Trail Overview
Rock Fence - FS 40N18 is a scenic forest route winding through a mixed evergreen forest featuring tall pine and fir trees along mountain hillsides. The trail begins wide with an uphill climb featuring long swooping steps and exposed bedrock before leveling out into softer gravel and packed dirt surfaces. As you travel along, the road winds around unique rock formations with towering trees bordering the track. Keep an eye out for a Y-intersection along the route where trail signage directs you to stay left, while right goes up toward the summit. Continuing left brings you down toward a quiet clearing near a creek bed where an old drain pipe rests on the side of the trail. This route is a wide, well-maintained forest service road rated a 2 that transitions to gravel and dirt, making it a smooth run for most vehicles until reaching the creek bed
Difficulty
This trail earns a rating of 2 due to its wide, manageable road surface and gentle grade changes. The lower portion presents minor rock exposure and long, step-like swoops that are easy to navigate without needing high clearance. Further along, the surface smooths into gravel and packed earth. The main route ends at a washed-out drain pipe near a creek bed. Attempting to cross the steep V-shaped creek bed would present a significantly higher difficulty rating due to uneven rocks and steep banks, but the main path up to this point remains very approachable.
