Mohave and Milltown Railroad Trail

For a challenging desert adventure, travel the Mohave and Milltown Railroad Trail in northwest Arizona. The trail occupies the corridor of the historic Mohave and Milltown Railroad, a private narrow gauge railroad built in 1903 that connected a gold mine near Oatman, Ariz., with the Colorado River. Due to washouts in the desert, the railroad was in operation for only 1 year, and the corridor became inactive in 1904.

The trail follows the railroad bed through a remote region of Mohave County, surrounded by desert mountains and plateaus. This rail-trail is suitable only for advanced mountain bikers and hikers because the surface is rough ballast. An adjacent path for off-road vehicles and equestrians parallels, and frequently crosses, the railroad bed. The best time to travel the trail is September through May. The Bureau of Land Management, which maintains the trail, recommends using caution when visiting the Mohave and Milltown Railroad Trail in the summer because the average temperature exceeds 100ºF.

Pick up the trail at the eastern trailhead, off of Boundary Cone Road, where you'll find a small parking area and a trail sign. Near the sign is a narrow single-track path leading away from the parking lot. Follow this for about 0.25 mile to the old railroad grade. From here the trail takes you west, following a slight decline for its entire length. Detours are sometimes necessary where the grade has washed away from flooding. Signs, directional indicators and rock cairns along the way keep you on course.

Down in the Colorado River Valley below, brilliant green pastures provide a sense of life in this stunningly desolate landscape. If there is a lot of winter rain, you'll also find abundant wildflowers from February through April. The trail ends at a Bureau of Land Management road, although this trailhead is not as defined as the one at Boundary Cone Road. You will, however, recognize the road because there is nothing else around but desert sage. If you have extra time, be sure to make a trip to Oatman, which is only about 5 miles from the Boundary Cone Road trailhead on historic Route 66. This gem of the Old West will take you back in time about a century and has a wide selection of restaurants, shops and tourist attractions.

To reach the Boundary Cone Road trailhead, from I-40 in Needles, Calif., take the J Street exit going east. After 0.2 mile take a left on Front Street. Go one block to K Street and take a right. K Street becomes SR 95 here. Follow SR 95 for 8.9 miles, then take a right onto Boundary Cone Road. The trailhead and parking are 9.2 miles ahead on the right side of the road.