Corral Canyon - #CorralCanyon

Socal - San Diego County - Lake Morena NickNames: #CorralCanyon

(1) Drive east on I 8, past Laguna Summit. Exit on Buckman Springs Rd. and go right about 3 miles. Look for this off-road vehicle park on the right about .5 mile past the school.
(2)Take Buckman Springs Rd. exit off of Hwy. 8, go 3 or 4 miles past school, take right turn into Lake Morena campground/recreation area exit. Follow this road past Lake Morena. Shortly after crossing a creek bed (usually dry?), you will see where a dirt trail which crosses the road. Park here as it will be your return point.
Thomas Guide page 1296

16 Review(s)Login

• Trail UpdateClosed-Headed out there and found the entrance is shut, apparently a good chunk of the area burned in the "Horse Fire". Too bad, have never been there before.
  Loner a 28 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Trek 3700 from San Diego URL: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/cleveland/recreation/ohv/corral.shtml

  Posted:08/05/2006

• Trail UpdateCorral Canyon/Sage-Umm.. I rode out their for the first time during the SDMBA DH clinic on saturday, and the condition's weren't too bad. Dry, loose(from all the mx guys), in some places there were puddles in the middle of the trail. Wasn't really all that rocky, except for in some of the downhill section's. Umm... I only rode the one trail that goes back down to the bottom of the fire road through the wooden fence. The a lot of the berms were packed, and some were quite loose, and just had to lean the bike over a little more to stay in the turn. I got down the trail pretty fast, did a lot of pumping, lot's of fun!

  Ride Distance: ? Elevation change: ?
  Alex966 a 23 year old Downhiller riding a 2001 Giant NRS XTC3

  Posted:04/25/2005

• Trail UpdateCorral Canyon PLUS...-The PRA rode Corral Canyon as well as a few of the outlaying trails at Lake Morena on Sun. Feb 13, 2005. The conditions were SLOPPY!!! There were many small lakes on the trails that had to be navigated carefully. In addition to the lakes, there were random areas of quicksand (up to 1.5' deep!!) which had a tendency to suck a front tire in and throw the rider OTB (always fun).
  The highlight of the ride was the well-mannered motorcyclists on the trails. There were only a few motor powered types out there but, it was nice to see motorized and human powered riders sharing the trails and using effective hand signals.
  Ride rating: Advanced
  Ride distance: 16 Elevation change: ?
  Bob Umpenhauer a 31 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a single-speed KHS from Point Loma

  Posted:02/14/2005

• Trail UpdateWatch out for dead bodies around here:

  Authorities Sunday discovered two bodies in different areas of the Cleveland National Forest, including a possible homicide victim.

  Park rangers notified sheriff's deputies after finding a body near Lake Henshaw, off state Route 76 and East Grade Road.

  Homicide investigators were called in after it was determined the victim, who was not identified, was tied up and possibly dumped in the area, said sheriff's Lt. Rick Figueroa.

  A second body, a suspected illegal immigrant, was found near Lake Morena Dam. The body was discovered in an area frequented by illegal immigrants crossing the border into the United States, Forest Service Batallion Chief Lisa Bilz said.
  Blvd. Runt a Weekend Warrior

  Posted:02/07/2005

• Trail UpdateCorral Canyon-I rode Corral Canyon on Wednesday. Excellent conditions despite the previous rain. Spur Meadow and Wrangler were, for the most part, hard packed and fast. Refer to MTB Bill's web site for directions.
  Ride rating: Advanced
  Ride distance: 21 miles Elevation change:
  Singletrack=75% Dirt Road=20% Paved Path=5%
  Gear Shifter a 39 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a 2000 GT I-Drive from San Diego

  Posted:11/26/2004

• Trail UpdateTriple Expresso WHOA-The trails are "magic" now that Sagebrush is thru. Leaving us
  with quiet, solitude (except a few motobikes) and perfectly
  groomed, banked and smooth lines. Chilly morning with windy
  conditions actually added to the drama and fun. Spru Meadow
  downhill rocks...... I think better than Kernan!!!

