Off-road recommendations for a beginner in SoCal?

[Gnat]

Hey all,

I’ve been doing a bit of research to find some easy to moderate trails to get my bearings on in my JL. Since it’ll be raining in socal this weekend I figured it would be fun to find some mud near the LA area.

Anyone have a recommendation for an easy/moderate trail close to LA?

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[RC3]

I don't know the LA area specifically - I can't imagine there are many trail areas in the city. But if you venture a little northeast toward the Inland Empire you have a lot of choices. One of the easiest trails to access in Cleghorn Road off of the I-15, near Hwy 138. This starts directly off of the freeway and climbs up over the mountain to Silverwood Lake. It is an easy dirt road that would be great for breaking in a new rig or a new driver. And it also has many by-pass routes that shoot off of the main road for a little more of a challenge. You can google it for more info and videos. Another great thing about Cleghorn is that there will be other people and rigs out there, in case you happen to need help. It is never a good idea to wheel alone.

And then there is the Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead areas of the San Bernardino Mountains. Up there you will find everything from fire roads to full on rock crawling trails like Dishpan Springs and John Bull.

 

[tgoss]

Big Bear is great. You can even get up to johnson valley and play around in the lakebed or in cougar buttes.

I personally think a trip out to ocotillo wells would suite you best to get your feet wet. Tons of mild to everything out there. Just go with a buddy or two and bring recovery gear.

 

[Hazmater911]

Dove Spring outside of Mojave is wide open. All levels. Very little cell coverage so have a friend with jeep go with you.

 

[PJ97]

If your looking for mud in specific, you can try azusa canyon OHV. It is up the San Gabriel Mountains. They are open only on weekends I believe and its $5-10 dollar fee. Google it and you can find a lot of videos.

 

[Gnat]

Thanks for all the input! Went up to San Gabriel OHV a few weekends ago and have planned a trip out to Joshua tree in a few weeks

 

[PJ97]

Thanks for all the input! Went up to San Gabriel OHV a few weekends ago and have planned a trip out to Joshua tree in a few weeks

How was it at San Gabriel OHV? I haven't been there in months (before Jl's were even released).

 

[dudemind]

I'm a SoCal-area beginner too, though sort of by choice. Been driving "off road" for years, but I like driving scenic dirt roads at a slightly faster pace, not so much a fan of rock crawling.

Cleghorn, as others mentioned, is great. No pinstriping either!

There are also a ton of trails up near Lake Castaic/Hughes. Most of these are all dirt with very few rocks, and as long as you have the visibility around turns, you can drive rather quickly. Look up Forest Route 7N23. Entrance is off Pine Canyon Road. This also connects to another easy one: Liebre Mountain, which can take you all the way back to the 5, but the gate has been closed/locked for some time. There are a few offshoots you can take as well; the one to Atmore Meadows is good you want a bit more of a challenge and want to try out the low-range gearing over less-treacherous terrain.

If you're doing Joshua Tree, look up Berdoo Canyon. It's one of the lesser-known entrances into the park. It starts off the 10 and ends up connecting with Geology Tour Road, which you'll likely be driving once you're there. Berdoo is a fun drive through a nice, rocky canyon. I've managed it in a bone-stock Subaru Impreza, though driving quite carefully.

There's also Hungry Valley in Gorman. Lots of trails, ranging from very easy to more difficult, with a great map available online showing the difficulty of each so you can plan your route ahead. I think a lot of the more "hardcore" folk hate on it because it's supposedly all overrun, washed out, and easy. I rather enjoyed it.

So far have done all of the above almost entirely in 2WD mode, even over slower-speed, rockier sections. Really, the car I should have purchased for my purposes and driving style was the Sahara with Selec-Trac, but I'm hoping the lower-speed technical stuff the Rubicon was meant for will grow on me.

 

[RockinMarine]

I will be taking my new ride up Cleghorn Rd tomorrow. Lytle Creek also has some pretty good fire roads up there. But just be watchful, there are some areas that eroded or have slides from previous earthquakes. But it has some great roads to venture around on.

 

[RockinMarine]

Took it up over Cleghorn Rd yesterday. The family loved it. But at first we ended up taking the beginner road from Cleghorn to the 138. The drove over to Silverwood and took the more advanced road back over to the Cleghorn trail. It is definately for more experienced drivers. We came across a couple spots that tested not only my abilities, but the suspension to its limits. I maxed out the suspension a few times. Only keeping 2 or 3 wheels on the ground at a time.
So if your not very experienced, I caution against this trail if your not with someone else. You will get stuck.

 

[ResqFE]

Big Bear Forest fest in 18-20 June anyone???? They are offering easy trails too. We are camping 2 nights there.

 

[JoKuR]

I am in the same boat. I’m in the Santa Clarita area and would love to test out my jeep. Just hit 400 miles so I’m ready to go off-road. Just one issue tho, I have no off-road friends.

 

[ResqFE]

I am in the same boat. I’m in the Santa Clarita area and would love to test out my jeep. Just hit 400 miles so I’m ready to go off-road. Just one issue tho, I have no off-road friends.

Well you are more than welcome to go with us to Big Bear. I'm more into trailing, not rock crawling and are doing the easy trails.

Check out Monache Meadow. Planning a 2 nighter up there if its open, 4-6 May. I'm looking for a back up if Monache meadow is closed.

 

[dudemind]

I am in the same boat. I’m in the Santa Clarita area and would love to test out my jeep. Just hit 400 miles so I’m ready to go off-road. Just one issue tho, I have no off-road friends.

I know the off-road safety police will say I'm an idiot for suggesting this, but Hungry Valley in Gorman is near you and very easy to do alone (route out only the easy trails beforehand). Should you get stuck, you're highly unlikely to be stuck for long before another vehicle passes by.

If off-roading alone, might be a good idea to have a ham radio with you and program the local emergency frequencies. Should you somehow end up completely, life-threateningly stranded, you can try pinging them for help. I forget if you need a license to transmit requesting emergency assistance (I believe the answer is no); but note that the license is very easy to obtain - I "studied" for maybe 4 hours and breezed through the "exam" with a perfect score in less than two minutes (every question/answer is available beforehand).

 

[JIMBOX]

Any beginner shouldn't ever go off-road ALONE-

You should do some research and find a LOCAL 4wd club and introduce yourself--they're all great people and would really enjoy having you make some light treks with them-alittle teaching/training and that will payback-

The jeep is for going off-road/onroad with very few restrictions and "Rock crawling" i not "CRAZY" almost all off-road treks will encounter some rocks and you shouldn't have trouble IF YOU THINK/PLAN your routes--

My HABIT for over 55 years is to IMMEDIATELY engage 4hi as soon as you leave the paved road--that way if you encounter a real 4wd area--you're set and you don't have to "SUDDENLY" TRY to force 4hi--

After all-----what did you buy the jeep for ???

Good luck

JIMBO

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