Off-road enthusiasts love the San Diego region for its plethora of overlanding trails. You have forested areas such as the Cleveland National Forest and Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, which have hundreds of miles of challenging trails. And there's desert terrain to tackle in the nearby Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, loaded with rocky canyons, sandy dunes, and technical ridge lines to conquer.
As with any off-road adventure, we recommend researching the area first. You want to know the terrain's degree of difficulty, which will help you plan for any eventuality. Serious off-road adventurers know to bring the right equipment. We also recommend you go off-road with a friend or group of friends, especially if you're new to these excursions. Having other vehicles makes a recovery easier.
This hotbed of off-road locations has something for every skill level. To help, we had our overlanding experts review the top spots to help you find the best places.
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park offers some of the best trails in San Diego County for off-road adventuring. It'll take you a little over an hour and a half to get there from El Cajon, but it's worth the trip. With over 900 miles of trails, there's something for everyone.
Fonts Point Trail provides an easy four-wheel-drive (4WD) track that's great for beginners and drivers looking for fun in their new Kia vehicle, such as the Telluride. You can reach the trail junction from S22, heading south along a reasonably tame dirt trail that most two-wheel-drive vehicles can handle. However, any recent rain can change that, making all-wheel-drive necessary. You encounter a washout about 12 miles in, which you follow for 4 miles to the end.
You'll find a turnout and parking area at the end and a hiking trail leading up to Fonts Point. A five-minute hike ends at the lookout, with spectacular views of the Vallecito Mountains, Borrego Badlands, and the Borrego Valley. It's the perfect place to picnic and snap a few photos before returning.
Coyote Canyon and Collins Valley comprise a large portion of the park and have moderate to extreme trails. The 35-mile canyon offers plenty of hiking and mountain biking trails along the way and some great areas for camping. However, you'll need some serious clearance and 4WD capability to get to the deeper portions of the canyon.
Access to the canyon is available in Borrego Springs or Anza. We recommend checking with the park to ensure the trails are open. Portions of the trail close during the summer to let the bighorn sheep access Coyote Creek for water.
Ocotillo Wells SRVA has over 85,000 acres of desert terrain within the park and is popular with 4WD vehicles, motorcycles, and ATVs. This area offers some of the most extreme terrains in all of Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Be sure to have the proper safety and recovery equipment to make it out again.
Pamo Valley Trails
Located 34 minutes north of El Cajon, Pamo Valley in Ramona offers four off-road trails. Most days, the Black Mountain, Orosco Ridge, Santa Ysabel, and Lusardi trails offer easy terrain. However, these trails have some of the best mud around after the rains. Therefore, we recommend bringing a winch or tow recovery ropes and other mud-recovery equipment.
The Black Mountain Truck Trail climbs to the peak of Black Mountain over moderate terrain that can challenge smaller 4WDs when wet. In addition, you can access the Santa Ysabel Trail from the Black Mountain Truck Trail. This stretch runs from Southerland Dam to Pamo Valley and along steep shelf passes through the mountainous regions of Cleveland National Forest.
Valley of the Moon
A popular destination for four-wheeling, Valley of the Moon offers moderate-to-rugged terrain. You can access the trail from I-8. The first mile is semi-paved but full of potholes, rocky areas, and a steep climb. The terrain gets more difficult from there, and several trails branch off.
Elliot Mine Trail takes you to the top of Tehe' Peak over 3 miles of steep, narrow, and rough terrain. Halfway up the trail, there's a small area to turn around or park. At this point, we recommend scouting the rest of the way on foot before attempting it with a vehicle, as the last leg will challenge the most seasoned drivers and capable vehicles.
Otay Mountain Wilderness Trails
Otay Wilderness offers some of the best back-country off-roading adventures in southern San Diego County. The Otay Wilderness runs along the Mexican border and has over 17,000 acres of rugged terrain to explore. Because it borders Mexico, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol grooms the main trail and patrols it often. However, you can find many challenging off-shoots with technical sections to test your ability.
Palomar Mountain
You'll find another four-wheeling hotspot about 90 minutes north of El Cajon: Palomar Mountain. Great for camping, hiking, and off-roading, Palomar Mountain doesn't have the difficulty level of other places unless you try it in wintry weather. In that case, you might get stranded in the snow if you don't have a capable 4WD vehicle.
We recommend starting with the Nate Harrison Trail, which climbs 9.5 miles as you ascend 4,600 feet. The National Forest Service grades the dirt and gravel roads, so most 4WD vehicles won't have trouble. However, the road winds up the mountain from Pauma Valley to the top of Palomar Mountain and presents spectacular views of the surrounding area.
The Palomar Divide Trail traverses the northeastern portion of Palomar Mountain. While it doesn't get much more difficult, the terrain changes to alpine with pine and cedar forests as you crest 5,000 feet.
Hopefully, you found our curated list of San Diego County off-road destinations helpful and informative. We realize we can't list every four-wheeling paradise in the area in one blog. So, if we missed your favorite place to explore, feel free to contact us. We'll do our best to update our list to allow everyone to experience the best off-roading San Diego offers.
2020 KIA Telluride SX by Greg Gjerdingen is licensed with CC BY 2.0
AdChoices