Where To Run
Trails, Dunes & Runs
Indexed by state and rated for what a full-size Raptor can actually handle. Permits, seasons, air-down pressure, and the one thing at each place that catches people out.
- Locations
- 18
- States
- 7
- Stock capable
- 15
- No permit
- 8
All locations
18 locations shown
Glamis / Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area
The proving ground. Oldsmobile Hill, Razorback, Comp Hill, and China Wall separate the trucks from the trailer queens. Gecko Road and Wash Road are the mellow on-ramps if you are new to sand.
BLM checks for a valid permit and a whip flag at the wash entrances; summer heat and closures make this an off-season-only trip.
Johnson Valley OHV Area
Home of King of the Hammers, roughly 96,000 acres of open BLM land, free, no permit. The fast desert washes and graded roads out of Hammertown are Raptor territory; Backdoor, Sledgehammer, and Chocolate Thunder are built for buggies on 40s, not full-size trucks.
Come for the KOTH event in early February and the whole valley is a parking lot; go any other week for the miles without the crowd.
Moab
Slickrock and ledge country. Fins & Things and Hell's Revenge are doable in a full-size on 35s if you pick your line; Poison Spider, Top of the World, and Gemini Bridges are fine on the easier bypasses. Pritchett Canyon and the tightest slots on Hell's Revenge are not — a Raptor is too wide and the recovery bill is real.
Easter Jeep Safari week turns every trailhead into gridlock; summer heat on bare rock will cook your tires and your cooling system.
Ocotillo Wells SVRA
Free, no permit, mixed sand and desert terrain in one of the largest state vehicular recreation areas in California. Blow Sand Hill, Shell Reef, Gas Domes, and Pumpkin Patch cover everything from whooped-out washes to soft dune faces.
Shell Reef looks tame and eats undercarriages; walk anything you have not run before.
Silver Lake Sand Dunes
The only place east of the Mississippi you can legally run dunes. It is a fraction of the size of the western dune fields, so the ORV permit, the separate Silver Lake dune permit, and the whip flag all get checked at the gate. Great intro dune run for Midwest owners who have never aired down.
Vehicle counts and riding hours are strictly capped, so show up early on a weekend or you will be turned away at the entrance.
Little Sahara Recreation Area
BLM land, about 60,000 acres split into Sand Mountain, White Sands, and Black Mountain riding zones. A day-use fee and OHV sticker get you in; the terrain ranges from big open bowls to steep dune faces that will stall an underpowered rig.
Sand Mountain's steep faces have claimed plenty of trucks that hit them too slow; scout the crest before you commit to a climb.
Sand Hollow State Park
Red sand dunes and slickrock in the same park, outside Hurricane. West Rim, Top of the World, and Milt's Mile give you technical rock without leaving the dune area behind you. A day-use fee and permit apply.
The slickrock sections hold heat like a griddle in summer; go early or go in the off-season.
Barrett Lake / Wentworth Springs / Loon Lake (Rubicon-adjacent)
The Rubicon Trail itself, Georgetown to Lake Tahoe, is free to run but a full-size Raptor genuinely does not belong on it — Little Sluice and Cadillac Hill are body-panel and rocker-panel damage waiting to happen. The forest roads around Barrett Lake, Wentworth Springs, and Loon Lake give you the same granite-and-pine High Sierra scenery on routes actually sized for a full-size truck.
Snow closes access well into early summer most years; call ahead rather than trusting the calendar.
Stoddard Valley OHV Area
BLM land outside Barstow, free, open year-round. Fast desert washes and rolling hills close enough to I-15 for an after-work run. Good, honest Raptor terrain without the crowds of Glamis or Johnson Valley.
Summer daytime temps in the desert here will overheat a truck and a driver alike; run it early morning June through September.
Big Bear / Holcomb Valley
San Bernardino National Forest trails above Big Bear Lake. 2N02 through Holcomb Valley and 3N16 are wide enough for a full-size truck; Gold Mountain's John Bull spur is not — it was cut for Jeeps and side-by-sides, not a Raptor's width. Requires an Adventure Pass.
Snow closes the high routes into late spring most years, and afternoon thunderstorms turn the clay sections greasy fast.
Hollister Hills SVRA
State-run OHV park, about 6,800 acres, with the Upper Ranch set aside for 4x4 use. Trails are tight and treed, cut for Jeeps and narrower trucks, so a full-size Raptor will be working the mirrors and rock sliders more than the throttle.
Rain closes sections with zero notice to protect the clay trail base; check the park status page the morning you leave, not the night before.
Oceano Dunes SVRA
The only California beach you can still legally drive on, at Pismo. A day-use fee gets you onto sand that runs straight into the surf line, which is a different kind of terrain than any inland dune field. Riding acreage has been shrinking for years under ongoing closure litigation, so check current boundaries before you tow down.
Get your timing wrong on the tide table and the ocean will bury a truck up to the doors; rinse the salt off everything underneath before it drives home the rust.
Barnwell Mountain Recreation Area
TXMTRA-run park outside Gilmer, about 1,850 acres and 65 miles of trail rated green through black. East Texas red clay, hills, and mud pits are the terrain, a real change of pace from the western desert parks. A day fee applies.
The red clay turns to axle-deep soup after rain and stays that way for days, so check trail conditions before you tow three hours to get there.
Windrock Park
The largest private OHV park in the country, roughly 73,000 acres and 300-plus miles of trail above Oliver Springs. Trail 15/16 and Ivy Gap are the well-known full-size routes through Appalachian shelf rock, mud, and elevation that regular desert riders never see. Permit required at the gate.
Shelf rock breaks up traction differently than western granite; cell coverage disappears in the hollows, so tell someone your route before you drop in.
Rausch Creek Off-Road Park
Private park near Tremont, about 3,000 acres of green, blue, black, and red-rated rock trails. East Coast rock crawling at its best, but full-size trucks should stay on green and blue — the black and red trails are cut narrow for built Jeeps and buggies. Waiver plus day fee required.
Sign in at the gate and pick your color rating honestly; staff will turn a full-size truck around off a black trail before it gets stuck between two boulders.
Paiute ATV Trail
A roughly 275-mile loop through the Tushar Mountains near Marysvale, Richfield, and Beaver, plus more than 1,000 miles of connecting spurs. Free to run, and the main loop is legal and wide enough for a full-size truck; a lot of the spurs are 50-inch width limited and simply will not take a Raptor.
Elevation on the loop tops out near 11,500 feet, where snow can close sections into June and return again by October — check current conditions before you plan the whole loop.
Alabama Hills
BLM land outside Lone Pine, free to enter, easy graded dirt through the boulder formations along Movie Road and out to Mobius Arch. Not technical — this is a scenery run under the Sierra crest, not a trail rig test.
Dispersed camping now requires a separate permit under the newer BLM rules; day driving does not, but do not assume you can just pitch a tent.
St. Anthony Sand Dunes
BLM dune field of about 10,600 acres of pure white quartz sand, with Choke Cherry Hill as the signature climb. Free, no day-use fee, but a whip flag is required on the open dunes for visibility over the crests.
The fine white sand hides steep drop-offs on the back side of crests; crest slow the first time over any dune you have not seen.