Kofa National Refugee Trails

Hi all,

i am planning to get out of cold and head ether death valley or mojave, but one of my friends said to check out Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, anyone been there is it worth the 2 days trip from colorado? is it busy, seen some videos looks like alot of RV's/utv traffic or maybe parts only affected, any thing specific anyone can recommend, gps tracks or anything welcome, i got maps looks simple. just curious if i should head there instead of mojave/death since they got washed out hard core alot of trails looks like. Titus still closed

 

i guess no one done it?

 

I realize that i spelled it wrong Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is the place i was asking about not KOFU lol

 

There is a group planning to go to KofA the third week in April

 

Thanks, i found the site, but was curious if anyone had any tips on who to tackle it and if its hard trails or easy, its has lots of trails looks like and i plan to be there first of week of march would love to go with rest fo group but cant make that one.

 

It's some nice scenery in the KOFA. I haven't been on all the roads, but most are your basic desert roads with some sand, some rutting, no major rocky areas. It's a place worth checking out. It has an African plains vibe in the flatter areas.

 

I've spent a fair amount of time in KOFA. There's nothing super difficult, but there are both easy and moderate trails. The western edge trails along highway 95 (highway between Yuma and Quartzsite)tend to have a fair bit of RV and UTV camps but the number of people drops off sharply after you travel just a few miles east into the refuge. There are no shortage of places to camp. Despite having a lot of RVs on the fringes, the rest of it is very remote. Plenty of trails out there you won't see another vehicle all day. It is desert and it is harsh and remote, so be prepared in the many ways one would need to be. Water, first aid, etc. Needing a winch would be very unlikely but gashing a tire could easily happen.

Some trails that come to mind are McPherson pass and Kofa Cabin. McPherson from N to S starts off on a beautiful playa (with lots of camping areas) and winds its way through canyons and some washes. It's a moderate trail. Kofa Cabin trail from E to W is a fun trail with some very remote camp spots. It will take you through a number of washes and sand.

Is it worth a 2-day trip from Colorado? I don't know, that's pretty far drive, but the weather is good in Kofa right now, I was there a few weeks ago, typical winter desert; 30 degrees in the morning but 60s in the daytime. I'd suggest south-eastern Utah is a bit more 'epic' as far as scenery but depending on when you're traveling, it is still snowy and cold right now, so maybe not what you're looking for.

 

I just returned from there and going to say trails were not easy, apparently a lot of heavy rains passed through and washout of trails and sections missing was definitely challenging, I spend there 1 full week and defiantly love the trails and scenery and only explored northern portion to mid, mix of hard and easy trails was good but sometimes tiring and i think i left half of my paint and clear coat on the trail due to overgrowth. I will definatly come back next year explore the rest of the trails.

Thanks.

 

Photos?

 

Will post shortly

 

Here are some photos from trip.