Clarks Summit

Total Miles
29.5

Technical Rating

5

Moderate

Best Time

Spring, Fall

Trail Type

Full-Width Road

Accessible By

Show in App
Clarks Summit
4

Trail Overview

Explore the back side of Snow Summit Ski Area in the picturesque San Bernardino National Forest. The upper portion of Clarks Summit offers spectacular scenic lookouts and connects with Skyline Drive (Trail #73), which leads to the Radford Truck Trail. Views of Sugarloaf Mountain, the highest point in the San Bernardino National Forest, are the reward for reaching this point. This trail is only for street-legal vehicles. There are some narrow sections, but the road is typically well-graded. Be aware of hikers and mountain bikers, as well as other vehicles. The San Gorgonio campground in Big Bear is a great spot for making this an overnight adventure. Reservation are required through recreation.gov.

Photos of Clarks Summit

Clarks Summit
Clarks Summit

Difficulty

Moderate: Steep and narrow in sections, especially on the descent from Clarks Summit. A couple of spots are so narrow there is barely enough room to get out of your vehicle. Tight brush in places for wide vehicles. OK for most stock 4x4 SUVs with skid plates.

Technical Rating

5

Status Reports

Elijah Banta
Jun 09, 2025
2021 Toyota Tacoma
Open
Normal
Mike Colon
May 04, 2025
4x4
Temporarily Closed
Justin Hoffman
Apr 29, 2025
2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Open
Normal
This is for Clark’s grade starting at the 38 (first few miles are asphalt. The trail has been graded in many areas and is a beautiful easy trail. HOWEVER, it is closed up top at multiple gates. You CANNOT connect to Radford and instead need to go back west and find a way out. Also, due to rock slides there are a couple narrow areas where you rock scraping on falling off the shelf road. Did our best to move a rock but you’ll want a spotter. I would discourage anything wide going up. That being said it’s only a couple tight spots. A big pry bar or a winch could move the rocks. Hopefully gates up top will open up soon.
Justin Hoffman
Apr 29, 2025
2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Open
Normal
This is for Clark’s grade starting at the 38 (first few miles are asphalt. The trail has been graded in many areas and is a beautiful easy trail. HOWEVER, it is closed up top at multiple gates. You CANNOT connect to Radford and instead need to go back west and find a way out. Also, due to rock slides there are a couple narrow areas where you rock scraping on falling off the shelf road. Did our best to move a rock but you’ll want a spotter. I would discourage anything wide going up. That being said it’s only a couple tight spots. A big pry bar or a winch could move the rocks. Hopefully gates up top will open up soon.

Access Description

Take Highway 38 east from San Bernardino or south from Big Bear Lake to Forest Road 1N04 at mile marker 30.97.

Clarks Summit Map

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