4S01 - Black Mountain - California Offroad Trail

William Riley

200

Seasonal Closure

Visited: 12/28/2022

I should have read the reviews....trail is currently closed.

Simone Zucco

100

Seasonal Closure

Rated 4/5

Visited: 11/27/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

2 miles in trail was closed for winter

Deadhead Dave

8900

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 10/22/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Decided to bring a few buddies with me this time. The harder parts of the trail are a little bit more chewed up than in past trips up here due to storm damage. I hear they close this road for winter, so I will probably not do it again until spring.

Deadhead Dave

8900

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 09/24/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Came back here and was again wow’d by the wonderful scenery and fun trail. First part of the trail was very crowded then thins out once you pass the Fuller cut off.

Deadhead Dave

8900

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 08/21/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

I took this trail yesterday and enjoyed the amazing beauty of this portion of the forest that i don't get to very often. The views are amazing! I seriously was wondering why they gave this trail an intermediate rating, once you get to the "top", and the trail begins to go downhill, it does get a little more "fun". Nothing a Jeep can't handle. Very much worth the trip for the scenery alone, if not for the trail difficulty,

Jon Houchin

4700

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 08/06/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

Great trial to escape the heat, it was over 100 in Hemet but 68 at 7,500'. The trail up through waypoint 7 is more like a road and could be driven in the family sedan. Past waypoint 7 was much less busy and more trail-like, it included some mild off-camber, loose rocks, and small steps but still very easy. Chatted with some dual-sport motorcyclists at the end of the trail and a couple F250, crew cab, long bed truck drivers on the way back out, everyone was enjoying the trail. There are some truly spectacular views, great rocks to climb, and beautiful conifer forests. A relaxing drive and lunch in Idyllwild afterward made a great trip.

Greg Pedersen

300

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 07/05/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

This was a very peaceful and scenic drive. Scouted a few great yellow post campsites, and stopped many times to enjoy the fantastic views. As others have mentioned, this is an easy trail. Only reason to give it a technical rating of 3 are some ruts towards the end. The first half is a well-maintained dirt road that any vehicle could probably make. The second half you might air down for comfort.

Carlos Bautista Jr.

300

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 05/29/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

I found this trail to be very good for new offroaders as the first half of the trail is well maintained and traveled by 2wd vehicles to get to some of the lower campsites. It is also one of the most scenic local routes in the area. Although 2wd vehicles can travel the majority of the first half of the trail, I would highly recommend still airing down as it will make more of a smoother ride. Along the way on the lower half of the trail, the road will be asphalted for the switchback turns only. When you reach Fuller Ridge Spur, the trail truly becomes a moderate trail and does require 4wd. In several areas, the trail will become very rutted as well as other areas causing some off-camber. However, I found nothing too difficult. but enough difficulty for new offroaders to get used to and know the capabilities of their vehicles such as in the case of my son-in-law, taking his truck out for the first time. Again, very scenic with several view points and numerous disperse camping areas. This is definitely a trail I will run again.

M. Seratti

2300

Open

Rated 3/5

Visited: 05/23/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

The first half of this trail left me wondering, 'why did I bother to air down' as it is pretty much just a hilly dirt road as it goes by yellow post sites, campgrounds, etc. It's a well-maintained trail that gets a lot of use, in fact the switchbacks are paved. There are a number of nice yellow-post camping sites. Just past the Fuller Ridge spur, the trail is clearly less used as it starts to be come apparent where it got its difficulty rating as it gets much rockier with a number of ruts and some mild off-camber areas. Nothing too difficult but I was glad I had aired down. There are quite a few areas to disperse camp and some nice views along the way, but I didn't find the trail particularly fun or interesting. It gets a lot of use and it's not terribly remote, being just over the ridge from Pine Cove/Idyllwild. I'm glad I ran the trail but not sure I'd hit this one again. I explored the Fuller Ridge spur and there is a yellow-post site there, a water cache for hikers on the PCT, and not much more. There isn't much road left beyond the campsite.

Natalie Girbach

100

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 05/15/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Ran this trail with a Tacoma. Plenty of camping along the trail, very scenic with the big trees and views of the mountains. Many types of people on the trail with hikers and climbers. Very nice for a weekend camping!

Keenan Small

1200

Seasonal Closure

Rated 4/5

Visited: 01/15/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Closed for winter.

