Cactus Flat OHV Staging Area
Cactus Flat OHV Staging Area is off of Highway 18, north of Big Bear and south of Lucerne Valley. Look for Forest Road 3N03 and go southeast, following the signs to the staging area.
Off-roading in Big Bear Valley
9 marked off-highway routes in the San Bernardino National Forest around Big Bear, with the vehicle restrictions that apply to each. Green sticker and street legal, staging areas, and where each road actually goes.
The rules that catch people out
- Street legal is not the same as green sticker. Several roads here are open to registered vehicles along their whole length but only to non-street-legal vehicles on part of it. Where the Forest Service says so, it is printed on the route below word for word.
- Stay on the numbered route. The roads are signed by number — 3N14, 2N31Y and so on — and leaving them is what closes areas to everybody.
- An Adventure Pass may be needed to park. Check current requirements with the forest before you set off.
- Snow closes these roads. Most are high enough to be gated or impassable well into spring.
Staging area
Off-highway roads around Big Bear
Big Pine Flat OHV Road 3N92
This is a short one mile route that connects Wright Mine OHV Road 3N11 to Redonda Ridge OHV Trail 2W17, allowing riders to loop back to Crab Flats using Holcomb Valley OHV Road 3N16.
Carbine Flat OHV Road 3N59
This road travels 4 miles from Coxey OHV Road 3N14 to the end. At the end of the road, motorcycle Devils Hole OHV Trail 2W01 begins towards Lake Arrowhead.
Carbine Flat Spur A OHV Road 3N59A
This road travels 4.8 miles from the junction with Carbine Flat OHV Road 3N59 along the northern forest boundary terminating onto a BLM road. The road continues west on the BLM to Deep Creek Road in Hesperia.
Coxey OHV Road 3N14
This road travels 17.8 miles from Fawnskin to the northern forest boundary, eventually ending up in the outskirts of Apple Valley. Important Note : Non-street legal vehicles are only permitted between Grapevine Canyon OHV Road 4N16 and the northern forest…
Important: Non-street legal vehicles are only permitted between Grapevine Canyon OHV Road 4N16 and the northern forest boundary. Reminder: Only street legal vehicles are permitted between Fawnskin and Grapevine Canyon OHV Road 4N16
Crab Flat Loop OHV Route 2N31Y
This is a 7/10 mile loop north of Crab Flats OHV Road 3N34, west of Crab Flats Campground.
Holcomb Valley OHV Road 3N16
This road runs just over 26 miles from Green Valley Lake Road to the Dump Access Road near Baldwin Lake. Important Note: While the road is 26 miles long, only the11 miles from the Crab Flats Camground junction with 3N34 to Forest OHV Road 3N56 are open to…
Important: While the road is 26 miles long, only the11 miles from the Crab Flats Camground junction with 3N34 to Forest OHV Road 3N56 are open to non-street legal vehicles. Reminder: 1. Non-street legal vehicles cannot use the portion of 3N16 to Green Valley Lake Road. 2. Non-street legal vehicles cannot use the portion of 3N16 from 3N56 to the Dump Access Road 3. There is NO non-street legal vehicle roads or trails into the community of either Big Bear / Fawnskin nor Green Valley Lake
Smarts Ranch OHV Road 3N03
This road travels 7.4 miles from State Highway 18 in Cactus Flats into Lone Valley ending at the junction with Arrastre Creek Road 2N02. Important Note: 3N03 from State Highway 38 to the entrance to Cactus Flats OHV Staging Area is street legal vehicles only.
Important: 3N03 from State Highway 38 to the entrance to Cactus Flats OHV Staging Area is street legal vehicles only. Non-street legal vehicles must transported by haul vehicles to the Pinnacles OHV Staging Area. Forest 2N02 is street legal only from the junction of 2N02 of 3N03 west back towards Baldwin Lake.
White Mountain Connector OHV Road 3N56
This short 2/10 mile OHV road connects Holcomb Valley OHV Road 3N16 to White Mountain OHV Road 3N17. Important Note : Non-street legal vehicles cannot travel east on 3N16 from 3N56.
Important: Non-street legal vehicles cannot travel east on 3N16 from 3N56.
Wright Mine OHV Road 3N11
This 1.5 mile OHV road runs from Holcomb Valley OHV Road 3N16 to White Mountain OHV Road 3N17. Redonda Ridge OHV Trail 2W17 terminates here.
Before you drive up
- Road conditions and closures — whether the highways up the mountain are open, and whether chains are required.
- Fire activity near Big Bear — fire closures shut forest roads first.
- Big Bear weather — the forecast at elevation, not down the hill.
Off-roading in Big Bear: common questions
Do I need a green sticker to ride off-road in Big Bear?
If your vehicle is not street legal, yes. California requires off-highway vehicles that are not registered for the road to carry a current OHV identification sticker from the DMV, the green sticker or the red sticker, which can limit the seasons you may ride. Vehicles from out of state need a California non-resident OHV use permit instead. A street-legal vehicle may use its normal registration, but some routes restrict vehicle type whatever the registration, and each route on this page says which vehicles it is open to.
Are the off-road routes open in winter?
Often not. Many of these roads are gated for the season or become impassable after snow, often into spring, and fire closures and storm damage can shut a road that is open in the published route data. Check current road and area closures for the Mountaintop Ranger District of the San Bernardino National Forest before you set off.
Do I need a pass to park at the staging area?
You may. An Adventure Pass or an interagency pass is needed to park at many developed sites in the San Bernardino National Forest. Requirements change, so check the current rules with the forest before you go rather than relying on what applied last season.
Do I need chains to drive up?
It depends on the day. Caltrans sets chain control road by road, and Highway 38 over Onyx Summit is usually the first to need chains while Highway 330 is usually the last. Four-wheel and all-wheel drive vehicles must still carry chains or other traction devices inside a chain control area. Check the live road conditions page before you leave.