3S08 - Vista Grande

4/5 (7 reviews)
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

Trail Navigation

Trail Reviews

4/5 (7)
200
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.
100
Open
Visited: 03/06/2020

Took off with 6 Jeeps, on a one day ride. Vista Grande was our run, and what a great trip we had. The weather was good. We did air down for this trail based on the information, and it made the trip worth while.

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