Sunflower Mine

A favorite loop trail of ours.

This loop trail is still one of our favorites despite the fact that the large wooden mill structure at this mercury mine is gone. Fortunately, a gigantic cinnabar tumbler remains. Cinnabar is the ore used to produce mercury. A large forest fire occurred in this area in 2014. Stay out of mines no matter how safe they may look.

First half of route to mine is moderately steep and rocky. Second half requires maneuvering over large boulders, sometimes covered by water. There’s one extremely steep, rocky hill. The trail sees much UTV traffic, but many drivers do not complete the loop because it’s so rocky. We still prefer our Jeep. We recommend a lift and lockers at the minimum.