Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge

Trail Overview

The main roads at the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge are quite wide, but very badly corrugated. Travel off of the main roads is very rugged. This area gets very hot and dry in summer, and in spring and fall there are extreme temperature gradients from day to night. This is a high-desert environment with sage, grass and generally very few trees. There is an excellent hot springs at the main campground, as well as some of the only good shade trees on the refuge. This road is a great way to access many other excellent trails in the area, however since it is a wildlife refuge, no off-road travel is allowed. Cell reception does exist in this area but is not reliable. The area is very remote.

Photos of Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge

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Difficulty

The road is generally two-vehicles wide, but highly corrugated. There is a lot of trailer traffic on this road and it gets very dusty. Between Warner Lakes and Warner Rim, there is a steep section which has deep corrugations and tight blind corners. This section is very dangerous in the snow.

History

The Hart Mountain Wildlife Refuge was founded in 1936, and covers more than 400 square miles. There are many historical locations at the Refuge including; Camp Hart Mountain, the historic hot springs which were built by a local fraternal organization, and the Refuge headquarters which was built by the CCC in the 1930s.

Technical Rating