Old Dale Road

Total Miles
25.8

Elevation

756.64 ft

Duration

3 Hours

Technical Rating

Moderate

Best Time

Spring, Fall

Trail Overview

Old Dale Road is an iconic trail in the mountains of Joshua Tree National Park. Start from either the north or the south trailhead and enjoy a trek through the history and beauty of the desert. Visit abandoned mines throughout the trail or set up camp away from the crowds. This trail is appropriate for any high-clearance 4x4.

Photos of Old Dale Road

Want to see more?

Difficulty

70% Of the trail is in deep sand that requires 4WD and the 30% is small to moderate-sized rocks that can pose damage to low clearance vehicles.

Technical Rating

Status Reports

Met up with a buddy in his JL jeep. Both lifted 2.5” on 35” easy trail. First 4-5 miles rough and sandy in some spots. Near the mine house, the road is a lot more rocky and rough. The last 10 mile or so is quick moving washboards and sandy.

Fun trail not really difficult. Some rutted washed out areas where you had to go a little slower but that’s it. Little amount of rocks over the pass through the mountain rest was mainly just dirt. Overall a fun ride. We did the trail in about 2 hours give or take. No one else out that we saw.

Two rigs 2018 Ford Raptor and 2WD LSD Toyota sports. The trail is fairly easy the most common thing we saw was extremely soft sand and rocky but my buddy with the 2WD Tacoma never got stuck mind you he has BF GOODRICH off road tires. Towards the end of the trail it gets tight for full size trucks but nothing too crazy rocky for sure but easy. Recovery gear like kinetic rope D rings soft shackles tow rope would be great to have just in case.

Popular Trails

Pumpkin Patch Trail

Learn more about Pumpkin Patch Trail

Total Miles

3.2

Tech Rating

3 Easy

Best Time

Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

Hungalelti West

Learn more about Hungalelti West

Total Miles

11.0

Tech Rating

6 Moderate

Best Time

San Diego and Eastern AZ Railway Run

Learn more about San Diego and Eastern AZ Railway Run

Total Miles

2.8

Tech Rating

4 Moderate

Best Time

Wi / Fa / Sp

Sandy Hill Camp Overlook

Learn more about Sandy Hill Camp Overlook

Total Miles

2.0

Tech Rating

4 Moderate

Best Time

Wi / Fa / Sp

The onX Offroad Difference

onX Offroad combines trail photos, descriptions, difficulty ratings, width restrictions, seasonality, and more in a user-friendly interface. Available on all devices, with offline access and full compatibility with CarPlay and Android Auto. Discover what you’re missing today!