Dirt Bike Trails Near Lake San Marcos, California

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Nate Harrison Grade

Nate Harrison Grade is a dirt backroad into Palomar Mountain State Park. This trail leads from typical Southern California scrubland scenery up to lush forests and mountain views. You'll encounter loose rocky areas and several…
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Total Miles
7.8
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Orosco Ridge Truck Trail 12S02

This trail winds its way through the Cleveland Forest from Pamo Road to the Guejito Truck Trail. The trail is not very well maintained. It is very rutted. The trail takes you up and over…
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Total Miles
5.4
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su

Santa Ysabel Truck Trail

Santa Ysabel Truck Trail is a narrow, shelf-road trail running through a section of the Cleveland National Forest in Ramona. The trail follows along Santa Ysabel Creek and offers beautiful views over the mountains, and…
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Total Miles
4.8
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Sp / Su

11S03 Lusardi Truck Trail

11S03 Lusardi Truck Trail is an 11.6-mile out-and-back trail rated 3 of 10 located within the Cleveland National Forest, Trabuco Ranger District. Lusardi Truck Trail ascends the Carney Canyon between the Black Butte (west) and…
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Total Miles
5.6
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Wi

11S04 Black Mountain

11S04 Black Mountain is a 10.8-mile out-and-back located in the Cleveland National Forest, Palomar Ranger District. This is a limited-use trail restricted to street-legal vehicles. The trail is rated 3 of 10 but has the…
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Total Miles
5.2
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

8S05 - North Palomar Mountain Road

8S05 is a well-maintained service road, but you can expect large rocks, ruts, and very steep drop-offs throughout. The weather could have a significant impact on the road. Muddy conditions are likely; one should ensure…
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Total Miles
10.1
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp

Otay Mountain Truck Trail

This route goes up and over Otay Mountain with sweeping views over the San Ysidro Mountains, and a little bit of San Diego in the distance. The road is made up entirely of dirt and…
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Total Miles
13.4
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Wi / Fa / Sp / Su

North Main Divide Road

Tucked amidst the hustle and bustle of Southern California's heavily-populated coast is a slice of heaven called the Cleveland National Forest. This mountainous region is undeveloped, save for a few great trails connecting world-class views…
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Total Miles
11.4
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

Donohoe Loop-Mocogo Ranch Trail

Donohoe Loop-Mocogo Ranch Trail is an 8.2-mile point-to-point trail rated 4 of 10 located in San Diego County. The Donohoe Loop is located entirely within BLM-managed Open Space that can be utilized for OHV driving,…
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Total Miles
7.9
Tech Rating
4 Moderate
Best Time
Sp / Su / Wi / Fa

Hixon - Bautista Trail (2E43)

The Hixon - Bautista Trail is an ATV/Dirt Bike Trail in San Bernardino National Forest. This trail includes a significant amount of elevation gain from Bautista Canyon to Red Mountain. The fantastic views stretch from…
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Total Miles
5.6
Tech Rating
6 Moderate
Best Time
Fa / Wi / Sp

5S01 Indian Truck Trail

5S01 Indian Truck Trail is a 7-mile point-to-point trail rated 3 of 10 located within the Cleveland National Forest, Trabuco Ranger District. Indian Truck Trail ascends 2,500 feet over the 7-mile drive from the Temescal…
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Total Miles
6.6
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

Oriflamme Canyon Loop

This trail starts and ends in Banner and loops around Chariot Mountain and goes into the Oriflamme Canyon. The trail is open to all types of 4x4s and dirt bikes, although the entrance through Banner…
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Total Miles
14
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

3S04 Main Divide to Santiago Peak

The Main Divide is composed of 3 sections, all of which are easy going trails that can be done with any high clearance 4x4 or a low clearance AWD vehicle with care. This trail offers…
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Total Miles
4.6
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Rouse Ridge via Cottonwood

Rouse Ridge via Cottonwood is a trail that scales Rouse Ridge/Thomas Mountain using Cottonwood (6S18) and Thomas Mountain Rd (6S13). This trail offers stunning views in all directions as you ascend and descend the mountain.…
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Total Miles
11.1
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Fa / Wi

