Odessa Canyon
Features: Perhaps the most popular route in the Calico Mountains. Visit Bismarck Mine, Wall Street Canyon Overlook and Hidden Valley. Many additional mines along the route. Great views at the top. (If you see a Desert Tortoise, do not pick up or harass.)
Difficulty: Difficult. Very challenging but easier than the Doran Loop trail if you take the bypass. Narrow and rocky in places. Not for large vehicles or stock SUVs. Differential lockers, skid plates and high ground clearance required.
Time & Distance: Approximately 6.2 miles as described here counting the easy section at the start. Allow 3 to 4 hours but add time for side trips.
To Get There: Exit Interstate 15 at Ghost Town Road and head north following signs to Calico Ghost Town. Go east 0.5 miles past the entrance to the ghost town and turn left on a road marked Doran Scenic Drive.
Trail Description: Reset odometer at the start as you leave the paved road (01). Head north on an easy gravel road. The road enters a wash and splits in various directions. Keep right following the best traveled route. As you continue northeast on the main road, look left for tunnels cut into the hillside. This is a popular play area for ATVs, dirt bikes, and small 4x4s. Continue straight at 0.4 miles. (The small road to the right cuts across to Phillips Loop and Mule Canyon. This is a fun drive for short wheel-based vehicles. See complete description in the Phillips Loop trail guide.)
At 0.6 miles (02) bear right at a well defined fork. The canyon narrows and gets rougher. The first boulder field at 0.8 miles is the toughest part of the trip. Even short wheel-based vehicles will find it a tight squeeze. After that, it smoothes out for a while with intermittent small obstacles. The canyon tightens again by 1.3 miles with several narrow ledges made more difficult by remnants of the old paved road. Continue straight at 1.8 where a road exits the canyon on the left. Continue straight in the canyon at 2.1 miles (03) where a road crosses. (A right turn here would take you to Phillips Loop Trail.) Stay right at 2.3 miles where a road exits the canyon on the left. Odessa Canyon ends at an intersection at 2.7 miles (04).
Reset your odometer and turn left (04). (If you go straight at this intersection, you can reach Hidden Valley, Tin Can Alley and Mule Canyon Road. This route is described in Wall Street Canyon Overlook trail going in the opposite direction.) At 0.2 miles pass the Sweetwater Spring Hiking Trail parking area on the right. Bear left at 0.3 on a larger road. Bear left uphill at 0.5 (05) and head south across the side of a hill. When you reach a high point at 0.7 miles, bear right. Drop down a steep rocky hill. You can see Bismarck Mine below. You reach the mine at 0.9 miles (06).
Reset your odometer and bear left uphill. (If you go right downhill at the mine, you would be on the Wall Street Canyon Overlook trail.) When you reach a wide flat spot above the mine, turn right and head downhill. At 0.2 miles (07) make a right then an immediate left downhill. (The uphill road climbs to a high observation point then drops down the mountain on a difficult road before connecting back into Bismarck Canyon.) Drop down a ledge mixed with pavement at 0.4 miles. The canyon drops earnestly now with more rocky ledges. You'll pass a large sign painted on the rocks marked "Danger Keep Out." Bear right at 1.3 miles where a road climbs out of the canyon on the left. Immediately, pass through a very narrow spot in the canyon.
At 1,6 miles (08), a side road climbs out of the canyon on the right. This is the bypass for the Doran Trail's major obstacles. Walk down and inspect the obstacle before proceeding. The obstacle is extreme and body damage is likely. If you go down the obstacle the trail takes you back to the fork you passed on the way in (02).
To take the bypass, tum right uphill out of the canyon (08). You get a great bird's eye view of the obstacle from the bypass. Follow a high scenic ridge southwest. It provides great views of Odessa Canyon below. The trail soon turns left off the ridge and drops into a narrow canyon twisting through boulders. When you reach the bottom of the canyon, turn right to reach the paved road at 2.6 miles (01).
Return Trip: Right retums the way you came in. Left takes you past Mule Canyon Road towards Yermo.
Historical Highlights: The eroded paved portions of this trail are remnants of the old Doran Scenic Drive, constructed in the 1930s and popular for about a decade.
Source: Guide to Southern California Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails; see also Trails.com