62 to 40 Cut Off

Trail Overview

Take 62 from Joshua Tree to Cardiz Road (fill up in 29 Palms--there's no service station beyond that). Turning north off the highway onto the dirt at Cardiz Road, you're immediately greeted by the skeleton of a car that has been painted; some would call it art. The Cardiz Road section of the trail is wide, flat, and generally smooth going. Around 15 miles in, turn north onto Water Road crossing the train tracks. There are no railroad arms, but visibility is good. From here, it's 40 miles in and out of washes, some of which are more sandy at the bottom, and more steep climbing out of. In general, the road is smooth sailing, and portions of it can be taken at 50 mph or more, but you need to be cautious of wildlife (cows, tortoises, roadrunners, etc.) as well as sudden large dips in the surface. These are often well hidden due to the slight incline and lack of shadows between 11 am and 3 pm. Several side quests lie to the west in the Old Woman Mountains Wilderness, but be careful--most are not allowed to be driven. One to explore in a vehicle is Dog Tags Trail. The route ends at I-40 where you can head west to Barstow or east to Needles.

Photos of 62 to 40 Cut Off

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Difficulty

Sneaky washes and changing landscape after a heavy rain could increase this rating.

Technical Rating