Prerunner friendly trails?

Hey Tacoma world I've been a long time reader not much of a poster but I'm starting to build my truck so it's more capable for going off roading and super excited. I know I know it's a prerunner but I wanna see what it's capable of doing.

My question is where is there a trail I can visit for my very first time off road in the Orange County area? of course I'll be with other people to guide me along but would like to know how to and where to head out for a beginner.

Or if some TW members wanna head out for a quick run I'll be interested.

I just want to enjoy my Tacoma out where a FWD car wouldn't be able to..

Thanks TW

 

Theres few trails out in orange county. There's a thread called orange county meet up and that. An help yeah out

 

Welcome to the SoCal TW section!

I live about 10 minutes from some of the best trails in the county, and I rarely put my truck on 4x4, let alone need it. Most of the trails up in the Santa Ana Mountains are fire roads, made to be driven on by service vehicles and 2WD trucks.

For starters, I'd check out Holy Jim Canyon. It's a relatively short trail (3-4 miles), but it's on dirt and I've seen all kinds of SUV's on it, even some normal cars. It's mostly flat, with the exception of a few rain gutters you drive over, but it's a fun trail to start with. Once your comfortable with that (you may already be), I'd check out Maple Springs Rd in Silverado Canyon. It is the only trail from this side of the mountains that will actually give you access to all the other trails in the area, not to mention you can drive all the way to Santiago Peak (5600ft) for an unmatched view of SoCal. Lots of places to explore up there, and I'm confident a Prerunner can make it.

We just had a meet and trail run up there a few months ago, and there were plenty of Prerunners with us who had no difficulties whatsoever. That's not to say you shouldn't be prepared, because there are always risks involved with being somewhere with little to no access to tools/tow services. Cell phone reception is relatively good up there though, and there's usually enough traffic up there to flag somebody down for help if needed.

Have fun!

 

you can try the miller jeep Trail

 

Don't listen to a WORD this guy says...^^^

 

Listen to this guy. Holy jims is a fun one but Main Divide Trail that takes you up to the peak is fun to make a whole day trip out of and explore. It can take you all the way from Silverado canyon over to Indian Truck Trail in Corona or if you take it further it spits you out all the way in Lake Elsinore on Ortega Highway.

 

Yea I've have read every single post in that thread I'm just waiting for another meet that I can actually attend. Trust me if there was more meets on the trail I wouldn't have started this thred. But thanks for the tip

Thanks for the reply. I've heard of holy Jim's trail, mater of fact I was doing some research but couldn't find any good information.the last thing I did hear was that it closed and never opened up. All those trails sound very enticing and would head out there I'm a heart beat if I was there with someone that knew the trail. Beside I just installed my lift tonight and wanna give it a test run.

Thanks for the advise that is something I am for sure interested in doing but I know I'll probably end up lost in the mountains somewhere. Most deffinently holy Jim very soon once I get my tires mounted Thursday.


On a side note I also read somewhere on TW That you needed to buy some sort of pass to go off road is that true?


Thanks everyone all this information great!

 

hey Kenny... if you want to take a trip into the prerunner darkside, feel free to roll with us out to the desert... i would invite you to this weekend's run, but it's going to be a bit rough and don't wanna put you through it if you are new to it all...

 

Listen to this guy as well! haha

I live in hermosa, Hi neighbor! haha.

Depending on your type of offroading, It varies whats "close" to us.

If your more of a exploring/crawling kind of guy, This guy is on the momey!
vv

But If your into the more desert kind of thing, And want to go a little more fast paced, Barstow is about 2 hours away I believe, Also Lucerne is 3 hours away I think!

 

You do not need a pass to go off-roading anywhere in the Santa Ana mountains, except Wildomar OHV (off highway vehicle) park off Ortega Highway and Main Divide Rd. They require what is known as the red or green sticker...depending on your vehicle. Wildomar is a bit technical, so I wouldn't head up there without somebody who knows the lines, and at least a recovery vehicle.

You DO, however, need a Forest Adventure Pass if you plan on parking your truck anywhere in a National Forest area. Even if you're sitting in your truck eating lunch, park rangers will cite you for not having one. You can pick up a day pass at Silverado market or Trabuco General Store for $5.00, or you can buy a year long pass. Not sure how much they charge for that one.