California Moving to San Diego - recommended trails?

zip04

zip04

TJ Enthusiast
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Joined
Apr 14, 2016
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Location
San Diego, CA
My time in FL is coming to an end and we will be driving West later this week. I have been stationed in San Diego before, but I only road my motorcycle then.

What trails are recommended? I’m not looking to rock crawl yet, but want some fun beginner to intermediate trails. I’m lookin for trails I can leave my home in Chula Vista and spend a little time in and then return home to the family, and for some where we can take the Jeep and our explorer to go camping, but then take the kids for turns in the Jeep as we ride the trails.

Also, are there any recommended shops in San Diego (for more major work I can’t complete myself)?

Thanks.
 
I would say your go-to Jeep trail would be the "Pinyon Mountain Trail" in Borrego Springs, CA.
 
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EJD said:
I would say your go-to Jeep trail would be the "Pinyon Mountain Trail" in Borrego Springs, CA.
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That's more of an intermediate/advanced trail with some rollover risk on Heart Attack Hill. Cool if you're up for it, but there are more options for beginner/intermediate trails.

For example, there are tons of open washes in Anza Borrego Desert State Park that are easy driving and have great views. Check out the State Park map (https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/638/files/abdsp_Park_Map201704.pdf) and look up some of the trails to see what's easy versus what's difficult and where the points of interest are.

From Chula Vista, you could easily hit Otay Mountain: http://www.off-road.com/trails-even...an-diego-otay-mountain-truck-trail-54308.html

Also, Corral Canyon is popular, and has a mix of beginner to advanced trails: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/cleveland/recreation/ohv/?cid=stelprdb5277278&width=full

Further out, there's Ocotillo Wells which has some crazy obstacles, and Superstition Mountain, which has some pretty rugged trails too. And there's lots more stuff in the area.

Check out some of the local Jeep and OHV clubs for rides and meetups so you can have someone show you around.
 
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Look up San Diego Jeep Club on the book of Faces...great club with organized monthly rides of all levels. One of their principles runs a small off road shop too. I reached out to them from NY, on behalf of my son who's stationed in SD also and has a TJ. Good people.
 
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Stevemack said:
Look up San Diego Jeep Club on the book of Faces...great club with organized monthly rides of all levels. One of their principles runs a small off road shop too. I reached out to them from NY, on behalf of my son who's stationed in SD also and has a TJ. Good people.
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I started following their page. I’m going back to sea duty, so I’m not sure how much my schedule will align with theirs.
 
zip04 said:
I started following their page. I’m going back to sea duty, so I’m not sure how much my schedule will align with theirs.
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As @Stevemack says, they are good people. They have organized runs, but there are informal meetups too. And you can always ping some of the SD locals here and see if they want to go out.
 
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