Miller Canyon (San Bernardino Mtns.) runs from Silverwood Lake, up to Hwy. 173 behind Lake Arrowhead. In the old days, you could access the Pinnacles Trails, 3N34, Deep Creek, Crab Flats, Big Pine Flats, etc. from there. Currently, the Pinnacles Trails and Deep Creek are closed because of the fire, so the trail is an up-and-back only ride, at least until Pinnacles reopens (call the Forest Service and bug them to reopen!).

I love this ride because it has lots of stream crossings, and snow riding in the winter. Rarely does it snow at Silverwood, but as you ascend the canyon, the snow will get deeper and deeper. Plus, much of the canyon is in the shade, so it keeps snow long after all the surrounding snow has melted.

Anyway, I rode up there yesterday. Road 2N37 which runs up the canyon, is washed out in one spot so that it isn't quite wide enough for a quad to pass (and it's a 15' drop onto rocks if you don't make it). With a little work, it might be possible to widen it enough to get past, but it is then followed by a nasty technical section that would probably stop most machines. In addition, the road became the river bed in a lot of spots and the soft sand has been washed away, leaving fields of boulders that will require a high clearance machine to get through (2X4 Rancher had no problems, but a lot of sport bikes would have trouble).

You can still take 2N36 up to 2N33, then ride 2N33 to 3W14 and get up to the top. If you want a technical challenge, give 2N17X a try!

 

I talked to Brad Burns (Arrowhead UFSF Ranger). He said the USFS just extended the current closures until June 30th. I know for a fact the USFS was considering this months ago, but they used the recent flooding as the reason.

 

I went and rode the Miller Canyon loop on my mountain bike today. 2N36 is trashed. There's no way to get through on a quad. The erosion from the flooding made some very deep vertical cuts in the road. I wonder if the USFS will ever fix that road again. I had to do about a half dozen creek crossings that were thigh deep. It was awesome, but cold as hell.