Trail Proposals, Wildlands Conservancy, SJT
Greetings and Salutations!
The VisionQuest has come and gone, which has freed up our time to focus on the trails. In this newsletter, I have a lot of updates about our Santa Ana mountain trails for you. Here includes a progress report of the trail proposals project, a note about The Wildlands Conservancy lands, a look-ahead at our coming work on the San Juan Trail and a report from our Four Corners / Modjeska Peak clean up this past Saturday.
And if you missed the VisionQuest write-up, check it out on our website blog. Otherwise, on to the update…
Unauthorized Trails / Trail Proposals
One issue we faced with this year’s VisionQuest was the use of unauthorized trails. Specifically, these singletracks were: Old Main Divide (on Santiago Peak), Buckthorn (on Modjeska Peak), Two Monkeys (which enters Wildlands Conservancy land) and Tombstone (Corona/Skyline Drive trails). Including these trails on our original VisionQuest course prevented us from getting a Forest Service-permitted event. Even after removing these unauthorized trails from the course, the Forest Service could not permit our access to Eagle Road, due to an unauthorized trail connection at Eagle Road.
In addition to not being able to use these trails in permitted events, we, as a Forest Service volunteer group, are not allowed to maintain unsanctioned trails. The solution is to bring some of these trails into the officially recognized National Forest Trail System. The benefit to trail users is obvious; moreover, this benefits our local Ranger District because once a trail is official, trail maintenance funds can be used for repairs when funding is available—a net win for all.
There are strict eligibility criteria for inclusion in the National Forest Trail System. Primarily, these trails should reside entirely in the National Forest, meet environmental, social and economic sustainability requirements and align with land management plans/priorities.
Jason Bennett is spearheading the trail proposal process. He is working with our District Ranger Matthew Bokach and uniting Corona MTB/Skyline Drive Trails with The Warriors of the Santa Anas to identify several Trabuco Ranger District trails to sanction. OCMTBA supports us in this project. Over the next month we will finalize our trail proposal package and Jason will submit it to the District Ranger.
Trails that enter The Wildlands Conservancy (Two Monkeys and Boobytrap) and unsustainable trails like Tombstone will not be included in the trail proposal package.
Meeting The Wildlands Conservancy
Speaking of, on April 11, 2026, The Warriors of the Santa Anas met The Wildlands Conservancy (TWC), land manager for The Mariposa Reserve in Blackstar Canyon, and a few outdoor enthusiasts, to learn about the area and get to know one another. Historian Eric Plunkett educated us on the history of the area. District Ranger Matthew Bokach enjoyed photographing the flora and fauna (we saw a rattlesnake). It was great to meet everyone in their natural habitat, sharing the enjoyment of this space.
For mountain bikers, you know this area because it is where trails Boobytrap and Two Monkeys exit. In addition, a relatively new trail, Puhú Connector, runs through the area.
My personal takeaway from this meeting is that we have a responsibility with how we use the land and interact with the space. It is an area of historical significance, the site of an important village of the Indigenous peoples who used to inhabit the land. You can learn more about the history of Puhú, the name given for the village in this area, in Eric Plunkett’s write up.
Knowing this particular anthropologic and cultural value, we should not build additional trails in this zone. In fact, any new trails need to be reviewed and approved by land managers before any vegetation is cut or trail building work begins. TWC is easy to reach and work with on projects with partners but projects need to be reviewed before implementation to ensure that sensitive anthropological or environmental resources are not threatened or damaged. TWC plans to close the trail that bisects the village of Puhú to protect the site.
Our Work Ahead: San Juan Trail Restoration
We actually have many epic, officially-recognized Forest Trails in the Santa Anas–we just need to restore them. Don’t believe me? Some of these Cleveland National Forest, Trabuco Ranger District Trails that were damaged or destroyed by the 2024 Airport Fire include:
Joplin Trail (6W02)
Holy Jim Trail (6W03)
Trabuco Canyon Trail (6W04)
West Horsethief Trail (6W11)
Los Pinos Trail (6W06)
Viejo Tie(6W09)
Chiquito Trail (6W07)
San Juan Trail (6W05)
All these trails that you want to ride or hike, are currently closed and will require several hours of restoration effort before they can be opened.
Our work to restore these trails, one trail at a time, will start with the San Juan Trail. We are the volunteer trail maintenance group authorized by the Forest Service to enter the burn area to assess and address damage on this trail. We are assessing the trail this month.
After our assessment, we will create a plan and schedule work days starting in June. Show us all these trails matter to you by joining us in the coming months on the San Juan Trail. Are you in? RSVP early: reply and let us know.
Trash Pick Up at Four Corners and Modjeska Peak
While we’re waiting for the hard work to begin on San Juan Trail, a few of us got together for a group ride and Four Corners / Modjeska Peak clean-up this past Saturday, May 9, 2026.
Check out the report on our website blog or watch the video.
We had a great ride and left the mountains in a better place. Thank you to all the volunteers that made this a successful event.