  Going back for more soon!!
  Mtbchip a 45 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Schwinn Paramount w/knobbies from San Diego

  Posted:04/12/2003

• Trail UpdateKearnan Is Fast.-Since the rain, Kearnan cycle trail has packed down and has no ruts, unlike last fall. The descent is no longer very technical and it is possible to go quite fast. The trail up and over Bronco Peak more than makes up for it, however. This is a steep, loose, rutted and generally very technical trail, especially when muddy and slick like today. The trail by the creek between 4 Corners and the campground was extremely muddy and mostly unrideable as a result but should be dry and hard by next weekend. There is some type of bike race planned for next weekend at Corral Canyon, as we saw lots of racers practicing the course.
  Dmorgan a Cross-Country Rider

  Posted:04/22/2001

• Trail UpdateKearnan Graded-I should have posted this a couple weeks ago when I noticed it; I hope the condition has improved since then. Kearnan cycle trial now has been graded into soft mushy crap. Not the thrill ride and challenge it once was. It is challenging only in perfecting how to not crash and carry any speed whatsoever in deep sand-type conditions. Drive up to 4 corners until Kearnan becomes worth it. If anyone notices changes, please post them. Thanks.
  Mikekim

  Posted:04/14/2001

• Trail UpdateRound Em Up-I rode Lake Morena this Sunday with a friend and it was perfect! The trails are tacky, dust-free and only a few big mud puddles. I am happy to report that the trails have regained their character since the trail "work" last May. This is the perfect time to ride Morena because it is not hot and dust free. If you have ridden there in dry times, you know what I mean. Finally cleaned the rocky "Caution Sign" ledge before the "slickrock." Yes! Kearnan trail is excellent as usual.
  MikekiM a 34 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a heavy but adored GT xcr2000 from Carlsbad

  Posted:02/20/2001

• Trail UpdateCorral Canyon Triple Expresso-
  Oh....the dissin was not about the rider now. The Poor
  'ol Mach 5 needs to retire. Now the trail. Our group
  did the same as Steve & Wood, we just added the dusty &
  duffy Wrangler. We did it cause we like to cough up
  dusty trail for couple of dayz after riding. The
  weather was PERFECT, and the ride would have been if
  not for losing one rider due to an inopertune
  phaceplant...
  Ride rating: Intermediate
  Ride distance: 20+- Elevation change: ?????
  Singletrack=70% Dirt Road=20% Paved Path=10%
  mtbchip a 42 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Catamount MFS from San Diego

  Posted:09/03/2000

• Trail UpdateLake Morena (Rocky Woop-De-Doo)-We followed the same route as Dan-the-man (see post 1-21-98), but minus the mud! On the way up, Espinosa trail was rocky road. We said, "give me two scoops", and then we walked up the rest of it. When we reached the saddle, we headed up the dirt road to the top of single track heaven. This might be the beer talking but this was a hell of a ride. Fast paced rock hopping and surprise woop-de-doos made this ride well worth the climb. There's also a great mix of sweeping bank turns and technical rocky decents. After finishing the top section, we rode up to 4-corners and started down the final single track. We found more of the same and were rewarded with the best of the day - a woop-de-doo weave that could launch you if you go fast enough.

  The weather was clear and cool and our new friends at the end of the trail were even cooler (except for the dissin' about my crappy Manitou front shocks). We rapped about this ride and many other SD rides and finished it off with a cold bottle of Moose Drool. We drove home, had pizza and even more (cheap) beer. If we can ever kick this drinking problem, we'll back to ride again.

  p.s. motorcycles were everywhere - look out for them because they will ride UP the single track!
  Ride rating: Beginner
  Ride distance: 10.9 miles Elevation change: 1100 feet
  Singletrack=70% Dirt Road=20% Paved Path=10%
  Dan's bro Steve and Woodrow a 40+ year old Cross-Country Rider riding a HooKooEKoo and Stumpjumper from O.B., CA

