FSR 183 (route to Elephant head)

[philmacduff]

Did Elephant Head yesterday with some friends. We found FSR 183 was not visibly marked from Mt Hopkins road as FSR 183. It did indicate that it was a route towards Agua Caliente Canyon. A small brown sign, set back from Mt Hopkins Rd was visible, but only about 40 yards down the dirt road. Additionally, this road is not recommended for passenger cars. We took a Toyota Venza (2WD), Subaru Outback (2WD I believe) and a Nissan Murano (2WD). Approximately 200m from the Elephant Head trailhead, we encountered a stretch of the road that none of our cars could safely pass. The road was completely dry, but there were too many rocks projecting up to get around. We backed down the road a ways and found spots where we could safely pull to the side. With *careful* driving, passenger cars could probably make it to this point. High clearance vehicles (9" or more is probably necessary) can make it all the way.

[rwstorm]

@philmacduff
I have driven that road many times to do the Elephant Head or Agua Caliente Trail hikes. The turnoff from the Mt Hopkins road (before the visitor center) is easy to miss initially if you aren't familiar with it, but I never have had trouble in the RAV4 or Tacoma. Yes, there are a few gnarly spots, but if you have the right vehicle, no problem.

[SkyIslandHiker]

FR183 continues to deteriorate with each passing year. However, I didn't have any problems driving my 2010 Subaru Forester all the way to the Elephant Head Trailhead this morning although there were a few gnarly spots along the way. For reference the 2010 Forester has 8.7" of ground clearance per Subaru specs.