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Summer Escape: San Bernardino Forest

Photo of Jonathan Z
Hosted By
Jonathan Z.
Summer Escape: San Bernardino Forest

Details

Hit the mountains in the height of summer for a weekend romping around the forest with SCORCH. Make it a day trip or camp out in the woods for rides all weekend. We’ll knock out two runs on Saturday then cap it off with a Sunday scenic ride all the way down to Pioneertown spanning several terrains.

As usual, the flexible event offers something for everyone. Saturday morning’s ride will start at our campsite and head out on a loop of easy trails that will take us to historic sites, stunning overlooks, and far away from city life. We’ll return to the campsite then venture out for an afternoon ride that will tackle some intermediate trails. Those looking for something harder are free to explore some of the forest’s most challenging trails while the more chill among us can enjoy the day at the campsite or take an easy self-guided romp out to Green Valley Lake and back.

The overnighters can either set sail for home on Sunday morning or keep the adventure going with a drive down the main, gorgeous, and easy trail that cuts across the national forest. From there we will descend down the mountain, through Joshua Tree field, and into the desert. We’ll come to a stop in Pioneertown, a bizarrely scenic and authentically Western-themed town that was founded as a movie set. Stick around as we hit up one of the town’s lively taverns to hangout for a drink and bite before we all roll home.

Details are still being worked out, but we wanted to get this ride posted so you can reserve a camping spot NOW. Every time we do one of these rides, SCORCHers suck up spots and the campsite sells out fairly quick.

BUILD YOUR OWN ADVENTURE
There are a few potential itineraries for you to consider. The All-In approach is to drive out on Friday and camp out so you don’t have to drive out on Saturday. You can bail out after the Saturday morning ride, but we recommend booking your campsite for Saturday too. Then you can do the Saturday afternoon ride or not, but still have another night out under the stars. We’ll aim for a relatively late start on Sunday so those who want to take the fun way out with us have time for breakfast and packing everything up.

Off course you just make this a day trip by meeting us on Saturday morning for one or both of our runs that day then head home at night. This will be the only option if you don’t reserve a campsite before it sells out. This is National Forest, not BLM land. You can only camp in campsites or yellow post sites, all of which will be full up by ride day. Hanna Flat is partially under construction, so the spots usually reserved for first-come first-serve each morning are not available.

WHEN & WHERE
We are meeting 8:00 am on Saturday, August 12, for a sharp 8:30am rollout. Everyone should be already aired down considering that getting to the meetup point, Hanna Flat Campground, will involve driving into the town of Fawnskin then covering a few miles of dirt on your own. It’s well maintained, and you just put “Hanna Flat Campground” into Waze or Google Maps and you will have no problem getting there.
Be wary if it tries to route you through Green Valley and not Fawnskin, unless you leave plenty of time, since that way is mostly on the dirt and slow going.

Please note that we are not meeting up in the campground. We’ll find a spot just outside it. The campground is not a staging area.

CHECK BACK BEFORE THE EVENT! We’re getting a scouting run together and working out the specifics. It’s essential you check back as some of the details (not the date) may change.

BE PREPARED
Here are some recommended items to bring along. We get a little kickback from Bezos if you buy any with our links. You can also visit our store for more gear suggestions.

  • Food for day-tripping or more food for camping
  • VHF Radio ( good one / better one )
  • A Camp Chair for Chilling ( like this one )
  • Sunscreen
  • Water
  • Camping Gear
  • Cash for firewood
  • Ice
  • Tools (if you got 'em)

​TRAIL REPORT COMING SOON
We ran everything in stages over a few scouting trips and all trails are clear. Minimal pinstriping risk on the trails. The afternoon "intermediate" ride will be a romp on White Mountain Trail.

Photo of Southern California Off Road Club and Hangouts (SCORCH) group
Southern California Off Road Club and Hangouts (SCORCH)
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38198 Rim of the World Dr · Fawnskin, CA