile segment of trail runs north-south between 3197 and the Quail Springs Loop in this primitive OHV area near New River, Arizona. This trail is more of a main thoroughfare compared to Shoemaker Springs. It's a wider, well-used road that has some challenges such as deep ruts filled in with ...
Learn more about Shoemaker Connector

Trail 1983 is a point-to-point trail with several washed-out sections and areas where the trail becomes difficult to follow. Be sure to follow the mapped line closely, as parts of the trail have started to return to nature. The most significant obstacle is located near the intersection with Trail 20...
Learn more about FS 1983

This trail is a gentle climb out of the Camp Creek wash, through some pretty amazing canyons, and heading toward Bartlett Lake Road. The trail has blind curves and can be narrow in spots (full-sized vehicles will not be able to navigate some of the turns) and the trail surface can get very rocky at ...
Learn more about Trail 388 Connector

FS U2163 begins off Bartlett Lake Road near the Bartlett Lake area and heads south as a point-to-point route. The trail starts as a gravel road over a few rolling hills before dropping down into a wash. Once in the wash, the terrain changes to deep sand mixed with large rocks. The trail continues in...
Learn more about FS U2163

This trail is an exciting ride through a narrow canyon (officially closed to vehicles over 60") and climbing up to a wonderful vista that contains a memorial for a beloved canine companion. The trail features a gentle climb through the canyon and completes with a somewhat technical steep climb up to...
Learn more about Spare Tire Canyon- Bowsers Memorial

This very short, easy, loop trail around Cramm Mountain offers sweeping 360 views of the desert landscape. It does seem that this trail is minimally used and therefore has vegetation overgrowth in places - higher clearance vehicles advised. This overgrowth makes the trail less obvious in spots, but ...
Learn more about Cramm Mountain Loop

2123 is a fun and scenic trail in the Tonto National Forest near Camp Creek, Arizona. It's a wide rim trail that runs east to west above a little canyon. This area is pretty popular for UTVs and dirt bikes. The trail is generally pretty easy and straight. It has lots of whoops, ruts, uneven ground, ...
Learn more about 2123

This is a short high-clearance primitive road that starts off of North New River Road and connects to Shoemaker Spring. It's uneven and bumpy, with deep ruts that are filled in with round softball-sized rocks. Loose rocks are strewn about the trail for much of it. It's mostly flat in a green desert ...
Learn more about Shoemaker Spring Access Trail

This is a very easy trail that takes you from the Tonto National Forest Border in Cave Creek to the Cave Creek Trailhead in the Seven Springs Recreation Area. This is one of the most overlooked areas in this part of the Tonto National Forest. The first 2.2 miles of the trail are paved, and the remai...
Learn more about Gateway to Seven Springs

FS 483 begins off Gateway to Seven Springs Road (FS 24). A small parking area is located at the start of the trail. This gravel road winds through a wash before transitioning into a popular scenic gravel route. Along the way, you’ll be treated to views of the surrounding hills, tall desert vegetatio...
Learn more about FS 483

FS 285 begins off Gateway to Seven Springs and is an out-and-back gravel shelf road offering beautiful views of the valley to the south. About a quarter mile in, the gravel becomes rougher with larger rocks scattered along the trail, some reaching up to 12 inches. The route is lined with tall natura...
Learn more about FS 285

Camp Creek Road is in the Tonto National Forest and requires a pass, which can be purchased at the ranger station. The road is a mixed surface road combination of sand, rocks, and gravel, most of this trail runs in a wash. Please do not attempt when rainy as this area is very prone to flooding, camp...
Learn more about Camp Creek

This is a very easy trail that takes you from the Tonto National Forest Border in Cave Creek to the Cave Creek Trailhead in the Seven Springs Recreation Area. This is one of the most overlooked areas in this part of the Tonto National Forest. The first 2.2 miles of the trail are paved, and the remai...
Learn more about Gateway to Seven Springs

FS 483 begins off Gateway to Seven Springs Road (FS 24). A small parking area is located at the start of the trail. This gravel road winds through a wash before transitioning into a popular scenic gravel route. Along the way, you’ll be treated to views of the surrounding hills, tall desert vegetatio...
Learn more about FS 483

FS 285 begins off Gateway to Seven Springs and is an out-and-back gravel shelf road offering beautiful views of the valley to the south. About a quarter mile in, the gravel becomes rougher with larger rocks scattered along the trail, some reaching up to 12 inches. The route is lined with tall natura...
Learn more about FS 285

Camp Creek Road is in the Tonto National Forest and requires a pass, which can be purchased at the ranger station. The road is a mixed surface road combination of sand, rocks, and gravel, most of this trail runs in a wash. Please do not attempt when rainy as this area is very prone to flooding, camp...
Learn more about Camp Creek