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3S08 - Vista Grande
Idyllwild-Pine Cove,
California
(Riverside County)
Last Updated:
07/28/2018
Trail Information
Highlights
3S08 - Vista Grande is a little used offroad 4wd trail in the San Bernardino National Forest. It is north of Idyllwild in the San Jacinto Mountains. A beautiful trail at the top, in the pines, fir and cedar. It makes it's way down into a more desert climate and is actually in the Morongo Indian Reservation for it's last mile or so in the north. There are no signs, or gates to prevent your travel on the Reservation. Along with the trail it connects to in the north, it is the northern most Forest Service numbered trail in the San Jacinto Mountains. It meets up with 3S09 Hurley Flats at the end which you can take for a loop run back up to Hwy 243, a short distance from where you started.
Trail Difficulty and Assessment
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Dennis Clark
Official Crew
Trail Navigation
Trail Reviews
Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 10/22/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
The trail was a very nice easy scenic trail. However, it is very narrow most of the way and has overgrown vegetation from all the rain we had. So you will get a lot of pinstriping. There were only two sections we found that did require spotting for proper tire placement due to some deep rutting in the road. Both these sections were near the end of the trail by waypoint #6. The last section of this area is near a ranch. The side of the road on the ranch side has a deep rut that went more than halfway up the side of 37" tires. To get past this obstacle, you need to stay driver's side which will put you off camber towards the passenger side of your vehicle and you will get heavy pinstriping on the driver's side. With good tire placement, you will be fine but be prepared if you slide down in the rut. Other than those two sections, it is very easygoing and again, scenic.
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 05/14/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
I did hurley flats and Vista grande together. Beautiful trail. Lots of pinstriping. Small amount of v notching and off camber situations. Not to bad though, pretty much the 3 rating comes from those situations. Rest of the trail was smooth.
Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 08/27/2022
Difficulty Accuracy:
Easier
A little more scenic than Hurley. Tiny bit. Very easy trail, not intermediate at all. Pinstripping potential abound.
Open
Rated
3/5
Visited: 01/17/2021
Drove the road from top, returning back to CA 243 via 3S09 - Hurley Flats in a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. Well maintained although seemingly less so near the bottom, very straight forward drive. Tiny bit of snow here and there. Otherwise no issues. Nice views of San Gorgonio and the Banning Pass all along the way.
Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 09/27/2020
Fun little trail, great for beginners to get their feet wet on a narrower fire road. Take care for traffic coming the other way as many stretches are too tight to pass. Overall, a fun day out and shouldn’t be a challenge for most any truck/suv.
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