Field GuideAngeles N.F.

Rowher Flats
Dirt Bike Routes

Rowher Flats is the closest designated green-sticker riding to Los Angeles proper: a compact OHV trail system in the Sierra Pelona country north of Santa Clarita, staged off Rush Canyon Road above Sierra Highway. The system packs a long 4x4 trail, a web of trails open to bikes and quads, and real motorcycle-only singletrack into a few square miles, with the plated Santa Clara Divide country rising across the valley. The Angeles publishes its motor vehicle use map only as a printed map, so route lines here come from the Forest Service trail and road inventories, with elevation from public terrain data.

Rowher Flats, California · Angeles National Forest · 6 routes

The trails are green-sticker country; the roads are not. Every trail in the Rowher Flat system is designated for OHVs, so green-sticker (non-street-legal) bikes are allowed there. The forest roads beyond the system are a separate network for street-legal vehicles, and the badge on each route shows its designation from the Forest Service inventories.

Green sticker OK

Non-street-legal (green-sticker) OHVs allowed on the route.

Access unverified

Couldn't verify green-sticker access; confirm with the managing agency.

New to this, or riding an electric or 2022-plus bike? The sticker & access guide covers green, red, and tan stickers, street-legal plates, electric bikes (SB 586), spark arresters, the Adventure Pass, and the penalties, all sourced from California government pages.

Where can I ride?

Angeles N.F. inventories

The motorized network around Rowher Flats, from the Forest Service trail and road inventories. The Angeles publishes its motor vehicle use map as a printed map rather than GIS data, so this view is built from the agency's inventories instead: green lines are the designated OHV trails of the Rowher Flat system, blue lines are forest roads for street-legal vehicles. Hover any line for its name.

What can ride here

  • Designated OHV trail (green-sticker OK)
  • Forest road, street-legal only (verify)
  • Dashed = seasonal access
Loading area map…

Make a day of it

2 suggested loops

Ways to string these routes into a full ride instead of a single road. Mileage is a rough composite; segments overlap and connect, so plan time and fuel with a margin.

Rowher Trails Day

~17mi↓ GPX

The whole green-sticker system in one day, from warm-up laps to the marquee climb.

Start on the Buffer, Spring, and Stage circuit to warm up and learn the tread, work over to Broken Spoke, Sidewinder, and Sierra for the twistier side of the network, then finish with the climb up the Rowher 4x4 Trail while you still have legs. Green-sticker bikes and quads are fine on all of it; add singletrack laps if you're on a motorcycle. It's compact country, more about laps and repeats than mileage, and the flats bake even in spring, so carry water. An Adventure Pass covers staging, and the area shuts intermittently after heavy rain, so check the forest alerts first.

Buffer, Spring & StageBroken Spoke, Sidewinder & SierraRowher 4x4 Trail

Divide & Pelona Plated Day

~55mi↓ GPX

A big street-legal day linking the Sierra Pelona crest with the long Santa Clara Divide traverse.

For plated bikes, run Sierra Pelona Road along the crest above the OHV area first, drop back down, and cross Soledad Canyon to pick up Santa Clara Divide Road at Sand Canyon for the long climb past Mt. Gleason to Mill Creek Summit. It's a full tank of mixed dirt and pavement with real remoteness for country this close to town. Street-legal bikes only, and check the forest alerts before you commit: gates close for storms and fire danger, and closures change fast on the Angeles.

Sierra Pelona RoadSanta Clara Divide Road

The Routes

6 rides
GPX Track↑ 2,188 ft↓ 1,824 ft
2,687 ft4,836 ft

Rowher 4x4 Trail

Green sticker OK
Distance
5.0mi
Difficulty
Difficult

Per the Forest Service trail inventory, this trail carries a special designation on the motor vehicle use map, and green-sticker (non-street-legal) OHVs are allowed. Check the posted MVUM at the staging area for the specifics. Registration + spark arrestor required, and an Adventure Pass covers parking.

Source: USFS trail and road inventories (EDW), 2026

The marquee trail of the system: five miles of steep, loose climbing out of the staging flats.

The Rowher 4x4 Trail is the longest trail in the system and the one the area is named for, five miles of steep, loose climbing from the staging flats up toward the Sierra Pelona high country. It carries a special designation on the motor vehicle use map and is managed for 4x4s and OHVs together, so expect ruts, ledges, and company on weekends. The payoff is real elevation gain and long views over the Santa Clarita valley.

Elevation
2,700–4,850 ft
Best season
October–May (hot in summer)
Surface
Steep, loose 4x4 trail, rutted with rocky pitches
  • Longest trail in the Rowher system
  • Climbs toward the Sierra Pelona high country
  • Big views over the Santa Clarita valley
GPX Track↑ 3,727 ft↓ 2,037 ft
2,165 ft4,419 ft

Rowher Singletrack (Silverking, Yucca & King Snake)

Green sticker OK
Distance
3.1mi
Difficulty
Difficult

Per the Forest Service trail inventory, this is designated for motorcycles only, so green-sticker (non-street-legal) bikes are allowed and nothing wider is. It's true singletrack. Registration + spark arrestor required, and parking at the staging areas takes an Adventure Pass.

Source: USFS trail and road inventories (EDW), 2026

The closest designated motorcycle singletrack to Los Angeles: three trails of narrow, technical tread.

