Belle's Bluff - #Belle'sBluff

Socal - San Diego County - Alpine NickNames: #Belle'sBluff

Take I-8 East from San Diego Area apprx 15 Miles to Alpine. Take TAVERN Road exit South (right) to the end (3-4 miles). Left on Japatul Rd. Head east apprx 3 Miles. After you Cross a river bridge, look at the hill to your left, notice the steep, diagonal cut up the hill from right to left. find a place to park your vehicle, near the gate, this is also a horse trail so be nice. take the long steep trail up and around the mountain. Near the top, the trail levels out and heads north. find the singletrack to the right (east) and keep heading up... the trail gets rough and eroded. climb as long as you can stand it (3+ miles??) then rest, turn around and haul-ass back down.
Parking Update: I found a new parking area (with port-a-potty's) about a half mile west fo the bridge. The parking lot is for a fishing reservoir on the south side of the road. the "turn-in" road is marked with "NO-PARKING" signs, but the lot is opened during daylight hours. Read the signs on the bulletin board to be sure of rules + hours. Thomas Guide page 1254

3 Review(s)Login

• Trail UpdateBelle's Bluff-I tried to follow the directions for this ride but was met with a closed gate. There was absolutely no way around besides climbing over and I really dont want to create any more animosity towards bikers. I did however go and park at the fishing access that was about a mile West of the bridge. Looking at the map I noticed that the California Riding and hiking trail crossed the road about 50ft before the entrance of the fishing access lot. I rode a few miles on this trail until it got dark. Looks like it might be worthy of a longer ride. Its all single track so its worth checking out. The only question that remains is the legality of Mountain Bikes on this trail. Does anyone know? It doesnt say they are illegal so I will go with that until Im told otherwise.
  Ride rating: Intermediate
  Ride distance: 0-25 Elevation change:
  Singletrack=100%
  Mike Abel a 31 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Schwinn 4-Banger from El Cajon, Ca.

  Posted:01/19/2001

• Trail UpdateBelle's Bluff-This is a section of the California Riding and Hiking Trail. The San Diego County Trails Council is working to build a staging area at the base of the climb, so parking may be better soon.
  Jim Sterrett a 50 year old Weekend Warrior URL: http://www.jsterrett@sdlaw.com

  Posted:07/20/1997

• Trail UpdateBelle's Bluff-Good climbing practice and downhill skills in the technical section at the top. It gets VERY HOT there in summer (100+ deg).
  Singletrack=10% Dirt Road=90%
  Jerry Tucker a 42 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a Trek 8000SHX from Santee, CA

  Posted:07/20/1997