Hey guys! I'm fairly new to offroading, and one of the most daunting tasks to me when I first started was finding trails, so I'm going to start doing quick trail reports of the trails I run to hopefully help some of you find new places to get your tires dirty!

Trail Report: Otay Mountain Truck Trail

How To Find It
Many sites claim you can start on the west end of the trail, this is NOT TRUE! There is a big locked gate covered in no trespassing signs and cameras! Don't waste your time driving down there. The best way to access the trail is by the Pio Pico RV Campground:

14615 Otay Lakes Rd, Jamul, CA 91935
32.652440, -116.855045

When you pull up, you want to go through the small gate just to the left of the Coyote Canyon Cafe sign, not the yellow gate.

You'll follow a tight windy road up to another gate with some confusing no trespassing signs. Ignore these, as long as the gate is unlocked or already open, you're good to go.

Description
The main trail is a windy silty road up to the top of the mountain, with two more roads winding down on the other side. This road can be driven in your grandma's Camry, but don't be discouraged, the fun on this trail is in the many offshoots branching off of the main road. After the first mile or two, you'll be seeing offshoots almost every minute. I definitely recommend taking the first one on the left all the way to the top, that's the trail where these two pictures were taken.




Amenities
There's a small "country store" at the trail entrance to take care of any of your last minute snacks and water needs, but there's no gas right there, you'll have to drive a short distance to fund that.

Trail Rating
Everything difficult about this trail is optional. We cleared the first offshoot in a bone stock 4wd 3rd gen, but opted to skip the second offshoot because we were out by ourselves. You can definitely have fun out here in 2wd and in a stock vehicle, but it might be wise to park and hike the offshoot trails before getting yourself stuck in something you weren't prepared for.

The Verdict
The offshoots are a ton of fun, some of the main road is pretty fun, there is a ton out here to explore, and it's less than an hour away from most of San Diego. If you are looking for a good trail to dip your toes into the world of offroading with your 4runner, or you're an experienced wheeler looking for a quick morning run that'll get you home in time for lunch, this is definitely it! I hope to see you guys out there!

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Have any questions? Feel free to ask!
See me out on the trail? Wave me down! I'd love to say high and point you in the right direction.
If you guys find this helpful let me know! My goal is to help others who are looking to get their tires dirty but don't know where to start.

Trail Report Directory (I'll add links here when I make more reports)

• Otay Mountain Truck Trail

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Great writeup!

Awesome! Been wanting to check this out since it's probably one of the closest wheeling spots in SD.

Great write up. I've been doing this trail a lot since it's fairly close to me, and there's still a lot more to explore. There are some spectacular views...I watched the sunrise here this past weekend.

Thanks for posting. It's a good reminder to check out some local trails. I always seem to drive past the closest trails!

getting me V excite to move to SD.

It's a great trail to get your offroad fix and not too far at all. Check out other close trails as well i.e corral canyon, pine valley, banner grade, ocotillo