Silverking, Yucca, and King Snake are the singletrack heart of Rowher Flats: narrow motorcycle-only tread threading the slopes above the staging areas. It's only about three miles all told, but it's genuine singletrack, tight, loose, and technical, and it's the closest designated singletrack to Los Angeles proper. Ride it as laps rather than a point-to-point.

Elevation
2,150–4,400 ft
Best season
October–May (hot in summer)
Surface
Narrow motorcycle-only singletrack, loose and technical
  • True motorcycle-only singletrack
  • The closest designated singletrack to LA
  • Tight, technical tread worth lapping
GPX Track↑ 915 ft↓ 830 ft
2,434 ft2,923 ft

Buffer, Spring & Stage

Green sticker OK
Distance
5.3mi
Difficulty
Moderate

Per the Forest Service trail inventory, Buffer, Spring & Stage is designated for vehicles 50 inches or less, so green-sticker (non-street-legal) bikes and quads are allowed. Registration + spark arrestor required, and parking at the Rowher staging areas takes an Adventure Pass.

Source: USFS trail and road inventories (EDW), 2026

The natural first lap: three linked trails through the heart of the trail system.

Buffer is the longest of the trails open to vehicles 50 inches or less, three miles working the drainages at the core of the system, and with Spring and Stage it links into a natural circuit. The tread is classic Rowher: loose soil over hardpack, whooped out in the flats, with short punchy climbs between drainages. A good first lap to learn the area before committing to the 4x4 trail or the singletrack.

Elevation
2,450–2,900 ft
Best season
October–May (hot in summer)
Surface
Loose soil over hardpack, whooped in the flats
  • A natural circuit through the core of the system
  • Open to green-sticker bikes and quads alike
  • The right warm-up before the harder trails
GPX Track↑ 3,215 ft↓ 1,407 ft
2,372 ft4,695 ft

Broken Spoke, Sidewinder & Sierra

Green sticker OK
Distance
6.4mi
Difficulty
Moderate

Per the Forest Service trail inventory, Broken Spoke, Sidewinder & Sierra is designated for vehicles 50 inches or less, so green-sticker (non-street-legal) bikes and quads are allowed. Registration + spark arrestor required, and parking at the Rowher staging areas takes an Adventure Pass.

Source: USFS trail and road inventories (EDW), 2026

The twistier side of the network, a step up from the Buffer circuit.

Broken Spoke runs nearly three miles on the quieter side of the system, and Sidewinder and Sierra hang off it for another three and a half. The names are honest: this side twists harder and climbs steeper than the Buffer circuit, with off-camber corners and loose, marbly tread that keeps bikes and quads honest. String all three together for a solid green-sticker outing away from the staging crowds.

Elevation
2,350–4,700 ft
Best season
October–May (hot in summer)
Surface
Twisting two-track, loose and off camber in spots
  • Twistier and steeper than the Buffer side
  • Three trails string into one outing
  • The quieter corner of the network
GPX Track↑ 5,121 ft↓ 7,487 ft
2,726 ft6,411 ft

Santa Clara Divide Road

No. 3N17
Access unverified
Distance
46.2mi
Difficulty
Moderate

The Angeles publishes its motor vehicle use map only as a printed map, so green-sticker access on this road could not be verified against an authoritative source. Treat it as open to street-legal (plated) vehicles only unless the published MVUM says otherwise.

Source: USFS trail and road inventories (EDW), 2026

The plated epic: 46 miles along the divide past Mt. Gleason to Mill Creek Summit.

Santa Clara Divide Road runs the long ridge between the Santa Clarita valley and the high Angeles backcountry, from Sand Canyon up past Mt. Gleason and down to Mill Creek Summit, with more segments carrying east toward Mt. Pacifico. Stretches are paved, long stretches are dirt not maintained for passenger cars, and the whole thing strings into one of the biggest dual-sport days this close to LA. Bring a plated bike, fuel for the full distance, and expect the odd locked gate in fire season.

Elevation
2,750–6,400 ft
Best season
April–November (snow and storm gates possible in winter)
Surface
Mixed pavement and dirt, rough in the unmaintained stretches
  • One of the biggest dual-sport days near LA
  • Tops out near Mt. Gleason around 6,000 feet
  • Mixes pavement with remote dirt
GPX Track↑ 3,094 ft↓ 433 ft
2,024 ft4,823 ft

Sierra Pelona Road

No. 6N07
Access unverified
Distance
9.3mi
Difficulty
Easy

The Angeles publishes its motor vehicle use map only as a printed map, so green-sticker access on this road could not be verified against an authoritative source. Treat it as open to street-legal (plated) vehicles only unless the published MVUM says otherwise.

Source: USFS trail and road inventories (EDW), 2026

Nine miles of ridge dirt along the Sierra Pelona crest, directly above the OHV area.

Sierra Pelona Road climbs to the ridgeline above Rowher Flats and runs the crest for nine miles, chaparral and grassy balds with the OHV area below on one side and the Antelope Valley out the other. It's graded dirt not maintained for passenger cars, easy going on a plated dual-sport and the natural extension after a morning on the trails below. The trail system and the road are separate networks, so plan on street-legal access up here.

Elevation
2,000–4,800 ft
Best season
October–June (exposed and hot midsummer)
Surface
Graded ridge dirt, rough in spots
  • Crest views over the OHV area and the Antelope Valley
  • Easy plated dual-sport dirt
  • Pairs with a morning on the Rowher trails