Field GuideSan Gorgonio front

San Gorgonio
Dirt Bike Routes

The south side of the San Bernardinos below San Gorgonio: the Santa Ana River, Barton Flats, and Heart Bar high country. This is entirely plated dual-sport country, with no green-sticker roads, so it's a place for street-legal bikes to cover scenic forest mileage rather than green-sticker trail riding. For green-sticker access nearby, the Crab Flats roads around Lake Arrowhead or the Cactus Flat side of Big Bear are the closest options. The San Gorgonio Wilderness itself is closed to all motor vehicles. Those are trailheads to park at, not trails to ride. The high country holds snow in winter (roughly December–April). Route geometry and elevation come from the Forest Service's official travel maps and public terrain data.

San Gorgonio, California · San Bernardino N.F. · Front Country & Mountaintop R.D. · 5 routes

Plated street-legal bikes are fine on every route here. The badges below show where green-sticker (non-street-legal) OHVs are allowed; that's the part that varies, sometimes segment by segment.

Green sticker OK

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

Green sticker: partial

Green-sticker allowed on some segments only; read the note.

Street-legal plate only

Street-legal, plated vehicles only; no green-sticker OHVs.

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?

San Bernardino N.F. · Front Country & Mountaintop R.D. travel map

Every legal motorized road and trail in the San Gorgonio area, straight from the Forest Service's Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM). Most numbered roads are open to street-legal plated bikes only; the green routes are the comparatively few where a green-sticker (non-street-legal) bike is allowed. Hover any line for its road number and access.

What can ride here

  • Green-sticker OHV allowed
  • Street-legal plate only
  • 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.

Coon Creek Jumpoff & the Front Line

~18mi↓ GPX

The signature plated day: the front-line road out to the Coon Creek Jumpoff overlook.

The standout ride on this side is the Coon Creek Jumpoff (1N02), where the forest drops away toward the desert. Link the long Radford front-line road (1N04) to reach it and string the high-country overlooks together along the way. All plated dual-sport, no green-sticker bikes, and genuinely rough in stretches out to the Jumpoff, so it's high-clearance riding. Mostly snow-free spring through fall; the upper road can hold snow into spring.

Heads up: Radford Front Line Road and Coon Creek Jumpoff Road are currently closed, so this loop doesn't run in full.

Radford Front Line RoadCoon Creek Jumpoff Road

Wildhorse & Fish Creek Meadows

~18mi↓ GPX

A higher, cooler day through the conifer and meadows near the wilderness boundary.

For the cooler, higher country, climb Wildhorse Meadow (2N93) toward the crest and pair it with the Fish Creek and Heart Bar meadows (1N05) on the east end. Pine, fir, and mountain meadows up near 8,000 feet, a relaxed plated ride rather than a technical one. The Fish Creek trailheads sit right on the San Gorgonio Wilderness boundary, which is closed to motors, so park there, don't ride in. Best late spring through fall, once the snow is gone up high.

Heads up: Fish Creek Meadows Road is currently closed, so this loop doesn't run in full.

Wildhorse Meadow RoadFish Creek Meadows Road

The Routes

5 rides
GPX Track↑ 1,693 ft↓ 482 ft
6,877 ft8,478 ft

Coon Creek Jumpoff Road

No. 1N02
Street-legal plate onlyCurrently closed
Distance
7.7mi
Difficulty
Difficult

The Forest Service closes the Coon Creek and Fish Creek roads to motor vehicles under a forest roads order it renews each summer. The current order runs through late July 2027.

Forest Order 05-12-00-26-06 · closed through July 29, 2027 · official closure info

Per the MVUM, 1N02 is open to street-legal vehicles only: plated bikes, no green-sticker (non-street-legal) bikes.

Source: USFS Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM), 2026

Rough high-clearance road to the Coon Creek Jumpoff overlook.

1N02 climbs and traverses to the Coon Creek Jumpoff, a dramatic overlook where the forest drops away toward the desert below San Gorgonio. The road is genuinely rough in stretches, rocky, eroded, high-clearance dual-sport riding, with one of the bigger view payoffs in the area. Open to street-legal vehicles only, so plated bikes only.

Elevation
6,900–8,500 ft
Best season
May–November (snow up high in winter)
Surface
Rough, rocky, eroded high-clearance dirt
  • Overlook where the forest drops to the desert
  • Genuinely rough high-clearance riding
  • One of the best view payoffs in the area
GPX Track↑ 548 ft↓ 1,831 ft
5,049 ft6,332 ft

Radford Front Line Road

No. 1N04
Street-legal plate onlyCurrently closed
Distance
10.5mi
Difficulty
Moderate

The Line Fire burned area closure keeps the Radford and City Creek front country roads shut while crews stabilize the slopes. Expect the order to be extended if the ground stays unstable.