Los Pinos Mtn. Loop

The first part of this loop to the fire lookout tower has been paved since our last visit in 2002. ATVs are not allowed on this portion. The remainder of the loop is all dirt…
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Total Miles
18
Tech Rating
4 Moderate
Best Time
Sp / Fa

Maple Spring Road

Maple Springs road offers a fun, relatively easy route with scenic views of the Cleveland National Forest. Vehicles should have some ground clearance. At the end of the trail is an elevated patch of asphalt…
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Total Miles
11.6
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Wi / Su / Fa / Sp

5S06 Idyllwild Control

5S06 Idyllwild Control is a 6-mile point-to-point trail rated 3 of 10 located within the San Bernardino National Forest, San Jacinto Ranger District. 5S06 climbs from Highway 74 nearly 3,000 feet, ending at the intersection…
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Total Miles
5.8
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

Spur Meadow

Spur Meadow is an out-and-back single-track trail. It features hard-packed dirt with rocks and a few tight switchback turns. Be mindful that this trail travels in both directions. There are a few rocky sections with…
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Total Miles
2.8
Tech Rating
4 Moderate
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

San Jacinto Ridge Trail (FS 5S09)

San Jacinto Ridge is a two-way trail running East to West between the Banning-Idyllwild Panoramic Highway (SR 243) and Bee Canyon Road (FS 5S07) in the San Bernardino National Forest. Comprised of mostly hard-pack dirt,…
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Total Miles
10.4
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Gunslinger Trail #11

Gunslinger Trail #11 is a 1.8-mile point-to-point trail rated 3 of 10 located in the Corral Canyon OHV recreation area. Corral Canyon OHV is located roughly 30 miles east of San Diego and it offers…
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Total Miles
1.8
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

Bear Valley Road

This out-and-back OHV trail is open to all types; 4X4's down to dirt bikes. There is a small parking lot at the beginning of the trail, right off the freeway. A displayed adventure pass is…
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Total Miles
6.5
Tech Rating
5 Moderate
Best Time
Wi / Fa / Su / Sp

East Indian Canyon 4S10

This is a level 2-rated full-width road back to Highway 243. This is the fastest and safest way back up to Highway 243. The route through Bee Canyon is currently closed. 2 areas had a…
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Total Miles
8.2
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp

Tecate Peak

This is a pretty mellow 2-track road leading to the top of Tecate Peak. The lower part of the trail is a grave road. If there has been a lot of rain, expect ruts! There…
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Total Miles
6.2
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp

Wrangler Trail (901)

Wrangler Trail is part of the Corral Canyon OHV Area in the Laguna Mountains of San Diego County. Corral Canyon is one of the only remaining OHV areas in San Diego, which attracts offroaders of…
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Total Miles
3.4
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Sp

Kernan

This mostly single-track trail is hard-packed with some rock gardens and bigger boulders that you can ride around. Starting at the top from the eastern side off of Long Valley Road, the trail begins with…
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Total Miles
5.2
Tech Rating
5 Moderate
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

Sidewinder

Total Miles
1
Tech Rating
7 Difficult
Best Time
Sp / Fa

Bronco Peak

If you are exploring the Corral Canyon OHV Area, this is the main 4-wheel-drive trail. Most of the trails are specifically for ATVs and dirt bikes, but this one is open to 4X4 vehicles and…
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Total Miles
2.4
Tech Rating
8 Difficult
Best Time
Sp / Fa

Indian Mountain Trail

Indian Mountain is a two-way trail between the Banning-Idyllwild Panoramic Highway (SR 243) and the San Jacinto Ridge Trail (FS 5S09) in the San Bernardino National Forest. Comprised of mostly hard-pack dirt, the trail weaves…
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Total Miles
4
Tech Rating
7 Difficult
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Long Valley Loop Road

This loop is the second half of this out-and-back OHV trail. It's open to all types: 4X4's down to dirt bikes. The trail itself offers a little bit of everything from rocky sections, to ruts,…
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Total Miles
4.3
Tech Rating
5 Moderate
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

Black Mountain Road

This is an easy trail that most stock vehicles could tackle. There are some really beautiful views, and the high point is the lookout, which gives a breathtaking view of the sunset. There are 5…
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Total Miles
5.1
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi