For the next trail in our off-road trail spotlight series, we take a look at Front Range.
This is one of the newer trails at Sand Hollow State Park and it’s only about 3 or so years old. Front Range is quite popular and fills up fast, especially during the winter 4X4 Jamboree but not everyone is cut out for it.
Front Range Overview
This trail is rated 8 and anyone who attempts it will soon figure out why. There are gnarly obstacles throughout the course right from the beginning and each will test your driving skills. You’ll be required to drive through a sand wash at the start of the trail and things will only get more intense from there. Expect lots of off-camber, ledges with scary, dangerous drops and wedges or cracks that will threaten to either tip over your rig or ruin your great paint job.
Forget about taking a stock 4×4 on this trail. To conquer it, you’ll need a custom truck or jeep with all the necessary modifications including upgraded suspension and shocks. Your rig should be fitted with 37” tires or above and should also have both front and rear differentials –they will really come in handy on this trail.
Surface and Scenery
You’ll be driving over sandy roads and sand dunes at first before these gradually give way to slickrock ledges which will give you sufficient traction for the abundant rock-crawling action. Towards the end, you’ll traverse two-track rocky roads.
If you persevere and crest the top of Front Range, you’ll be rewarded with absolutely stunning 360-degree vistas of Sand Hollow Reservoir, Hurricane Sand Dunes, Pine Valley Mountains, the cliffs of Zion National Park as well as the Arizona Strip.
Obstacles and Trail Details
Avid off-roaders looking for adrenalin-pumping action will have a blast on Front Range Trail. The obstacles just keep coming starting with The Pinch right at the start of the trail. As the name suggests, this is a wedge that will squeeze your rig, requiring you to maneuver the front passenger tire to the top of the wedge or risk falling in.
Then you have The Dumper- which provides a great place to take a break and have lunch. You can then attempt the series of 3 cracks that earned this obstacle its name. These cracks are all at different heights, giving you lots of off-camber so it’s no surprise several vehicles have landed on their sides here.
From there you proceed to the Diamond Cut a 6ft ledge with a climb that will drop your off-roader into a 60ft long crack. You’ll have to pay attention when navigating this obstacle or the jagged rocks will ruin your vehicle’s paint job. It’s nothing that the truck 4×4 specialists at Dixie 4 Wheel Drive can’t fix though.
After that, you’ll have to go through Axle Alley, Flex-It and Rise Above to get to Lookout Rock which is the highest point of Front Range and also the last obstacle on the trail.
We recommend this trail to anyone looking for some hardcore off-roading to test their mettle.