Forest Order 05-12-52-26-03 · closed through September 30, 2026 · official closure info

Per the MVUM, 1N04 is open to street-legal vehicles only: plated bikes, no green-sticker (non-street-legal) bikes.

Source: USFS Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM), 2026

Long front-line road through the Barton Flats high country.

1N04 runs the front line through the Barton Flats and Santa Ana River high country, a long graded-to-rocky road serving the camps, trailheads, and overlooks along the south side of the range. A scenic plated dual-sport ride with steady mileage and pine-forest views toward San Gorgonio. Open to street-legal vehicles only.

Elevation
5,050–6,350 ft
Best season
May–November (snow up high in winter)
Surface
Graded dirt with rockier sections
  • Long ride through the Barton Flats country
  • Camps, trailheads, and overlooks
  • Pine-forest views toward San Gorgonio
GPX Track↑ 1,549 ft↓ 1,995 ft
7,031 ft8,747 ft

Wildhorse Meadow Road

No. 2N93
Street-legal plate only
Distance
11.7mi
Difficulty
Moderate

Per the MVUM, 2N93 is open to street-legal vehicles only: plated bikes, no green-sticker (non-street-legal) bikes.

Source: USFS Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM), 2026

Long high-clearance climb to Wildhorse Meadow, about 11 miles.

2N93 runs about 11 miles up toward Wildhorse Meadow on the slopes above the Santa Ana River, a high-clearance road mixing rocky climbs with forest and meadow as it gains real elevation toward the crest. A quieter plated ride with cool conifer country and meadows near the top. Open to street-legal vehicles only.

Elevation
7,050–8,750 ft
Best season
May–November (snow up high in winter)
Surface
Rocky, high-clearance climb
  • Climbs to Wildhorse Meadow
  • Forest-and-meadow high country
  • Quieter than the front-line roads
GPX Track↑ 1,647 ft↓ 538 ft
7,014 ft8,360 ft

Fish Creek Meadows Road

No. 1N05
Street-legal plate onlyCurrently closed
Distance
6.5mi
Difficulty
Moderate

The Forest Service closes the Coon Creek and Fish Creek roads to motor vehicles under a forest roads order it renews each summer. The current order runs through late July 2027.

Forest Order 05-12-00-26-06 · closed through July 29, 2027 · official closure info

Per the MVUM, 1N05 is open to street-legal vehicles only: plated bikes, no green-sticker (non-street-legal) bikes.

Source: USFS Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM), 2026

Forest road into the Fish Creek and Heart Bar meadows.

1N05 runs into the Fish Creek and Heart Bar Meadows country on the east end of the area, graded forest road through pine and meadow toward the Fish Creek trailheads near the San Gorgonio Wilderness boundary. A relaxed, scenic plated ride; the wilderness itself is closed to motors, so the trailheads are places to park, not ride. Open to street-legal vehicles only.

Elevation
7,000–8,350 ft
Best season
May–November (snow up high in winter)
Surface
Graded dirt with rocky sections
  • Into the Fish Creek and Heart Bar meadows
  • Pine-and-meadow forest scenery
  • Trailheads near the San Gorgonio Wilderness
GPX Track↑ 4,104 ft↓ 2,631 ft
2,936 ft4,875 ft

City Creek Road

No. 1N09
Street-legal plate onlyCurrently closed
Distance
22.4mi
Difficulty
Moderate

The Line Fire burned area closure keeps the Radford and City Creek front country roads shut while crews stabilize the slopes. Expect the order to be extended if the ground stays unstable.

Forest Order 05-12-52-26-03 · closed through September 30, 2026 · official closure info

Per the MVUM, 1N09 is open to street-legal vehicles only: plated bikes, no green-sticker (non-street-legal) bikes.

Source: USFS Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM), 2026

Long graded traverse along the front of the range, about 22 miles.

1N09 is the long one here: roughly 22 miles of graded road traversing the front of the range above the City Creek drainage, the kind of ride you do to cover ground rather than for any single feature. The grade is gentle but the distance is real, winding through chaparral and oak with views out over the San Bernardino Valley. Open to street-legal vehicles only.

Elevation
2,950–4,900 ft
Best season
Year-round (hot in summer)
Surface
Long graded dirt, gentle grade
  • About 22 miles along the range front
  • Views over the San Bernardino Valley
  • Distance ride, not a technical one