Any body around palm desert Palm Springs like to go explore with me I'm new in the area I need some body to go off-road with me and show me some trails please

 

Rancho Mirage resident here. Luckily for you I think the Coachella Valley is a fantastic spot for offroaders. You have a great number of hotspots, and we are centrally located from all of them. I don't see many JKs out here, but the offroad community is definitely represented by old Yota clubs and TJ/YJ/CJ/XJs. It goes without saying that the summers get hot. Very hot. So big bear is a welcome relief and has all kinds of trails to suit your needs. Being that it's winter, you definitely want to run a few trails up there just to get some snow wheeling in. Here's a quick rundown of your options.

Big Bear/Hemet-- Big Bear is a bastion of offroading. There are detailed maps and trail guides for the entire mountain, and there are dozens of dedicated and recognizable trails. The trails range from fire roads to extreme. One of my favorites is the John Bull trail. There are some cool things to see on the mountain, including old mineshafts and mining equipment from days of yore. But be careful-- on some trails there are uncovered vertical mineshafts which I think used to be some type of pressure relief system. One wrong move (especially for animals or children) and you have a very serious problem on your hands.

Big bear's good trails have their access points through Pioneer town, which itself is accessed through Yucca Valley. It's a silly old-time western recreation. Be sure to stop in to Happy and Harriet's, as it's a fantastic local gem.

Ocotillo Wells-- Down southeast a bit past Coachella is Ocotillo Wells. It's literally a giant offroad playground. They host a giant Jeep event every year which is very fun to go to and check out. These trails are pretty much a giant sandbox as opposed to a trail. Tons of fun man made obstacles to try out too, including a giant vertical wall. Check it out on youtube!

Johnson Valley-- Another dedicated offroad playground. You get here by going through Yucca Valley. Home to the "Hammers", these trails are a bit more extreme. A LOT more extreme, actually. But it makes for a good day trip to go check out what people's rigs are capable of. Definitely don't miss the King of the Hammers race. I've gone every year for the past 3 years.

Locally-- don't. Even though we live in the desert and are surrounded by tempting fun in the sand, you will get a big fat ticket from local law enforcement. There are a few 4x4 clubs around here you can join, if that's the kind of thing you're into. I prefer to go casually with some friends of mine in older YJs.

What's done on your Jeep? If you have at least 33s you should be able to do mostly everything. 35s I think is the sweet spot for the trails around here.

 

Welcome to the forum and to the Palm Springs area. There are quite a few of us out here Feel free to join us any time you want to go out and we can show you around. The previous person gave you some good advise.

Feel free to look at our local club, http://www.dst4x4club dot org. We always welcome new members and will show you the way. We have members in YJ's, TJ's, JK's, JKU's and XJ's to name a few. We even have a Suzuki and a FJ cruiser. Feel free to read the website and see what we are all about and join us for a meeting to check it out if you want.

A few of us go on regular rides on Sundays if that work for you. We do Saturday rides too. We do take the dogs with too, so we stop a lot and talk a lot too, so no high speed trail riding for us.

Let us know if you need more info and welcome again.

 

We're going to go to Ocotillo Wells OHV playground this weekend if you want to go with us!

 

Which day this weekend?

 

Not too far past Ocatillo is Glamis!!! Sand Capital of The World!!! Glamis is good for camping over night too. For a stock jeep or rookie driver I would suggest staying out of the big dunes,, but sand highway will take you into Oldsmobile hill, which is a great people watching spot. On the east side of the dunes, near the train tracks there are a ton of small dunes you can play in. Three pieces of advice; 1) Go with another jeep or two. 2) Air down to 10-12 psi 3) if you start to dig in going up a hill,, get off the gas fast, throw it in reverse(you will back right out) and try it again, either faster or at a different approach. You will be amazed what a stock Jeep can do in the sand. Have Fun!

 

Saturday. We're leaving from Cat City at 8:30 sharp.

 

Dang wife getting hair done and I'm watching 3 month old son...

 

Had a great time again at Anza Borrego. Although, on one of the uphill tractor-tire obstacles, one of the tire treads ripped out my valve stem and flattened my tire. Had to limp back to the offroad shop at the bottom of the hill. 11 PSI when I made it to his garage. Whew!

 

Oh wow didn't have repair kit with you and glad had fun...