Recent snow and rain have caused many trails to be temporarily closed. Please check with the local agencies for the most up-to-date information.

6S06 - El Cariso Truck Trail

4.6/5 (21 reviews)
Lake Elsinore, California (Riverside County)
Last Updated: 07/29/2018

Trail Information

Highlights

6S06 - El Cariso Truck Trail is in the Cleveland National Forest above Lake Elsinore. The lower half of the trail is seldom used so it is a great off road trail that is 4x4 worthy. Lake Elsinore, to the northeast is a prominent feature as you navigate the trail. The trail ends at 3S04 Main Divide Road. Ortega Highway/Highway 74 is 100 feet to your left, the best viewing of Lake Elsinore is to the east 1.1 miles to "The Lookout Roadhouse". A short distance to the west on Ortega Highway will bring you to various campsites including the Ortega Oaks "Candy Store"

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Trail Reviews

4.6/5 (21 reviews)
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 02/04/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Nice trail full of ruts. My stock jeep compass trail hawk made it down just fine (did use a spotter) as well as my friend’s stock wrangler rubicon. Definitely a lot easier going down than up. Nice alternative if the Santiago gate is closed off of Ortega. If you’re car doesn’t have much flex expect a wheel in the air a lot.
Open
Visited: 01/02/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

I just moved back to SoCal and wanted to take my truck off-roading for the first time. For the record it has been really rainy here the last few days, so I’m sure that didn’t help. I started from the bottom and went up (pretty hard in my opinion). I have a 2020 GMC Sierra with a small lift and some good tires. Some of the areas were sketchy to do alone. A few times I didn’t think I was going to make it. I used a combo of 4H and 4L with the auto rear locker. My truck has cameras galore so that helped when running solo. The top half is way easier than the bottom bit. If I do it again, I will go from top to bottom and gone with a buddy to help spot.
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 12/29/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

This was our first time on the trail, we did it on a whim with a friend since we live in Murrieta. It was a bit more difficult than expected primarily from the heavy ruts but that was a good thing. 🙌
200
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 12/05/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Second time on this trail, becoming my go to. It’s more rutted and eroded toward the bottom, lots of leaning now. I would say it’s becoming more difficult but the “hard section” at the top looks like they graded it but it’s becoming eroded on the hill side. Ran it solo jeep GC on 33’s now and some holes were just as big.
Official Crew
2300
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 11/13/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

Had a great time at this trail today, plenty of fun obstacles. The trail did have some large ruts and potholes, and I ended up putting my truck in 4low for some of it. On the way up, I used my Tacomas crawl control to get through some of the ditches, I probably could have made it through without that if I had taken smarter lines. I ended up taking the trail back as well, and on the way down there were a few instances where a rear tire was in the air. Nothing super sketchy and once again it possibly could have been avoided with smarter lines, but I would be worried if I was in a vehicle with less clearance. All around a great trail!

From the Community

Start a free trial and get this level of detail on every trail guide
Start Free Trial