Part of the John Bull Trail network, Little John Bull or John Bull East, is eastern portion of this trail commonly bypassed by offroaders traveling John Bull West. Along this route, you will find it somewhat easier obstacles then its more difficult west side. But don't be confused, this trail will still challenge most drivers with is rock crawling, and is known for it carnage just like its west half.
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Follow HWY18 east of Big Bear Lake, turn left onto Holcomb Valley Rd towards the Big Bear landfill. Turn left onto 3N16 just before the landfill entrance, after about 2 miles your come up to 3N02 on your right. Turn onto 3N02 and follow it about 1 mile to 3N10, turn left onto 3N10
The forest service has deemed the San Bernardino Forest unsafe for public off-roaders to use until June 30th.
For more information on this:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1095216.pdf
If you disagree with the complete forest closure, please call (909) 382-2682 and ask to speak to the head ranger.
You can also contact the head office in Washington,DC, and voice your concern there. (202) 912-7055
Another person you could contact your senator and express your feeling - (949) 598-5850 (Alex Padilla) or (202) 224-3121 (DC switch board)
If you are unhappy with this at all, please make sure you sign up for the local off-road collations (Cal4wheel, and Corva). Feel free to reach out to them and ask what you can do.
Cal4Wheel - (916) 381-8300
CORVA - 916-710-1950
Pretty easy most of the way besides the 2 obstacles. I have have an overbuilt overlander which made it pretty easy. It's a first gen 4runner with 35's on long travel suspension up front. The hillclimb is a bit intimidating, but pick the right line and it's not difficult. Same with the V-Notch just get out the car and take note of where your tire placement needs to be.
Dash Cam video here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZLAGEPr414
A nice moderate rock trail, just like I like them. My Eagle struggled a little bit on one rock on the hill climb, different line worked. The v notch was not that horrible with good spotting. The bypass seemed harder due to a few boulders that were in the way. Pretty scenery. Good times.
Ran this trail from West to East with a group of 3; us in our 2011 JKU on 35’s with a 4” lift and 5.13 gears, another Jeep JKU Rubicon on 35’s with 3” lift, and a 2008 4runner on 32’s with a 3” lift. This trail was definitely lots of fun, but I would not advise this for a beginner unless you are with someone more experienced. With good spotting we all made it through with no body damage just some pinstripping from hugging the trees on certain lines. Definitely appears to be much harder going from west to east, the hill climb was pretty intimidating and very dug out but just take your time. Our JKU is a sport so no lockers and didn’t even disconnect on this and we made it through without getting stuck at all. As this is the first time I’ve ever ran this trail I am unaware of the normal condition but it appeared to be pretty dugout in most sections.
Great Intermediate trail. Took this trail from East to West with 23 Gladiators. V-Notch was a little more dug out than usual, however everyone in out Gladiator group made it through without getting stuck, even the non-Rubicons. Just make sure you have a good spotter, as you can't see your lines going down. Bypass, not much better, almost everyone did the V-Notch. Going up (west to east) would be significantly harder. Samples here of the trail. Video of V-Notch starts at minute 10. Video of V-Notch from outside also on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IgT1LTXhG4
Ran this today after Gold Mountain. Most of the trail was easy but the hill climb and the steep down hill were fun. I made the mistake of avoiding the vnotch and stayed right. Kept it upright but definitely a pucker moment coming off the rocks.
Fun little pre-trail before hitting John Bull! The trail has some pretty fun sections that will definitely give you a glimpse of what it's big brother is like. The V-Notch this time around was nice and deep so it made for a great time. This would be a great trail for newer 4xers looking into possibly running harder trails in the area.
Simple verison. Short but fun. The end, this trails is pretty short, but if you've never driven a V-notch then I'd say stop by an check this trail out. Its not a tough V or a very long one, but still a pretty fun obstacle and can give you a taste of what the full John Bull trail has to offer. Check the video below from my most recent trip!
Ran this trail both ways today and the v-notch was an especially fun challenge coming back up. Otherwise the trail seemed to be in similar condition as usual.
What a great medium/hard trail! Based on the trail review and video, I thought this might be a good proving grounds for my newly required (and nearly stock) '95 YJ and brother-in-law's TJ and boy was I right. I definitely wouldn't suggest anyone else attempt this in such a stock vehicle, but we did make it through with some rock stacking, generous use of throttle at times, and getting high-centered once in the little YJ. Everyone else we saw running the trail were on 35" tires and had no problem.
Really fun trail if you're in the Big Bear area. As this video shows, Little John Bull is just one part of a great loop that's available in this region. We ran this trail in the middle of summer, when the weather is usually dry and clear. As the pics show, however, we ran into quite a rain storm, which made for some fun adventures...
This is a great trail for a newbie as long as he is led by someone experienced. Probably not doable in a stock vehicle. Even the easy parts are rocky and fun. The V-notch is the most exciting obstacle and be advised that you will be riding your sidewalls on the way down. Don't tackle this trail alone and have a good spotter along for the v-notch.
This is a great trail to test your rig. Not too hard and not too easy.
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Joshua Noesser grew up in Southern California but has lived in different parts of the country during his young adult life. Josh was first turned to four wheeling when he road with one of his friends dad up Surprise Canyon in the Panamint Valley at age14. After nearly 3 different roll overs later and a half dozen intense waterfalls, Josh was hooked. At 16 he purchased his first Jeep a CJ 7 and by 17 was putting his first locker in it.
Currently, Josh is the owner and CEO of Nybble, an IT Solutions Company based in Orange County, California. Nybble isn't your normal IT company where everyone stays in and plays video games. Nybble's average company trip is out on the trails since a good amount of his staff enjoy wheeling too. As Josh likes to say, he offers the only IT Company with the ability to provide services in extreme locations. "If you want a server at the top of The Hammers, we will take care of that for you."
Today you can find Josh out on the trail behind the wheel in one of his three different off-road vehicles. See the vehicles below for more information.
If you ever run into Josh, please say high, he is a very friendly person and is always happy to have a new person join the group.
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