Fossil Canyon Trail

Trail Overview

This is an easy-to-follow trail in the desert overlooking the valley floor. It ends at Fossil Canyon, a wilderness area where you'll have to continue on foot. To get started, you'll turn off Painted Gorge Road where the high-voltage powerlines cross the trail. Head east and generally follow the powerlines overhead and adjacent to the trail. Along the route, there are a handful of spurs where you can turn up towards the mountains that offer good dispersed camping sites. Eventually, the trail will run into Shell Canyon Road, and you'll turn north (right), taking it to where it dead-ends at the wilderness area.

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Difficulty

This trail has plenty of loose sand and ruts, but nothing an average 4x4 can't handle. You're unlikely to need 4WD the length of the trail. There is one washed-out section towards the end that is fairly tight; there's a high wall on one side and a drop-off into a wash on the other. Some spots are straight and smooth enough to open up the throttle, while others require careful navigation at slow speeds.

Technical Rating