Mohave Wash Trail
Carve through some desert washes just outside of Lake Havasu City on this fun and easy loop. Being so close to town, this area may get busy on the weekends, but becomes a ghost town during the intense summer months.
Where to go:
From Lake Havasu City, head south on Highway 95. Follow the highway for 6.5 miles to mile marker 173. About half a mile south of the mile post, the turnoff for the trail is marked with a kiosk on the left-hand side. If you reach a gravel pit, you’ve gone too far. Staging is available just off Highway 95 to the east.
Trail Description:
Head to the south part of the staging area to start the trail. The road you want heads northeast and passes along the edge of the gravel pit. After about 0.8 miles, the trail begins to follow a series of small washes. Route finding can be confusing so follow the most traveled path. Standard Wash gets wider the further northeast you go. At around 2.5 miles, all the channels meet up as the wash passes in between two mountains. As the wash turns sharp right at 4.1 miles, there are a couple of old mines to explore on the left if you have some extra time. Continue following Standard Wash until it forks at 5.1 miles. This is the beginning of the loop.
Stay to the left to stay in Standard Wash. The road weaves back and forth along the bottom of the wash, but all ends up in the same place. At about 7.7 miles, the trail leaves the wash and becomes Dutch Flat Road. Follow the road as it winds through some low hills. The trail forks at 9.2 miles, where you need to make an important right turn off the main road into a small wash. The trail soon leaves the Middle Mohave Wash but rejoins it at 10.2 miles. Follow wash east-southeast as several drainages join from the left. The wash gets progressively wider the further downstream you get. At 13.0 miles the trail enters a very scenic canyon section, a nice change of pace from the trail thus far.
At 16.9 miles, the wash you’ve been following drops into a larger wash. Off to the left a couple hundred feet upstream is an old water pump and corral. Proceed right (south) in larger wash when done. At 18.6 miles you need to make another important right turn into another, smaller wash heading west. Follow most traveled path. West Mohave Wash continues uphill and northwest. The trail leaves the wash at 26.5 miles and returns to hard packed dirt. The road continues in and out of several more washes before arriving back to Standard Wash at 28.5 miles. This marks the end of the loop. Stay left and continue 5.1 miles back to the staging area.
Notes & Trail Ratings:
The hardest part of this trail is simply the route finding. With so many washes, they all begin to look the same after a while. Carry a GPS and know the route before setting out. The total mileage is just under 34 miles. It’s very easy to add more miles exploring the numerous other washes. Allow for 3-4 hours to complete the trail. We’ve rated the trail a ‘2’ out of ‘10’. 90% of the time is spent in washes which have sections of deep sand. All the dirt roads are fairly easy. High clearance isn’t required but you want to make sure you don’t dig into the sand. Stock SUV’s should do fine. Perfect play area for dirt bikes, ATV’s, and UTV’s.