Hey all, my wife and I just moved to Tempe from the Chicago area. We'd like to go out and enjoy some of the OHV parks soon. But wanted some advice on recommended places to start for beginners. Would like to try not to get stuck/rolled over the first time out. Have a 2018 T4R with Bilstein 1.5 lift and stock size Falken Wildpeak tires, Budbuilt stepsliders (Mostly for the step part lol) . Our offroad experience is basically zero except for driving some forest service roads.
I've heard of the Boulder OHV area and stopped by late Sunday afternoon, didn't go on any trails as it was getting late but seemed like a cool area.
Also can someone tell me definitively what is rule about the offroad license plate sticker? Went to the OffRoad expo at Westworld last weekend. Talked to BLM guys there and they said I needed an MC sticker? But talked to a great guy from i think Arizona Peace Trail and he basically said they were full of it. May end up getting it anyway as its only like $5 i think?
You do realize that west of Denver are thousands of trails worth seeing and that OHV parks are really a thing back east? OHV parks are for UTVs and ATVs though there are some interesting trails that do go through OHV areas. Those can be very crowded.
I recommend buying the Charlie Wells Arizona Backroads and 4-wheel Drive Trails. It has all you need. He also tells you where you need a permit, if you do. That's usually the State Trust Land Permit (20). A nice complement to that is:
Offroad Trails — AZOFFROAD.NET The ratings here are totally in line with those in Wells but broken down into 1-10 vs just easy/moderate/difficult. As all seriously written sites it is a bit conservative in the ratings but that's ok.
If you want a very wide selection of dirt roads and easy trails, Peter Massey's AZ books offer that but are old and the comparatively few moderate trails he has (4-5 rated) can have changed a lot since then (or not). He only has a sprinkle of difficult trails and those ratings should be treated as obsolete even if some are accurate.
If you want a site for more experienced drivers,
Phoenix to Flagstaff Jeep trails GPS tracks. - Jeep the USA fits the bill. Here, you will want to start with 2.0 rated trails and not get into 3.0s until your eyes get smaller. Waiting till ready is even more important if you don't have a TRD-series (the locker, plus crawl control+locker can get you out of stuff basically on autopilot if you mess up before you have learned enough).
Don't start from Backaway to Crown King. It is not a beginner trail. Though there are only two spots as of Fall 2018 that merit a difficult rating, the trail is long and very heavily traveled.
Start from the green/easy trails in Wells.
If you want to see what the area is like first, a great way to do so would be to drive the following:
East: Apache Trail out to Roosevelt with return via Four Peaks. Gorgeous, unusually lush desert (around water) plus higher elevations on the return trip and great views.
Southwest: Agua Caliente Rd. Very out of the way and longish but wide, smooth, and gets you through typical desert: lots of cacti but not "lush" .
North: A great loop I-17 back to I-17 would be New River Canyon (State Trust permit needed) with return via Bloody Basin. The latter is a rough dirt road, but New River is rated moderate trail. I have seen nothing mandatory there to challenge the 4Runner but the surface is often small rocks, not just gravel. If you don't like that, you won't like many of the other trails. The scenery is great as you transition from one desert to another. New River ends at Cow Creek Rd which is annoying. So I would go north and exit Bloody Basin which is pretty and different from everything else. If you don't feel like driving New River, you can just drive Bloody Basin from I 17 to Cow Creek but the return via Scottsdale is long and tedious with slow traffic as you get closer to town. It is okay once, then it gets tedious.
Northwest: the easy way to Crown King (no less scenic than the back one) to Senator Highway to Prescott. The Senator Highway ranges from rough dirt road to easy trail in spots. It is a long day but with a lot of good scenery. Some portions of the trail are even fun to drive.
So those four trails/routes are a great introduction to what the scenery is around here. The Senator Hwy and River Canyon add a bit of mild trail introduction. Watch out for a couple of turns on Four Peaks because if you are too much focused on the panorama you can fly off trail pretty easily.
Note that
weather can impact central AZ trails like it really does not impact UT or CO trails. One storm can completely tear a trail up or make it even disappear in places. Also, never drive tight trails and washes during or soon after rain.
arty:
