9S07 - Palomar Divide - California Offroad Trail

500

Open

Rated 3/5

Visited: 06/03/2023

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Palomar Divide is a great option for those days when you want to take in some amazing views and just need dirt. Mostly easy terrain, although rutted in a few spots and some broken asphalt near tge bottom. The offshoot up to High Point Fire Lookout, when the gate is open, is a little more challenging drive. Unfortunately, the gate connecting the portion that passes through the Palomar Observatory means this is up and back. Passing other vehicles may be difficult in spots.

Adam

400

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 05/29/2023

Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

It was a beautiful sunny day and the trail was open. The Rain and water has made parts of it a little more routed and off camber, which made it more fun to test our suspension a little bit, but nothing too difficult. As you get towards the top, 4 wheel drive makes it much easier and you will appreciate a high clearance vehicle.

Rob

1000

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 04/30/2023

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

Trail open on 4/30/23. Nothing technical at all on the trail but lots of views and the fire watch tower is fun to check out, though you aren't allowed to go up to tour this one. Parts have been burned about 2/3 the way up the trail between waypoints 7 and 8.

Tommy

2700

Temporary Closure

Visited: 01/10/2023

closed 1/10/22

Andy Kim

100

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 08/27/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Ran this trail on Saturday 8/27/22, connected to the High Point Trail. The road between the two trails is probably a bit more difficult than either of them. Good run, beautiful day. Nissan Frontier and a Toyota Tundra

Brad McLernon

100

Temporary Closure

Rated 2/5

Visited: 02/14/2022

The gate was closed, so we took a nice walk. I’ll try again in a couple of weeks and will report back.

Spike

400

Temporary Closure

Visited: 12/19/2021

Trail was closed

Steven Forrest

1200

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 12/31/2020

This trail looks very promising. We are eager to give it another try. On the plus side, it's beautiful. It's not technical at all . On the minus side, the road is very "one lane" and there are not many places to pass another vehicle, which means a lot of backing up. We only encountered two vehicles and we got lucky with passing. We turned around after about 4.3 miles because the road was getting icy -- the photo looks pretty tame, but the thought of backing up for a quarter mile on a slippery shelf road . . . well, better to live to chicken out another day. It was only going to get worse as our elevation increased. Most of the 4 miles we covered were actually paved, but the asphalt is falling apart - easy driving, but unpleasant. The views are killer though - gorgeous landscape. We plan to return after everything melts and dries up a bit. We'll aim for a weekday to minimize the chances of having to back up for those long distances -- no fun in that. Other than the photos here on the website, I have no idea what to expect up on the higher ground -- I'm eager to find out!

Andy Kim

100

Temporary Closure

Visited: 01/03/2020

It was closed even though the website said it was open. Drove to High Point instead.

Justin

300

Temporary Closure

Visited: 12/22/2019

Closed when we came to visit even though the website said it was open. Would recommend calling the ranger station on a weekday before you plan to drive out.

Austin Whitmer

100

Open

Visited: 07/06/2019

This was a fun trail. Not really difficult, no real need for 4wd. It took us 3 hrs with some stops along the way. But as we reached the outlook post for Palomar the next gate was locked and we had to go all the way back the way we came. Also half way point was locked up also.

John

200

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 06/29/2019

The description of this trail is seriously wrong. It's 22 miles end-to-end and will take a minimum of 3 hours plus any stops you make. (Though there are remarkably few places to stop.) Going S to N, the road is paved from not long after the start up through the Ware Mine--really broken up, bad old asphalt. But after that it's happily a gravel/dirt/sand road. Definitely interesting in many places. Never technical, but our average speed was 7.4 MPH (and there are faster parts at both ends, so really probably 5 MPH through most of it. It's beautiful up there, but the road was a bit long for so few stops.

Marcelo B. Castellon

200

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 06/23/2019

Sunday was open. What a great trail, easy with some spectacular views on the way up and amazing 360 degree view from 6,000ft+. Will for sure be back to explore more and perhaps do some camping. No sweat for a stock 2012 Rubicon Unlimited so I can't imagine anything similar having any problems. Beautiful day to visit the Fire Watchtower, there are a couple of benches it was a perfect place for us to have lunch, with those views. It is unfortunate the gate to observatory is closed though I understand why, though they can be clearly seen from watchtower really beautiful. Highly recommended. Leave no trace only your foot prints and tire tracks!

Jeff Neubauer

400

Seasonal Closure

Visited: 03/26/2019

Trail is still closed... please view this website for trail status. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/cleveland/alerts-notices/?cid=stelprdb5340229

Justin lawler

100

Temporary Closure

Visited: 01/21/2019

Due to the government shutdown the trail has been closed temporarily. We were bummed as we drove an hour to get here and couldn't drive the trail. Beautiful area though and we will for sure try again soon!

sdde4n

750

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 12/26/2018

Great views and a nice, easy trail. No clearance or traction issues with a full-size pickup in 2wd. Just a dusting of snow at the top and not a soul in sight. Descended Oak Grove and High Point back to SR-79.

Joseph Meyer

200

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/22/2018

Took my 2 sons ages 10 and 4 on this trip. I expected a boring ride from reviews on other sites, but I actually had a lot of fun! Lots of tight switchbacks, and exciting cliff and ridge driving. Plenty of areas to pass other vehicles making the return trip. The views are amazing. Had a run in with a rattlesnake along the trail so be careful getting out of your truck. I’m in a stock 2018 Tacoma OR 4x4 but a 2 wheel drive should be ok on this trail. It is an out and back trail at this time so be prepared with water and snacks for this half day trip. The rangers at the lookout are very friendly and invite you to look around and explore this “citizen owned land” lol.

Steven Preyer

100

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/16/2018

This was our first offroad adventure in our newly acquired 2006 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon in stock condition. We drove from Temecula and it took about 30 min to arrive at the trailhead. I was worried that this would be a boring dirt road but it provided plenty of entertainment and scenery for the wife and daughter. The High Point lookout was open so we enjoyed the views and meeting with the out-of-state forest service crews that were up there helping out / training. The trip was definitely dry, hot, and dusty but perfect to break in the Jeep and our driving skills. The review from Trails Offroad was very accurate!

YoJuan

200

Open

Visited: 05/13/2018

Seeing as how my wife rejected any ideas of going anywhere where there are crowds for mother's day, my son suggested we go for a drive. I had been wanting to check out the Palomar Divide 9S07 to 8S05 trail, so off we went in my beloved 100% stock 2001 Land Rover Discovery II SE7. We drove from San Diego through Ramona, Santa Ysabel to Warner Springs to pick up the east end of the 9S07. Trail is in excellent condition, could likely be done in any stock SUV with a little clearance. The asphalt section was longer than I expected! Gate to 9S06 Halfway Road was closed. We parked at the gate and hiked up the road leading to the lookout. Beautiful 360 degree views, well worth it! I always avoid out and back routes, so we decided to take the 9S09 / 8S05 High Point trail down towards Temecula and loop back to San Diego. This section was a little rougher, but still doable in a higher clearance stock vehicle. We saw more traffic on this section, but only encountered one vehicle going up 9S07. This is a great relaxing drive with beautiful views and a good way to avoid the crowds over a weekend. I saw several yellow stake camping spots, could be a fun place to camp also.

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