Beginner Off-Road Trails Near North Yelm, Washington

Lake Overlook Camp Out Road

This magnificent land bridge places this one-car wide lane delicately at the top of a very steep tall cliffside. The road is mostly clear of landslide debris but large rocks are not far off the…
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Total Miles
1.1
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

River Road

This beautiful forested road rides alongside the North Fork of Tilton River. Leading deeper into the forest. Gentle roads become rougher and more pitted the deeper you travel. Pull off on one of the many…
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Total Miles
1.9
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Su / Sp / Fa

Quarry Lake Viewpoint Road

This path is the furthest from the quarry fork. It leads to a beautiful land bridge overlooking both lakes. Dense forest trails are unmaintained causing the scraping of wider vehicles. The ground is sturdy and…
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Total Miles
1.5
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Trail to Roll Cage Landslide Canyon

This long beautiful forested trail opens up to gorgeous mountain views. Rough unkept roads make good suspension worthwhile as the rocky road seems to become quite unpredictable. Sudden drops and obvious recent landslides make this…
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Total Miles
1.5
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Deep Forest Trail

Thick overgrowth takes you through Gifford's Forest at a decent. Deep overgrowth makes for poor camping, but the intersection for roads at the Sothern end of the trail makes for a great quick campground. Enjoy…
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Total Miles
0.7
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Weasel Spring Lane

Beautiful lush forest interrupted by logging fields. Lots of wildlife scamper around as you drive this easy-going un-kept logging road. Large open skies, deer, elk, and weasels make this area a joy to explore. Spring…
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Total Miles
1.2
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Rock Candy Mountain

This is an easy trail with plenty of scenic areas to pull off. This is the north side of Capitol State Forest. Logging is active during the week, and weekends will allow for through travel…
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Total Miles
8.3
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

West Waddell Basin Trail

This is a great beginners' trail and still fun for novices. It follows a little bit of the creek and has a nice little spot to have a quick snack while sitting next to the…
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Total Miles
8.8
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

East Creek Overlook

An easy out-and-back trail offering scenic views for any skill level, this path starts on FR74 and winds its way through aspen groves and moss-draped rainforest on an open and well-graded gravel road, before turning…
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Total Miles
3.4
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa

Bridge Brook Drive

This long beautiful stretch is surrounded by a beautiful pasture that has consumed once logging land. Beautiful open skies and gently sloping hills are interrupted by a fairy tail-like tree cover housing a bridge that…
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Total Miles
1.5
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Narnia

A gentle gravel trail leads off East Creek Overlook. This long winding path is gentle and there is always a place to avoid potholes. Drive through the green forest with lots of small animals. This…
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Total Miles
3.9
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Wooded Forked Path

Gentle gravel trail. This long path is gentle but narrows in quite a few places. Drive through the green forest with lots of small animals. This road will take you deep into the Gifford Pinchot…
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Total Miles
1.1
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Capitol Forest Tour

This is an easy trail if you stay on the main tracks. Mostly gravel roads, with some parts asphalt mixed into odd places. There are plenty of places to venture off the main track and…
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Total Miles
26.9
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

Buck Ridge B Line Connector

100% gravel and dirt, this trail connects the Rock Candy Mountain area to the Capitol State Forest "A Line" road. Mostly Forest Service and logging roads, the trails are fairly easy to use. There are…
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Total Miles
7.8
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

Last Regrets Lane

This is the gentlest trail you will find at Elbe ORV Park. Long and flat it's a great access point for tow trucks. Elbe park is a destroyer of rigs. You will find lots of…
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Total Miles
0.8
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

E-line Capitol Trail

This is a dirt and gravel trail with multiple forks off this main route to explore. Along the way, there are many campsites with spectacular views. The trails are narrow in some spots, one vehicle…
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Total Miles
2.3
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Su / Sp

Capitol Forest South Trail

This trail is mostly a maintained road with gravel on top of dirt. There are narrow in most spots for one vehicle and side pull-offs, often for on coming vehicles. Roads are up and down…
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Total Miles
4.6
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa / Wi / Sp

Brapp Lane

This sneaky hidden trail is hidden behind a huge rock wall. Parking spots in front provide a safe spot for trailers to wait while adventurers push farther into the woods. Halfway down the trail, a…
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Total Miles
0.7
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Su / Sp / Fa

Catt Creek

Catt Creek is a gravel and natural surface road, that runs through the Gifford Pinchot National. There are sections that have steep gradual inclines and sharp turns. A couple of sections on this road have…
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Total Miles
15.1
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Hamma Hamma Trail with View of The Brothers

This is a non-technical drive through the forest up to a viewpoint overlooking the valley and The Brothers. Viewpoint has space for about 5 rigs to pull over and take a lunch break. There a…
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Total Miles
13.2
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Su

Berry Creek

Berry Creek road is an easy gravel road with a few potholes to keep in mind with your speed. If you want to get a really good view of Mountain Rainer then this is a…
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Total Miles
13.5
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

Schooley Creek

Schooley Creek road runs through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. It is an easy gravel road, but there are parts of it that have smooth dirt that can get very dusty during the dry seasons,…
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Total Miles
2.4
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Hamma Hamma Falls

Drive through the forest on a pavement/dirt road to Hamma Hamma Falls. You can take a walk down to the water and see the falls from up close. At the parking lot also is a…
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Total Miles
6.9
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Su

Judd Peak

Judd Peak is a gravel and natural surface mixed road that runs through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The road has sections that are very overgrown, so if you do not want to get pinstripes…
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Total Miles
3.3
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Fossil creek

This is a unmaintained forest service road. It it is gravel, but has very deep potholes and deep ruts, a high-clearance rig is advised with good approach break over and departure angle. in the winter…
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Total Miles
8.1
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa / Wi

Ames Creek

Ames Creek road is an easy gravel road that runs through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. There are a couple of potholes both big and small, some sneak up on you if you're going fast.…
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Total Miles
3.9
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

Homestead

Homestead is an easy gravel road that is not winter-maintained, it runs through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. There are some really nasty potholes that sneak up on you, so slow down for them or…
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Total Miles
3.2
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Divide

The divide is a gravel and natural surface road that runs through the Gifford Pinchot National. It offers a couple of smaller camp spots most of them are right off the road, and one of…
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Total Miles
5
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Big Creek

The eastern end of Big Creek Trail is extremely overgrown with many tree branches in the trail. It will definitely leave pinstripes along an SUV or High-Clearance 4x4. It is a one-way road, with room…
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Total Miles
4.2
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Cispus Valley

Cispus Valley is a gravel road mixed with loose dirt, it runs through the Gifford Pinchot National. There are a lot of potholes on this road, some are small and others are very big and…
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Total Miles
3.8
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa