There are lots of technical places with ruts, rocks, sand, and hills. But, there's also plenty of places to keep it simple and avoid the technical spots. The area is beautiful with scrub, chaparral, and desert habitats. Please stay on the trails and don't venture too close to the homes on the back side. Complaints on these issues will shut this and other places down. Want to keep riding? Be a good steward.
This place is large, you can ride all day and hardly see the same path twice. The weather was cold and may have kept some people at home. It had rained a bit prior to our arrival but this just made it better. For a Sunday in socal the crowds were easy to handle with plenty of room for all.
To get there: Take the Hwy 138
exit from the Interstate 15. Look for the Forest Service sign at the northbound entrance to the 15 (photo at left). Jump off the road onto the dirt road that runs along the north side of the 15. Follow the road a couple of minutes until you've gone under two overpasses. The staging area is between the second and third overpass. There is a toilet there in case you ate at the McDonalds just off the freeway.There are other areas to stage and other trails to ride in the area. Including rides up to the very scenic Lake Silverwood. I will cover this area in future entries.
This is forest service domain. Make sure you get an Adventure Pass. One day passes are $5, whole year $30. They can be had at the local gas station, at REI, or numerous sporting goods stores.
Below are three google earth images. Top is a southern California regional view to put the area in context. Middle is the local area showing the offramp and way to the staging area.
Bottom is a zoom in of the staging area and surrounding trails. Head north, go through two tunnels, keep to the fire road until you start finding single track to explore.
