Awkward/Offbeat Places to Ride

Phoenix7

Phoenix7

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Hi old internet friends,

I just now re-joined tonight.

This is my first post on the new website.  I'm sorry for all the lost content of many prominent members, but I see that many of the old members have jumped back in because of the important aspect of this website, which is connecting with and helping each other in dune trip management, and exchanging info about the dunes and all kinds of technical off-roading info.  Basically, it's a great website with excellent members.

In my first post I'm creating a topic which is actually very important to me and my goals, but which I feel can help all of you to open up possibilities for new and interesting places to ride, to discover new places that you never thought about and were never going to think about.

But before I post my 2 offbeat places, I want to take a moment and say RIP Devin Adkins.  There probably is another main topic on his passing, but I wanted to mention him here because in every post and video I saw Devin in, and also when I talked to him in person, I always liked Devin very much.  His passing was a huge shocker for me.  I will always miss him and think about him.   

 
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One destination that is so close to Glamis, yet never on anyone's mind, is Mammoth Wash, which is basically the northern end of the dunes.  Sometime last year someone posted a question about Mammoth on this website, and many people started discussing it, including info about restrictions and military vehicles (haha), but I got very curious and I just HAD TO GO THERE.

This is not a spectacular destination, but it's a place where you can have some fun and see some sights and say "hey I've been there".  Whether you decide to get there from Niland or just cross the 78 at Glamis and go north on the access road like I did, that's up to you.

I'm happy I went here.  It was very interesting.  I tooled around in the wash and on the edge of the dunes.  I saw an X3 go deeper into the dunes alone, so that's a possibility, but remember there's no one around to rescue you.  

There was a large group parked in the wash, so I also regard this as a camping area.  You can make this a real trip if you want to.

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This next offbeat location is mostly for Arizonans.  Every person driving back to Phoenix or Tucson from Glamis is very familiar with Tonopah on the I10.  There are multiple gas stations and places to eat on 2 major turnoffs for Tonopah.

But I also started noticing a very majestic looking mountain in the Tonopah vicinity and constantly wondering about it.  I started looking at the Google map and studying trails in great detail.  I wanted to see it closer, and I also saw signs that you could go behind and around it.

Finally I made my trip out there.  Surprisingly there were several campers below the north face, so at least I felt good that other people realized this was a cool place.

BTW, this is Saddle Mountain.

After connecting with the Salome Highway heading west, south of the 411th Ave turnoff, there was a simple and spacious parking area off of the Courthouse Road turnoff.  From there, with my SxS, the trails were pretty sketchy, but I knew that I needed to find the trail on the western side of the mountain that would lead around the entire mountain.  Along the way that's where I saw the campers.

The trail was pretty decent and the sights were amazing, until I got to the most dangerous spot, where my Maverick shows in the photos.  There was a guy doing rock hunting there in a Jeep Renegade.  He said he couldn't and wouldn't cross through that wash because his friend had blown his tire there last year.  But this guy coached me on how to get through there, and even filmed me going down and later sent me the video.

Once I got past the tough spot it was a long trail, managing rocks and washes.  In other words you had to drive carefully at times.

The backside was interesting, and I was pretty much alone.  But as I wrapped around and headed north, eventually I found an AWD Crossover on the edge of a deep, jagged wash.  I stopped and the guy was wondering whether he should proceed onward, down into the wash.  I advised him not to go further, and I believe he listened to me.

As I proceeded onward on the eastern side of the mountain, the trail became much more fun, yet still technical, and I was able to pick up speed and enjoy it more.  Eventually I connected up with the Salome Highway near the power lines, and drove a short distance to my staging location.

In my opinion, this was a fantastic find, and a fun ride!!

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That's the random guy who gave me advice in the toughest spot on the western side.

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Nice to have you back buddy. I was wondering if you were going to rejoin. You always have good input and great content. Glad you’re here. 

 
Thanks @ChEFF and @BONES.  I'm glad everything is rockin again on this website!!  It's a fun place.

 
If they ever open the area East of Gila Bend over towards Mobile you will have months of trails to explore. 

 
if you had gone under mammoth wash and headed tord the mountains there is a lot of trails out there with some really cool canyons to go through only about 10' wide in some places with walls over 100' tall in spots thay wind and twist through the chocolate mountains and some good steep hill climbs.been out there a few times and we always explore new trails.we still want to explore more places out there and have pins dropped for this upcoming dune season

 
Great topic that brought up a ride I really wanted to do but never got the chance.

I was riding at Sand Hollow in Feb of 2020 and was bullCrapting with some locals that were Jeep guys. They told me of an annual ride some of them do from Sand Hollow park down to the north rim of the Grand Canyon and back. If I remember correctly, it takes 2 days to get to the north rim and of course 2 days back. That is in a Jeep, SxS would probably be less time.

I have a buddy that wanted to do this with me, he would take his Jeep and me my RZR, but unfortunately we never did that ride. 

I have no doubt this would be an epic ride.

 
MWB said:
If they ever open the area East of Gila Bend over towards Mobile you will have months of trails to explore. 
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Yes I've heard about the Butterfield Pass Trail over there.  It's really too bad about the closure, but I've had some decent explorations west and east of the 85 south of Buckeye.  I think I should post one of them (Robbins Butte) in this topic because it's definitely an interesting ride even though its not that long.

 
danwalker said:
I have been looking at this mountain every time I passed it for the last 14 yrs wanting to explore!

Thanks for posting this.
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And thank YOU!  It's good to hear someone else was thinking about it, even much longer than I was.

 
Brian Machnach said:
if you had gone under mammoth wash and headed tord the mountains there is a lot of trails out there with some really cool canyons to go through only about 10' wide in some places with walls over 100' tall in spots thay wind and twist through the chocolate mountains and some good steep hill climbs.been out there a few times and we always explore new trails.we still want to explore more places out there and have pins dropped for this upcoming dune season
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I'm glad you posted this info for everyone who's interested Mammoth.  I think I can see the area you're talking about on the map.  Some people have warned about the bombing range in the past, and maybe others can comment about that, but I'd be willing to go further next time if I could.

 
THD said:
Great topic that brought up a ride I really wanted to do but never got the chance.

I was riding at Sand Hollow in Feb of 2020 and was bullCrapting with some locals that were Jeep guys. They told me of an annual ride some of them do from Sand Hollow park down to the north rim of the Grand Canyon and back. If I remember correctly, it takes 2 days to get to the north rim and of course 2 days back. That is in a Jeep, SxS would probably be less time.

I have a buddy that wanted to do this with me, he would take his Jeep and me my RZR, but unfortunately we never did that ride. 

I have no doubt this would be an epic ride.
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That sounds like a cool ride for anyone who's looking for that long (in days) of a ride.  I'm have watched a lot of Youtube videos of Sand Hollow (still haven't been there), and I think I saw a video of the ride you're describing.

 
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