One of the best long cuts that connects the Inland Empire and Orange County, this stretch of 3S04 Main Divide runs along the ridge of the mountain range for 3 miles with 360 degree views and is perfect for all off-road enthusiasts. While traveling along this route, it is common to see lots of wildlife, amazing views of the Pacific Ocean, and even more spectacular views of the snow-capped San Bernardino Mountain Range in the distance.
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Please check with Cleveland National Forest for trail conditions. This trail closes for many reasons throughout the year.
Click Here For Current Trail Closures
Trabuco Ranger District - (951) 736-1811
Ran Maple Canyon and then took this trail up to Bald Peak. Super easy, basically a dirt road. Ran it all in 2H. Couple spots where you definitely want some clearance, but nothing challenging. Amazing views!
Decent ridge trail with views of Orange & Riverside counties depending on where you are on the trail. The trail has some ruts here and there and that's why they likely gave the rating of 2.
This section is currently open and provides some great views. There was a couple of long hill climbs, but I kept my truck in 2wd and it did fine. This section has a good amount of descending.
Not sure how long this section is going to be closed. It was open after the fires but the forest service is saying they closed it because of the fires now. This was the Holy Fire which doesn't effect this part of the trail. Please call the forest service and ask them to open the trail again.
At the intersection of Maple Springs the southern portion of Main Divide was gated closed which was consistent with the Forest Service bulletin but the north portion of the Main Divide was open. From this road you can see the burn result of the recent Holy Fire. The road was graded, widened and very flat up to the Bedford Road intersection probably as support for the fire fighting equipment. Bedford was also open. Beyond Bedford or northerly Main Divide became rougher. Ive included some photos to provide a feel for the burn areas. Interestingly nothing was burned west of Main Divide.
A short 3.5 mile connection to the North End Main Divide our destination. Beautiful views of the Inland Empire (a little spoiled from the smog blown in from the OC). About 1/2 way in we caught a rare glimpse, a young adolescent mountain lion bolted onto the road in front of us, ran along the road for about 3 seconds and then just as quickly disappeared with a bound into the dense bush. Breathtaking and a bucket list item closed. We debated offering our lunch, a turkey sandwich to lure it back but sanity prevailed.
A great trip with a great group. The views were off the hook as you could see about 100+ miles in any direction.
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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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