Paw Hole Road - NM1079

Total Miles 5.4
Technical Rating
2 Easy
Best Time Spring, Fall
Trail Type Full-Width Road
Accessible By
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Trail Overview

Sand road accessing Paw Hole TH, Sunset Butte, and other areas of Coyote Buttes South (hiking permit required). This road climbs up into Vermillion Cliffs National Monument from House Rock Road. This road sees little maintained and is primarily sand. The BLM office that manages the VCNM has installed signage requesting that users understand the difference between 2WD, AWD, and 4WD.

Photos of Paw Hole Road - NM1079

Difficulty

fun sand road

Technical Rating

2

Status Reports

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Jon Ross
Apr 03, 2026
Open
Just a lot of narrow sandy trail with some rocky sections thrown in for good measure. If this is rating 3 and then it turns to 4 closer to white pocket, I noticed no difference in difficulty, it's all the same. If you have 4wd, high clearance and air down your tires you should be good to go.
Christophe Brosson
Dec 20, 2025
Open
Deep sand , single lane. Not much room for crossing. 25psi, KO3, on a stock 25 Ford Ranger. Easy peasy. Crossed just one other vehicle.
Brian H
Nov 04, 2025
Open
Great trail but some heavy sand. Keep in mind this is listed on the BLM sign as one way - meaning West to East. Likely due to the depth of the sand and going downhill versus uphill.
Mean Joe
Oct 31, 2025
Open
We ran the trail from east to west. There is a posted sign at paw hole suggesting that this trail is one way west bound. Sandy, but nothing unmanageable.
Peter Newell
May 25, 2025
Open
We ran this trail east to west coming from White Pockets towing a trailer. The sand is deep as reported. We spent most of the time in 2nd gear occasionally dropping to 1st to keep momentum up. Along the trail are numerous rock patches that require you to slow to a crawl to navigate.
Aaron ba
Apr 24, 2025
Open
John Davies
Apr 06, 2025
Open
Trail is blocked by a permanent fence (no gate) 1/4 mile due west of the intersection with BLM 1082. This is the location on the map where it turns into BLM 1079 Paw Hole Road. The trail is overgrown double track (brush along the middle) and obviously little used. The fence is NOT visible when traveling from the east, there is a rock ledge blocking the view. The property owner should post back at the intersection that the road is closed!
David Dunn
Dec 14, 2023
Open
BLM1079 has been posted as "One Way" running east to west between Paw Hole Trailhead and the intersection with Sandhill Loop BLM1084.
Greg westbrook
Aug 20, 2023
Open

Paw Hole Road - NM1079 Trail can be accessed by the following ride types:

  • High Clearance
  • Full Width

Paw Hole Road - NM1079 Map

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