Beginner Off-Road Trails Near Camp Pendleton South, California

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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The Palomar Divide is an easy drive with beautiful views. It is a single lane with pull-offs throughout. The majority of the trail is dirt, however, it has some old paved sections in the lower…
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Beautiful views of the valley below and mountains above. There are lots of switchbacks and about 600 feet of elevation gain in just a few miles of driving. The second half of the trail was…
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This trail cuts through a beautiful stretch of backcountry in eastern San Diego County and passes near hiking trailheads to three different waterfalls. The loop starts and finishes on graded dirt roads and has a…
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Rouse Hill is a ridgeline trail with tremendous west and east views. This trail is predominately hard-packed dirt with a loose top layer. It can be a bit sandy in some sections but that will…
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Rouse Hill Road is for street-legal vehicles only; no green stickers or OHV vehicles. Full-size vehicles are at home here, as the trail is a single track with plenty of room. The beginning of this…
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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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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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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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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…
Learn more about East Indian Canyon 4S10

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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This trail connects the Rouse Ridge via Cottonwood trail to the Thomas Mountain Campground via the western end of Thomas Mountain Road. During dry months, the trail is an easily passable dirt road, requiring only…
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Beautiful trail overlooking the neighboring town of Banning and the surrounding mountains. The deserted mountainscape is chock-full of secluded camp spots with some wind cover and appears to be used for shooting occasionally. The trail…
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Uneven, rutted dirt trail with loose rocks and sand. Muddy conditions should be expected during the rainy season. The trail is primarily one vehicle wide with some portions wide enough for passing oncoming traffic. Steep…
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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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This well-maintained fire road takes you up to boulder basin group campsite. On the way there, you'll see some turn-outs for rock climbing and overlanding. During the winter months, trails may be impassable due to…
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The trail is mainly hard-packed dirt and some sand once in the canyon. This trail passes through private property and has signs around the area, so just be respectful when driving through the first 4…
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This is a well-maintained road that needs high clearance just for potholes and washouts. It has some beautiful views of the Otay mountains with a lot of little offshoots to explore, given you have the…
Learn more about Otay Mountain Truck Trail (Upper Trail)

This is a well-maintained road that needs high clearance just for potholes and washouts. It has some beautiful views of the Otay mountains with a lot of little offshoots to explore, given you have the…
Learn more about Otay Mountain Truck Trail (Lower Trail)

Starting in Highland, 1n16 is a fairly easy dirt road with some parts rutted out, but any 4x4 can make it through the trail easily. Many parts of the trail are single-vehicle wide, but there…
Learn more about Alder Creek Road - FSR 1n16

This is an out and back route that ends at a nice hike and small campground. Along the way, you'll encounter a small water crossing or two, depending on the time of year and rain.…
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