Advice on riding areas

[eternal 1]

Hey everyone! I am relatively new to the area and to motorcycle riding, so I was looking for advice on cool places to ride and practice some skills in the area.
I live in SD downtown and ride my bike (CRF 300 Rally) to trails and was hoping to find more places to ride in ~1h radius off-highway. There were a few ride reports recently (could not make those unfortunately) and a few places mentioned there look promising, though I was not able to find any information/GPS tracks about it.

1. Otay Mesa river. Tried to enter via Hard Rock road, but only found some quarry and the guys there told me it is a private area. Is there another entrance?
2. “Pink gate” area. I think I know the place, I rode by it a few times, but it seems to be always closed and only has a smaller opening on the side. Pretty sure I can get my bike through it, but was not sure if it is allowed to ride there? Seems to be always a few border patrol cars around, not sure if this can be a problem?
3. Dirt road along the border (east from Ysidro). Seems to be a pretty long and chill dirt road with some cool offshoots. Is it open to the public? Any issues with border patrol?

Will also appreciate any advice on other places to ride in the area or maybe some smaller trails with not-super-hard technical elements to practice. Thanks a lot in advance and ride safe!

[Wintyfresh 46]

If you're willing to come up to Ramona there's a decent amount of relatively easy to ride fire roads. I'd be happy to show you around if you'd like.

[tntmo 887]

Pink gate is legal riding, go through the little opening.  I ride there occasionally, message me if you want to explore.

[spazegun2213 36]

On 2/18/2023 at 5:58 PM, eternal said:

Hey everyone! I am relatively new to the area and to motorcycle riding, so I was looking for advice on cool places to ride and practice some skills in the area.
I live in SD downtown and ride my bike (CRF 300 Rally) to trails and was hoping to find more places to ride in ~1h radius off-highway. There were a few ride reports recently (could not make those unfortunately) and a few places mentioned there look promising, though I was not able to find any information/GPS tracks about it.

1. Otay Mesa river. Tried to enter via Hard Rock road, but only found some quarry and the guys there told me it is a private area. Is there another entrance?
2. “Pink gate” area. I think I know the place, I rode by it a few times, but it seems to be always closed and only has a smaller opening on the side. Pretty sure I can get my bike through it, but was not sure if it is allowed to ride there? Seems to be always a few border patrol cars around, not sure if this can be a problem?
3. Dirt road along the border (east from Ysidro). Seems to be a pretty long and chill dirt road with some cool offshoots. Is it open to the public? Any issues with border patrol?

Will also appreciate any advice on other places to ride in the area or maybe some smaller trails with not-super-hard technical elements to practice. Thanks a lot in advance and ride safe!

I'm a mile from you... I feel your pain. But I also have a trailer and just bought a hitch rack to start toting my 500 around because it sucks on the highway, lol. If you ever want to borrow either, just let me know. 

There is a lot of fun stuff up in the Ramona/Julian area, and you can get there via 67, which is much nicer than an interstate. 67, is mostly 300 friendly, and as soon as you are in Ramona you are golden. 

The Pink Gate and the boarder road both sorta go through the Otay Mountain wilderness which is commonly referred to as the Otay Truck Trail (as that is the "main road" through there). OTT is 100% open to the public, but most of the entrances (Alta road, Pio Pico RV park) are now "closed." The Pink gate is "always open" in that the opening is bike friendly, and I don't even remember seeing a gate on Marron Valley Road (which is the main entrance for trucks/SUV's). That said, the Alta road gate is controlled by CPB and normally locked, but there is enough traffic that 50% of the time I just ask them to open the get for me, lol. The times no one is around there is *usually* a way around that gate close by, but it could be super sketch, lol. I need to explore if you go further north on Alta by the Juvenile Dentition facility it looks like there may be a way into the wilderness (OTT) there as well. 

But I LOVE the OTT, as its close to the city and has all sorts of terrain... chill gravel, baby heads, cool steep offshoots, etc. The views are also pretty cool. 

 

[shutterrev 469]

@spazegun2213 I live off the 67, between Lakeside and Ramona, usually meet folks for rides at Dunkin Ramona. I rarely ride Otay, first time ever on the pink gate stuff was a few weeks ago with this crowd and it was new / fun, but I do know the Ramona/Julian/Anza:etc stuff pretty well if you want a dirt/twisties tour. 

[padu 322]

There are several ways to get into Otay Mesa area. Some more legal than others.

The sad thing is that several areas within that region are being fenced and ground to build more warehouses.

Hit me up and I'll show you how to enjoy that whole area. That's my backyard

[eternal 1]

Thanks a lot for all the info! Will definitely check Ramona area more some time, will hit you up next time I plan to ride in the area! Was also thinking to get some small trailer (bike is probably too heavy for the hitch rack), but my current car is technically not suited for towing, need to wait for another year for factory warranty to expire to start messing with that. Rally is actually not that bad and pretty fun on 50-60 mph roads, though installing MT21 tires and stiffer suspension made it a bit less comfortable on longer stretches.

Also, in case somebody does not know, you can still enter Otay Trail at Pio Pico campground gate. You just need to ask for the gate code at the booth, they never refuse. Takes just a few extra minutes to deal with that.

[KTMrad 508]

Corral Canyon OHV Area off Buckman Springs Rd., and Lark Canyon/McCain Valley OHV Area further out east.