Trail Overview

Titan Missile Interpretive Center, Silver Bell Mine, Silverbell Cemetery, mutant saguaros, and Sasco ghost town. A fun day on easy roads. Our friend that suggested the trip said it could be done "in a lifted Prius". That is slight hyperbole, but it is quite easy. Passable by most vehicles with a bit of clearance, but bumpy. The trail can be done in either direction but is described as driving clockwise. The mutant saguaros are about halfway through the trail. Must be a dozen in a very small area. We have no explanation. The Titan II Missile Interpretive Site is well worth a visit. The Titan II Missile sites were located in Arkansas, Kansas, and Arizona as a deterrent to nuclear war during the cold war period, and they were manned 24/7 for 24 years, from 1963 to 1987. Each site was capable of launching a Titan II Missile in 58 seconds in case of an attack on the United States. The road skirts overburden piles of the Silver Bell Mine started in 1880 and currently operated by Asarco. Open pits are not visible from the road. We found one crested saguaro visible from the road. Nobody seems sure of what causes the crest, but theories include frost, insect infestation, or damage from birds, animals, people, and weather.

Photos of Silverbell Sasco Loop

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Difficulty

Uneven, rutted dirt trail with loose rocks, sand, erosion, and washes. Potential water crossings up to a foot deep, mud holes, and obstacles up to 18", including ledges and short, steep grades. Roads are typically one vehicle wide with places to pass.

Technical Rating

bespoke Outdoors

Dec 27, 2025

Open

My son (3.5y/o) andI did this trail from north to south (ending at the Titan Missile Site) and it was great. Much longer than expected and very rocky. The hotel was littered with thousands on nails so be aware. The river was 3’+ deep and was at the start for us. Not a problem for me to get through but it was just a tad lower than the door line and my 2021 Rubicon is on 37’s with a full 3.5” lift (adjustable to 4.5”). Overall, the route was fun and it was amazing to see how free the desert can get and be. Took us 2.5 hours and we stopped a few times for my son to ride his balance bike. As

Paul Wilso

Dec 02, 2025

Open

WARNING!!! NOT QUITE IMPASSABLE BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE DUE TO WATER NEAR NORTHER END OF TRAIL!!! I had started the route towards the south end near the missile silo and worked my way up. Route had some ruts from previous washout, but nothing a stock 4x4 couldn't handle. I made it through the route in 2wd in a stock Colorado Zr2 (3rd Gen). Towards the end of my route, about a mile or 2 after the road smoothed out, I came upon water flowing over the roadway. Tested the waters and decided to make the plunge as the water came up to the bottom edge of my doors. Again, I am in a stock Colo Zr2 for reference.

WKND WRIR

Nov 30, 2025

Open

I started on the South end of the trail and worked my way around to the North end. Most of the trail was tame but some of the dried up water crossings were deteriorated. About midway through the trail I found some cattle on the road. As I moved to the Northern part of the trail I saw a few more people. Note that some abandoned buildings are used for recreational shooting, so watch out coming up on those too quickly. The river crossing at the North end of the trail was completely flooded at noon and was 3+ feet deep. My lifted ‘98 Jeep made it through but a stock vehicle likely would not. It took me about 2.5 - 3 hours to complete the loop (including time spent out of the vehicle exploring some sections on foot).

Justin burlie

Nov 27, 2025

Open

Trail was a bit washed out from the rain last weekend the wash was full burlie made it through.

Joe Williams

Sep 21, 2025

Open

Much easier that listed. I did the whole trail in 2HI, not an issue. Watch for animals. I thought the little guy in the picture was a rock and I almost ran over him. There are also lots of cows, and some like to lay down in the middle of the road. Nice scenery and a good way to pass an hour or so.

Aaron Herman

Apr 27, 2025

Open

Started from the south side. The trail doesn't actually start until you reach the gates to the mine just past the Titan II stop. The first 2 miles are a washboarded red dirt/gravel road that pretty much any vehicle could get through on. The next 8 miles around the back of the mountain get pretty rough, with the worst 2 being an extremely rutted out climb out of a wash that will test your ground clearance and flex out most vehicles, followed by a 16% grade climb a little further up. After than the northern section transitions back to a dirt road with some washboard. If you want to skip the water crossing, you can turn off on Silverbell Rd and connect back to civilization that way as well, that's how I ended up going.

Dave Eisenhuth

Apr 21, 2025

Open

We did the trail from South to North, there was some construction as you are going up past Anway Road. A couple of nice side roots that really don’t go anywhere. I would say trail rating is pretty spot on however there a couple of technical washouts. The Titan missile interpretive center was nice however, a lot of work needs to be done on the signage but still very very cool a nice quarter mile walk around shows where everything was and if you’re a rockhound, there are plenty to look at. Further on you’ll come up to some slag piles behind Silverbell mine including a really cool feature, showing in the picture where you actually can park on top of a flat and slag pile that looks like tile.

Jimmy Billy Z

Apr 02, 2025

Open

Nice trail with sights off the beaten path if you follow the spurs. We started at North entrance and the water crossing was about 12”. Most of the trail was bumpy with nice views of the mountains. On South side of the loop just East of the missile sight we saw this crazy cactus just off the South side of the road. Wish it was marked by OnX but we got lucky and a couple there told us it was a famous saguaro called the Shiva Cactus. 2wd with higher clearance can do this loop depending on water depth near North entrance. AJ from Buckin’ Life Offroad on YT has a nice video of this trail.

Robert Cox

Mar 17, 2025

Open

Water at north end was passable at about 5" deep. Trail was generally in decent condition for our Subaru Outback.

brandon simon

Mar 15, 2025

Open

this trail was a super fun day had a little bit of everything sight seeing....ups and downs ....straights....rock gardens...and to finish it off a creek at the end easily manageable with the broncos...although there was someone shooting when we got to one of the old structures so we couldn't see much of it

Robert Gross

Mar 08, 2025

Open

Started with cool water crossing, then saw some ruins. A ton of cactus. Road were ok, mostly dusty, but could have been done with 2wd and competent driver.

Daniel Prince

Mar 02, 2025

Open

Kirk Thompson

Feb 20, 2025

Open

Trail is easy. Done in a bronco Sasquatch in 2 wheel drive but is very side to side bumpy so prepare to get shook. Also is definitely closer to a 3 hour trip not 1 hour.

Jason Lampitt

Jan 27, 2025

Open

Nothing really remarkable to report about trail conditions, other than the water fording at the northeast side of the trail as described. The water was pretty deep. I didn't have any way to measure it, and we waited a while to see if any locals would cross in their vehicles so we could gauge what we were getting into. Finally, we just went for it on the right side. It got deep and I had a nice bow wave coming off of my '25 Sequoia TRD Pro. Made it across just fine, but it was DEEP.

Scott Brown

Jan 17, 2025

Open

Easy trail for non sasquatch badlands 4 door. Never left 2wd. Easy water crossing on north end 12 to 18 inches max. Took about 2 1/2 hours south to north once pavement ended. Deer and cows seen.