Trail Overview
Maes Canyon Trail #5 is a rugged and technical ATV trail that is extremely rocky. It starts at the Maes Canyon Trailhead and immediately starts climbing up a steep slope covered in loose and embedded rocks of all sizes. It’s a very chunky ride, the rocks constantly pinging you around, with slippery roots diagonally across the trail every few feet. There are several bigger rock obstacles as well, including rock ledges and boulder faces that will be a challenge for ATVs. One of the biggest obstacles is right away: a dug-out slippery root ledge over a foot tall, filled in with big loose and embedded boulders. It’s blunt and steep and will definitely trip up the inexperienced rider. Throughout the route, some spots are wide like a two-track, while other segments more so resemble a singletrack, and it looks like this trail is mostly ridden by dirt bikes, with not much ATV traffic. There are several small logs down that look like they are now permanent fixtures of the trail, and they are very slick when crossing. The trail gets easier as you go north, with fewer rocks, and turns into a flowy dirt singletrack for a short segment before intersecting with 182.
Difficulty
This is an intermediate ride for both dirt bikes and ATVs due to a relentless rocky surface, with constant cobble and chunky rocks, and frequent slippery roots. It’s a steep and rocky ascent from south to north, gaining over 1,200 feet in 2.2 miles, but the hardest obstacle is on the south end, not too far after the trailhead, and is a blunt root ledge with boulders that is over a foot tall and on a steep slope. While 50” vehicles are allowed, it is more suited to dirt bikes due to the constant rock features and narrow segments resembling singletrack.