  Posted:09/02/2000

• Trail UpdateTrail Reworked-Rode this last weekend. Literally ran into a bulldozer crew above 4 corners toward the lake. The trail is not the same there, needless to say. What was hardpack technical craziness is now mush slop. Why do they do maintenace with such a heavy hand? I don't think this was done all over, but it is worth noting. Maybe the first rain or about 100 motocross riders will help. Still a blast though.
  MikekiM

  Posted:05/21/2000

• Trail UpdateCorral Canyon - Lake Morena-This is the second time in a week that I have been on this trail. It is with out a doubt, VERY cool and challenging. We started out at the Four Corners parking lot and began to ride out of the trail entrance in the southwest corner of the parking lot. It began with a strech of downhill that was very impressive. Soon the down turned into uphill uphill uphill. After stopping on the huge flat rock area to adjust our attitudes, (the rock is really the outer shell of a burried space ship) we were on our way to what seemed to be the edge of a mountain that went directly down to Lake Morena. This is where we looped around and began the huge downhill to the car. The downhill (about 3 miles) was some of the coolest and fastest riding I have done in a long time.

  Thanks to my good buddies Ron-(Deeta) and Steve-(Stephan) for turning on the Yuma Chapter to such a great ride!!!!!

  ..........
  Ride rating: Intermediate
  Ride distance: 7 Elevation change: 1000 ft
  Singletrack=90% Dirt Road=10%
  Craig Koenigs a 33 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Raleigh M-7000 w/Rockshox Judy xlc 100 long travel from Yuma AZ URL: Monumental Web Page

  Posted:04/17/2000

• Trail UpdateLake Morena-We did the (2) version. It was fantastic! Loads of fast
  singletrack with banked turns and whoopty-doos. Some
  steep and rocky spots keep it interesting. The initial
  climb was progressivly looser towards the top to the
  point of being almost unclimbable. We did a little over
  2 hours of riding and there is much more out there. The
  ride would definately suck if it was muddy. Keep an eye
  out for motorcyclists. We encountered a half dozen or
  so. All were very considerate and aware of our group. I
  might even go so far as to say this is my favorite ride
  in th
  Ride rating: Advanced
  Singletrack=85% Dirt Road=10% Paved Path=5%
  Morgan Cox a 34 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Carbon Raleigh hardtail from Carmel Valley .com

  Posted:10/10/1999

• Trail UpdateThis route is approximately 10 miles in length and took about 2 hours of riding to complete. We chose this route on a day after it had rained. It turned out this was not a great choice for this area as there were definitely sections of thick mud. Even so, this was still a great ride. We began by riding on the road uphill and to the west for about a mile until you encounter a gated entrance to single track. Follow the single track uphill through a canyon for about 3 miles. Even in wet conditions this was pretty good and only required dismounting in 1 or 2 steep sections. You will encounter a dirt road at a saddle. From here it appears that you can go right down into another canyon for an extended ride. We took a left going uphill on the dirt road for about a mile or so until a turn off to the right where single track continued going back downhill. It was on this section of road where we encountered the most horredous mud, requiring us to mostly carry our bikes. In dry conditions I'm sure this is 500 times better. After taking in a great view, go down the fun and not too technical single track until you come to a paved road (the same one as where we started). There are many trails which split off from here and it appears that these sections of trail are used more heavily by motorcycles. We followed the single track that roughly parallels the paved road as it climbs uphill to its end point at the top of the hill. However, in the muddy conditions, we needed to get on the the paved road itself to get all the way up. The trail then finishes with 2 or 3 miles of single track going downhill. The views of lake Morena are great along this section. The single track is steep and somewhat technical is some sections (which was enhanced by the muddy conditions). But for the most part it was great fun. In dry conditions, you could ride this section pretty fast and get a great thrill ride, especially in the bottom part. The downhill will finish right where you parked.
  Singletrack=70% Dirt Road=20% Paved Path=10%
  Dan Inderieden a 33 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Cannondale Super-V from Bloomington, MN

  Posted:01/21/1998

• Trail UpdateCorral Canyon-

  Posted:01/21/1997