Jordan Ferguson
May 09, 2026
Open
Nice fairly laid back ride. The walk to the lookout Tower is a must. Almost all the mud holes have bypasses. The ones that don't have bypasses weren't too big. Relaxed pace with the tower stop and lunch took roughly 3 hours.
B P
Mar 14, 2026
Open
Im not sure why they are giving this trail only a 3 out of 10. I haven't been up there in 2 years and it is worse than before. Most of the mud holes are solid with 2 or 3 being soft. I recommend being able to self recover and to have another vehicle with you. It is a great trail. There was one mud hole that swallowed my 35" tire. Just be careful when going into them. Having a winch isn't a bad idea either. Other than that it is an awesome trail. My buddy had 37s on his Jeep and even he was being careful. Have fun on this trail, but go prepared.
Emilio Novoa
Dec 20, 2025
Open
Theres plenty of zones where it's just ice, making it necessary to air down and 4Lo, the road leading to the fire tower was pure ice so I had to go the other side. Overall pretty nice, quite challenging by zones and we actually found a good camp spot so we stayed overnight.
Jeff Wheeler
Dec 12, 2025
Open
My wife and I were spending the night at Mountain Lake Hotel, and once we saw how much snow they had, we decided we would try a trip to the fire tower. The first mile or so had been scraped and the packed snow had turned to ice in spots. Going down one hill we passed a truck that had slid about 10 feet over the bank. The further we got, the tracks started disappearing and the snow got deeper. The temperature was about 24 degrees, and there were patches of ice under the snow making for slick conditions. Eventually have to go into 4L to keep moving. Overall not too difficult, but not for the faint of heart either.
Cameron griffin
Dec 06, 2025
Open
So the night before we got some snow and we only expected 1-3 inches. The roads leading up to about 1-2 miles before it truly started were clear and free of ice. The last mile or two before the trail was nothing but ice and snow. The beginning of the trail was full of ups and downs but nothing to crazy and as long as you had 4x4 you would be ok. Further down tho there was a hill of nothing but ice and was kinda tricky to get up but it was possible. Unfortunately we only went half way tho due to time and the fire tower being closed. The ride back was good and free of any troubles! Can’t wait to go back! Any suv or truck that is 4wd and has a decent set of tires won’t struggle.
Brad Barton
Nov 17, 2025
Open
We cleared a downed tree from the midpoint and the mud puddles had about 1/4”-1/2” of ice on top. No issues in the Bronco but I did run across a hunter who popped a tire on the ice (he was running street pressure). Over, beautiful day on the trail.
Thang Nguyen
Aug 31, 2025
Open
Great trail! Lots of muddy puddles! One got me by surprise, sunk my driver side and I had to full throttle out. Some sections can be intimidating. I had to use A-TRAC one time due to traction issues. Any high clearance 4x4 can do the trail. Prepare for unavoidable pinstriping in some sections. You’ll want to stop at the fire tower and take a look! It’s a sight to see! Airing down would be helpful!
Chris Bucklew
Jul 18, 2025
Open
A little overgrown so watch your arms on the thorn bushes. Rained the day before so it was dusty. Overall pretty fun. No signal out there. Great time for the family.
Tyler Ring
May 15, 2025
Open
Starts out as a gravel or dirt road and heads into the trail first few mud holes not bad but get deeper the farther you go
Cavin Lewis
Oct 18, 2024
Open
Dirt accept for a few area of water 6 to 12". Trail was rocky and alot of washed out areas. still a fun ride with the wife and kids
Peter Schaible
Oct 06, 2024
Open
Trail from 613 to the fire tower is smooth gravel and easy. Past the fire tower the trail becomes narrow, rocky, and has mud holes. Most of the mud holes have a semi solid base but some of the larger mud holes are deep and have a very soft bottom enough to swamp a lower height 4x4 or sink a heavy vehicle.
Ashley Edmonds
Sep 21, 2024
Open
Tom Nico
Aug 15, 2024
Open
You will get deep!! Had not rained in some time and trail was still damp as you can see. Plenty of overgrowth and snapped trees crossing the road. Hand saw was good enough. Gonna need to air down for sure. Took just under 3 hours to complete.
B P
Jul 05, 2024
Open
The trail is a little overgrown. We took one bypass for one of the mud holes. All of them seem to have a solid base except for 2 of them. I personally would make sure you have a winch if you try this trail. It also has been dry so the holes weren't that bad. There is no cell reception on the mountain so be careful. The road was washed out in several spots so having good ground clearance is a plus.
Wes Coyne
Jun 29, 2024
Open
Gravel roads leading to the trail on both ends. The Butte mtn section is the rougher part with several mud holes and some rutted out areas. I came across more hikers than I did vehicles but followed another jeeper part of the way.
