National Forest Trail Access for mtbrs

[urbanescapee]

Hello all,

I am a beginning bikepacker. I haven't been out yet but I'm an experienced backpacker and have recently acquired all the bags and such for attaching things to my also recently acquired 29er FS. I am trying to look in my semi-local area (2-3 hrs driving from home) for good spots to work up my bikepacking chops, test gear configs, etc. My trouble so far is that all the places I want to ride are in areas where I've enjoyed backpacking in the past but where bicycles are not allowed, wilderness, national parks, and such. I was under the impression though that National Forest trails were fair game for anything without an engine. Now looking around, I am finding it more difficult to determine if bikes are allowed on certain trails that are not in wilderness areas. My frustration is in looking at maps and seeing all these trails outside of wilderness areas and then reading about how bikes are not allowed on some of them (all the good ones). For example, I live in the Los Angeles area and am Looking for rides around Big Bear/San bernardino. Lots of trails, many in wilderness. But I'm looking at the PCT in that area, it's entirely outside of wilderness area but I'm reading things online that say no bikes allowed on the PCT. Does anyone know of an online resource that clearly maps out bike accessible trails in the National Forest system?

[AZTtripper]

Not sure of any easy answer for you but. Unfortunately the PCT has been off limits for "legal" mnt biking longer then there have been large numbers of mnt bikers. The Sierra Club had us shut out from the beginning, from what I've heard. Mostly FS non Wilderness and your good to go. Hopefully someone local will have more info for you.

It's a shame about the PCT, I should think that the non Wilderness sections could be put together for a monster trip.

[dave54]

As a general rule non-wilderness trails are open to mtb unless specifically closed.  The PCT is closed, although in many areas the FS and BLM are not actively enforcing the ban.  It is still illegal, so if by any chance you are cited on the PCT you will have to pay the fine.

Check the source of anyone who tells you trail XYZ is closed to bikes.  There are a lot of groups and websites that say a trail is closed, but really is open to bikes.  Call the local FS or BLM office and ask.  Do not take the word of some third party.
Whether it is ridable or not is a different matter...

Do not limit yourself to singletrack only. There are a lot of good routes you can string together using forest roads as connectors.

[evdog]

You have tons of trails up in the San Gabriel Mtns and San Bernardinos that are open to bikes and some very big rides you can put together by linking trails together with fire roads.   The forest service does not seem to produce many maps for non-motorized trails but there are some resources you can use to find trails:

-Check out mountainbikebill.com, under SoCal Trails.  He doesn't have anything for Big Bear specifically but Santa Ana River Trail is just over the hill and can be connected to Big Bear - it is one of the more popular bike trails around. 
-When up in Big Bear buy the Follett map at any bike shop, it has most of the trails.  Main trail network runs south of BB up to 2N10 and Skyline trail on the ridge top. A couple other trails are over near Fawnskin.
-do some snooping on mapping sites like Trailforks.com, MTB project.com, Strava
-the Forest Service motor vehicle use maps you can find online are great for navigating dirt roads, but do not show non-motorized trails.  Often if you drive around you will see trails.  Go explore them. 
-also look for trails in the Gabes near Wrightwood, Chilao campground, and the front side from Mt Wilson/Mt Lowe down to Pasadena. Not as good for bikepacking but great riding. 

Generally speaking if it is not in wilderness and is not the PCT it is open to bikes.  There are a few trails that aren't, and you will also come across trails that are user created and not legal.  It is up to you if you want to ride them or not - if they have lots of obvious traffic it is probably ok, but if you see no trespassing signs it may not be.  You can often run into private property issues on dirt roads, which is where the motor vehicle use maps come in handy - if it is not on the map, it is not a public road. 

Good luck and have fun!

[trebor]

Agreed. Many, many miles here in SoCal for riding.

I like, and find easy to read, National Geographic maps. They are clear on which trails are open to which user groups and usually have a lot of useful info in the key and notes sections.

Also, a great map in SoCal is Extremeline. I don't think they have a map of the Big Bear or San Bernardino mountains, however.