Off Highway Vehicles (OHV)

Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) riding is a fun way to combine the love of motor vehicles with the great outdoors. The Cleveland National Forest offers several locations designated for OHV usage. Maps and areas can be found online.

Motorized vehicle use of the Bear Valley Road OHV area is restricted to authorized routes only. This includes Bear Valley, Long Valley Loop, and the Kernan Cycle Trail.

The use of unauthorized routes causes erosion, resource damage, and users are trespassing on to private property, and this is not sustainable. Resource damage and trespass force closures and loss of riding opportunities. Staying on designated, properly designed and maintained legal routes protects motorized access to public lands.

Do your part to ensure the future of motorized off-road recreation by staying on designated routes. Trails legal for use are posted as open. It's simple: no sign? It's not a legal route.

Forest roads within the Cleveland National Forest are limited to street legal vehicles only. Green and red sticker vehicles are limited to the areas at Wildomar on the Trabuco Ranger District (951-736-1811) and Corral Canyon on the Descanso Ranger District (619-445-6235). There are noise regulations in place for OHV vehicles. For specific noise limits, testing data, and testing standards, please visit the OHV Noise Regulations section of the California OHV website.

Green Sticker

Green stickers allow users to operate on public land all year.

Red Sticker

Red stickers are for ATVs and motorcycles year 2003 or later that do not meet California Air Resources Board emission standards. If your vehicle has a 3 or a C in the eighth position of the Vehicle Identification Number, then you fall into this category and must obtain a red sticker to operate your vehicle. While green sticker vehicles are permitted year round access, red sticker operation is limited to specific dates. These are as follows:

Corral Canyon, December 1 through January 31
Wildomar, December 1 through February 28/29

Special Non-Resident Permits

Special permits are required for non-California residents who plan to ride OHV's on the Forest. These permits are only required if you are a non-resident and your vehicle is not registered in your home state. Please see the State of California OHV website for additional information on Non-Resident OHV Permits. For more information on OHV use in California, how to obtain stickers, or where to find red sticker vehicle areas, please visit the California OHV website.

Fire Safety

Your OHV must have a USDA Forest Service approved spark arrestor to ride on the National Forest. There are several companies that make a Spark arrestor/Muffler combination for 2 and 4-stroke engines that are legal. If you are unsure about your spark arrestor, ask a Forest Service Officer or the manufacturer before riding.

The external temperature of an exhaust pipe at the first bend after the manifold can reach 1000 degrees. Grass ignites at about 400 degrees. Common sense and following these few simple rules will help to reduce the number of fires started each year.

Smoke only in enclosed vehicles or cleared areas.
Do not smoke while riding.
Avoid tall grass, and other dry vegetation that might come in contact with hot vehicle parts.
Stop often to clean grass and debris from skid pans and other grass catchers.
Stop only in cleared areas.
Do not spin wheels unnecessarily.
Do not overfill fuel tanks.
Use brakes cautiously. Locked or over-used brakes can overheat and ignite.

About OHV

The USDA Forest Service, in cooperation with the State of California Off-Highway Vehicle Fund (Green Sticker Program), has developed trails, roads, and facilities for the enjoyment of OHV users. Program funding comes from fuel taxes that are attributable to the recreational use of vehicles off highway, off-highway vehicle registration fees and fees collected at state vehicular recreation areas, for more information go to the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division website. Funding for addition improvement to the OHV areas comes from Adventure Pass (Recreation Fee) dollars.

OHV enthusiasts are asked to please pay close attention to all informational signs. Sections of roads or trails may occasionally be temporarily closed (or partially restricted) to minimize impacts to wildlife, prevent rutting, soil erosion, or in the case of extreme fire conditions on the Forest. In addition, there are areas of private land adjacent to or within the Forest boundaries. Where land is posted or fenced please respect the rights of the landowner and do not trespass.

Direct Links to Motor Vehicle Use Maps Available for the Forest

Our digital maps are available to download as geospatial PDFs for viewing and/or use in any GPS-enabled mobile application, or directly from the Avenza Maps online map store. For the best user experience, use our MVUMs within a GPS-enabled mobile app such as Avenza Maps. (USDA Forest Service maintains a partnership with Avenza Systems, Inc., to offer Forest Service maps on the Avenza Maps platform but its usage is not required to download or view these MVUMs.)

Download PDF and Avenza Maps

Descanso & Palomar South

https://www.avenzamaps.com/maps/820756

Palomar North

https://www.avenzamaps.com/maps/820757

Trabuco

https://www.avenzamaps.com/maps/820755