Box Canyon Trail
Located in Pinal County, in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona, Box Canyon trail is a unique and scenic drive through a narrow, steep-walled canyon. It’s one of Arizona’s most popular 4-wheeling areas.
The road is gravel, rocky, tippy and bumpy at times. It’s 16 miles long. Avoid driving in this area if unpaved mountain roads aren't your strong point. There are a lot of blind corners so you have to go slow on motorized vehicles. 4x4 vehicle required. Stock SUVs with good ground clearance should be okay. You may bottom out occasionally but damage is unlikely.
This is not an extreme 4WD trail, but there are parts that need good ground clearance and quite a lot of ascent/decent will be fairly steep. There are several moderate-size rocks to get over.One day the road can be ‘smooth and easy to drive’, the next, it can be full of washboards that will bounce you right over the edge if you aren't careful. Certain sections may be steep enough to cause traction problems, and you may encounter very narrow shelf roads with steep drop-offs and tight clearance between rocks or trees.
Road conditions are always changing. Stay off this trail if rain is expected. The trail is very washboard with deep dust in places and subject to flooding and standing water after rains. Thunderstorm activity can quickly change unpaved roads to four-wheel-drive condition or make them impassable. This canyon is extremely dangerous when flooded. The walls of the canyon are too steep to climb out. Route-finding is easy.
Pic: Kerry Lawson