Bedford Road is a non-technical trail that takes you from Corona to the Main Divide Road on top of the Santa Ana Mountains. Locals from adjacent housing tracks below have used Bedford Road for years as a gateway to the hills. As you climb up, the road offer lots of flourishing plant life and great views of the valley below.
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From the 15 Freeway exit Weirick Rd (Exit 90) and go west. At Knabe (the first light) go left. Continue a half mile until you come to Bedford Motorway on the right hand side. The trail head is 1.7 mile straight ahead. Finding the trail head for the first time can be intimidating. The road is surrounded by newly developed neighborhoods and golf courses. On your way to the trail head you will see lots of "No Trespassing" signs. These signs pertain to parking. The road is open to the public. The trail head starts at 33.79915, -117.53249. Be sure to check the trail status before you go. This road is closed more than it is open.
Hello everyone, Bedford Motorway is a wonderful trail that leads from Riverside into the Cleveland National Forest. The trail was closed in 2021 by a disgruntled property owner who was tired of all the traffic going trough his property as Bedford was the last trail leading into CNF, on the Riverside portion, due to other trail closures. There is little to no action being done to open this trail, and according to CNF is closed indefinitely. We need the locals and the 4x4 community to help fight these closures of our forest. Email Joe Rosen at joseph_a_rosen@yahoo.com to join the Cleveland Caretakers if you're a local. if not reach out to CORVA to show them there is an interest in keeping Cleveland open. Finally email Ranger Vance at darrell.vance@usda.gov to show the CNF that we will no longer stand this closure. Thank you!
Definitely still closed. I got my hopes up for a minute when I hit dirt, but just past the fancy house on the left hand side, the gate is closed up tight. I think it sucks that I was only 10 miles away from Silverado canyon at that point but had to drive 29 miles out of the way to get around to the other way up the mountain. I hope this gets resolved somehow soon.
My good friend drove from the main divide road, and found the road closed. Same spot as the prior post.
He had not read up on the road status from this site, or USFS.
As a reminder, “know before you go”. Make sure to get as much information on the trails you ride.
I've been following activity on this trail due to conflicts with a property owner and the Bedford Road bisecting his property. As of today, Cleveland National Forest rangers have officially closed the trail until further notice. The GPX track of this trail does not include the section that crosses through the homeowner's property. The property is closer to the paved portion and near the other houses in the area (see photo).
Came down the Bedford Trail from Santiago Peak. Got there via Maple Springs Trail. When I got to the end of Bedford Trail to go into Corona, the trail was blocked by several red locked cables strung across with several signs stating private road and no trespassing. It being my first time on the trail, I believe it to be a public road. According to two of my off-road apps, it shows it as a public road.
The road was impassable. Being new to the trail and driving off-road, I did not see any other trails that were public access. We ended up having to drive back the way we came, canceling other plans we had in Corona. Plus side though, I had more trail driving time.
This trail is very local to me and one I really enjoy as a quick way to hit some dirt (had just been here last week).
However this morning while heading up from Knabe, one of the homeowners had put an unlocked chain across the dirt road. I let the first one down, re-hung it and proceeded under the impression this was a public thru-way. That quickly ended when there was another zig zagged dog chain across the road about 40’ from the first. The owner came outside when he saw me there and explained that the stretch in front of his house is his property, therefore his driveway, and that he had paperwork from the city saying he was within his rights to effectively close it down. I’m interested in researching the validity of this because everywhere I’ve read said the road to the trail was public, not to mention having gone here for years I’ve never had an issue with any residents. I wasn’t going to get in a fight with the guy over it so I went back down the hill.
I have a feeling it was disrespectful people blasting passed his house over the 4th (a**holes ruin everything). Like I mentioned earlier, I’d be interested in seeing this “paperwork” or talking to someone who would have a more official say on whether or not we, as the general public, have access to the trail via Bedford from Knabe.
Went here today. Perhaps I backed out too early, but there were signs everywhere saying I was on a private road and only authorized vehicles were allowed. Never even made it to dirt. Bummer.
I used this trail to get from the Corona side of the mountains to Orange County. There is one optional route half-way up that offers a good test of your articulation.
Easy trail, very scenic. Not very many others on trail especially considering it was on a Sunday. Will definitely do again and explore the connecting trails as well!
Easy relaxing ride. Felt like the only one on the mountain. Lots of stops along the way to enjoy the view. Took it up to Main Divide, then the North road from the divide for 2 miles. Windy day so view was beautiful. 4wd most of the way but probably not necessary. Saw only one car in two hours. It was a Crosstrek who might have issues with some ruts along the way.
Another nice and easy trail. Entered from the main divide north and went straight to the 15 freeway.👍🏿 I'm not sure if I was on the right road exiting because it said private road, but it was fairly short, less than 3 minutes to get to the main street.
My first time up Bedford Motorway. No traffic going up or down. I only saw a Jeep and. Landcruiser on the trail. Not technical perfect for first timers. Great view when it forks out to North/South Main Divide. If you venture either left or right there is no other way down. Per the Ranger everything is closed going down Skyline or towards the OC, especially towards the OC because of recent fires. Pretty much an out and back.
Ran up Maple Springs, across Divide, and down Bedford today in search of mud. We found it, and lots of it. Bedford is extremely torn up, the rains in the last week have wreaked havoc on it, there's now big ruts, some rocks strewn across the road, and lots of very loose quicksand-type mud. Did it in a Subaru Crosstrek (AWD) and a 4x4 Range Rover, and didn't have any issues besides the slipping and sliding.
This was our exit after traveling the Main Divide road to get to the 15. A well maintained road and it fact during our trip there was a dozer and water truck working the road. Easy with no offroad challenges except perhaps for the large bumps built into the road to divert water. My long JKU would occasionally bottom out on these.
My geocaching buddy and I hunted for BenchMarks today (surveyor disks), with less than our usual 50% success rate. I'll blame it on the heat and humidity, plus location descriptions written in 1935 with SCALED coordinates (+/- error of 600 feet). Besides this trail, we ran the Main Divide and Indian Truck Trail for a total of 30 miles and 5 hours. 2wd capable but very rough in spots with a 10mph max speed.
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I have been a southern California native my entire life. Growing up we spent a lot of time in the Eastern High Sierras, the Calico Canyons and the San Bernadino Mountains. When I got my first car, my free time revolved around it. A few years later I got my first off-road truck. Now I was able spend time doing all the things I loved.
Over the years I have had a variety of different off-road vehicles. Some were stock, while others were highly modified. With my son recently getting his own 1st generation Toyota 4Runner, we have been spending more time working on his truck and hitting the trails.
Whether exploring, hiking, hunting or camping, being outdoors with my family is how I want to spend my down time. Life is too short to spend it on the couch. Go out there and find your next adventure.
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