SF Bay Area Day Trip locations?

[WalkerK]

Hi friends. I'm wanting to get the kids out of the house to experience some nature and thought it might be fun to also introduce my '06 LX470 to some light off road driving like fire roads and that type of non-technical trail. (My truck is still mostly stock and has the factory step/running boards. Maybe I should take them off, first, but they're so handy with the 4yo and 6yo.) I'm in East Palo Alto and am hoping to find something within about an hour radius, if possible. I appreciate your advice.

Also wanted to share this photo I found of these good looking people from Overland Expo West back in 2019. Why does this feel like 5 years ago???

 

[krzyboy2o]

Hi friends. I'm wanting to get the kids out of the house to experience some nature and thought it might be fun to also introduce my '06 LX470 to some light off road driving like fire roads and that type of non-technical trail. (My truck is still mostly stock and has the factory step/running boards. Maybe I should take them off, first, but they're so handy with the 4yo and 6yo.) I'm in East Palo Alto and am hoping to find something within about an hour radius, if possible. I appreciate your advice.

Also wanted to share this photo I found of these good looking people from Overland Expo West back in 2019. Why does this feel like 5 years ago???
View attachment 219046

Hey there! If your looking for some trails, Hollister Hills would be a great place to take your rig. It’s about and 1hr & 15min from EPA. Alternatively, if you wanna just take the fam out for a nice scenic drive, Go up Page Mill Rd. There are a lot of Open Space reserves that you can hike and explore. Enjoy!! Happy New Year

 

[WalkerK]

Hi friends. I'm wanting to get the kids out of the house to experience some nature and thought it might be fun to also introduce my '06 LX470 to some light off road driving like fire roads and that type of non-technical trail. (My truck is still mostly stock and has the factory step/running boards. Maybe I should take them off, first, but they're so handy with the 4yo and 6yo.) I'm in East Palo Alto and am hoping to find something within about an hour radius, if possible. I appreciate your advice.

Also wanted to share this photo I found of these good looking people from Overland Expo West back in 2019. Why does this feel like 5 years ago???
View attachment 219046

Hey there! If your looking for some trails, Hollister Hills would be a great place to take your rig. It’s about and 1hr & 15min from EPA. Alternatively, if you wanna just take the fam out for a nice scenic drive, Go up Page Mill Rd. There are a lot of Open Space reserves that you can hike and explore. Enjoy!! Happy New Year

Page Mill, Old La Honda, and Alpine road were beautiful. I kept my eye out for unpaved roads but couldn’t find any that didn’t say no trespassing. I did leave a message for the local Fire Marshall to see if he had any advice. Will reach out to POST next and see what they say. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Yvette]

Hi, I live on Alpine Road and it doesn't go through. Page Mill is paved but super rutted in places, lol. It's beautiful and can go all the way to the beach. Lots of bicycles though. I am interested in what you find out from the Fire Marshall. Thanks, krzyboy2o for suggesting Hollister Hills; I'll check that out. I am also looking for some dirt roads. Have you ever been to Lost Coast? I have never been and it looks awesome.

 

[rho]

There isn't a lot around the South Bay or the Peninsula that is really off-road driving per say but there are some spots...
Lost Coast, Big Sur, Mt Madonna/Summit Road, Buzzard Lagoon Rd in Santa Cruz, Hollister Hills OHV, are the only things around locally. There are a few other unpaved dirt roads back around Hollister, but in general everything around here is just a dirt road or one with fairly broken pavement.

Personally I'd suggest trying some of the easier trails in Hollister Hills, as those are a somewhat "safe" environment for learning the basics of driving your rig off road. You'll want to be careful with the running boards, even on easy trails, as they can smack stuff pretty easily, and given that they usually bend, they often hit the body as well. A good set of sliders can often double as steps, so thats always an option down the road.

Buzzard is a little more interesting than just a graded dirt road, yet still fairly mellow. You'll have to watch out for mountain bikers as the upper part of that road is used as part of the main riding loop at Soquel Demonstration forest.

Send me a PM, I have some GPS tracks of these I can send you.

 

[Advtres]

Did lost coast on my motorcycle, long drive for a small section of road, something to see if your making a trip down there. Nice picnic spots along the route. There is only a small section of uneven road, otherwise I think most cars can do it fine.

 

[WalkerK]

Hi, I live on Alpine Road and it doesn't go through. Page Mill is paved but super rutted in places, lol. It's beautiful and can go all the way to the beach. Lots of bicycles though. I am interested in what you find out from the Fire Marshall. Thanks, krzyboy2o for suggesting Hollister Hills; I'll check that out. I am also looking for some dirt roads. Have you ever been to Lost Coast? I have never been and it looks awesome.

Hi Yvette! I called the fire Marshal twice and didn’t get any responses. He probably has more important stuff to worry about…understandable. Maybe I’ll stop by the office again sometime soon. Sorry for the delay in responding…I must not have had my notifications on.

I have not done lost coast but it looks like something I need to check out! I recently did Sherwood Road trail from Willits to Fort Bragg and had a blast. Very dusty but still a lot of fun.

 

[WalkerK]

There isn't a lot around the South Bay or the Peninsula that is really off-road driving per say but there are some spots...
Lost Coast, Big Sur, Mt Madonna/Summit Road, Buzzard Lagoon Rd in Santa Cruz, Hollister Hills OHV, are the only things around locally. There are a few other unpaved dirt roads back around Hollister, but in general everything around here is just a dirt road or one with fairly broken pavement.

Personally I'd suggest trying some of the easier trails in Hollister Hills, as those are a somewhat "safe" environment for learning the basics of driving your rig off road. You'll want to be careful with the running boards, even on easy trails, as they can smack stuff pretty easily, and given that they usually bend, they often hit the body as well. A good set of sliders can often double as steps, so thats always an option down the road.

Buzzard is a little more interesting than just a graded dirt road, yet still fairly mellow. You'll have to watch out for mountain bikers as the upper part of that road is used as part of the main riding loop at Soquel Demonstration forest.

Send me a PM, I have some GPS tracks of these I can send you.

PM sent! Thank you very much. Sorry for the delay!

 

[WalkerK]

Did lost coast on my motorcycle, long drive for a small section of road, something to see if your making a trip down there. Nice picnic spots along the route. There is only a small section of uneven road, otherwise I think most cars can do it fine.

Thank you! I’ll check it out.