Albert

400

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 10/30/2021

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Great trail with beautiful overlooks along the way. Trail becomes moderate after intersecting with the Pacific Crest Trail (toward the very end). Otherwise, trail is easy rating.

Sean Thomas

400

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 10/15/2021

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

This trail is pretty easy and scenic. No major obstacles, if you go far enough, you'll run into a couple of minor rocky sections. Nothing you can't go slow over. Our group had a JK Rubicon, JL Sport S, Lexus GX460 and an F250. No issues with the trail for any vehicle. The camping spots up there are great. We dispersed camped along the trail. The one and only major complaint I have about this trail is the amount of very inconsiderate and unsafe Subaru (or other crossover type vehicles) owners on the trail. If you happen to be the leader or your group, be ready to hit the brakes when coming around a blind corner. We almost got hit several time from the Subaru cars just flying around the corners acting like they own the road or that they were the only car that belonged on the trail. If you happen to catch yourself in front of one of these cars, expect to be tailgated until you can safely pull over and let them pass. I would still go back but try to be up there early as to avoid the traffic.

Blackwood S

700

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 07/17/2021

Not sure why this trail is rated as moderate. The trail has a lot of washboards, but I passed a Subaru on the way up and there are paved bits at the switchbacks (for extra traction in the winter/lessen erosion from rainfall?). I recently reviewed and ran Burns Canyon Road and this trail is far easier. No real areas of concern on the trail. There was a Volkswagen that turned around before the campground, but I suspect that was due to the condition of the undulations in trail in the very beginning. I camped at Yellow Post 5 and did not run the trail after that point. The Boulder Basin Campground is open, however I visited just one of the toilets and it was pretty gross. Flies everywhere despite the fly strips hanging. If you have the time, make a point to hike to the Black Mountain Fire Lookout. From 9-5 it's manned by volunteers who are happy to give a tour of their outpost. Special thanks to James and Delores for their time! The views from the outlook are amazing and deffo worth the hike up.

Chris Lucero

3300

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 05/29/2021

Great trail. No concerns. Any vehicle can explore. Lot of traffic for Memorial Day weekend but that wasn’t a surprise. Got lucky to squeeze in on a taken yellow post site. The ranger said it one party per post but was super cool and allowed us to stay due to the high amount of people on the trail. Shout out to that ranger, I owe you a beer. Pretty good elevation gain too so I put it in 4L and just crawled up. Seems like it easier on the vehicle?? Idk?

Chris Mora

300

Temporary Closure

Rated 5/5

Visited: 01/23/2021

Got to the trail head at 10am 01/23/21 Saturday storm day in anticipation of a fun snow trip...... the gate was locked .5 mile up the trail!!! what a joke.. what if your family was hiking the PCT and needed help... oh well. be safe yall..

Amanda Stoddard

200

Open

Rated 2/5

Visited: 06/08/2019

Nice easy trail. We made the mistake of taking the road to the left at the Fuller ridge campground fork. That mistake took us down the mountain to the truck of the missing guy John Sturkie, passing that truck was a dead end wasted tons of time. The sight of small streams are available but no water crossings at all. The PCT crosses thru so bonus! we got to hike some while there.

Dennis Clark

Official Crew

19350

Temporary Closure

Visited: 07/28/2018

All trails in the San Jacinto Ranger District are under a fire closure until 08/31/18

Robert

Official Crew

34450

Open

Visited: 10/31/2017

I rode this route and it very much as excellently described by Dennis. A very lonely drive on a weekday as I only encountered a single hiker during the entire 30 mile roundtrip. Beautiful stunning views. The road is fairly well maintained but conditions get a bit worse after waypoint 12 but just enough to make it fun. Just a note, about 1 mile south on the 243 from the trailhead is Azalia Trails road where you can find 3 campgrounds. .

4S01 - Black Mountain

Trail Information

Highlights

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Start your next adventure on 4S01 - Black Mountain

Upgrade your Membership

Trail Navigation

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Trail Reviews

From the Community

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Dennis Clark

4S01 - Black Mountain

Trail Information

Highlights

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Start your next adventure on 4S01 - Black Mountain

Upgrade your Membership

Uploading to Gaia GPS

Directions to...

Share Trail

Trail Navigation

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Trail Reviews

From the Community

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Dennis Clark

Print Trail Guide

Recent Updates