3N34 - Dishpan Springs - California Offroad Trail

Official Crew

110800

Temporary Closure

Visited: 03/18/2023

The forest service has deemed the San Bernardino Forest unsafe for public off-roaders to use until June 30th. For more information on this: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1095216.pdf If you disagree with the complete forest closure, please call (909) 382-2682 and ask to speak to the head ranger. You can also contact the head office in Washington,DC, and voice your concern there. (202) 912-7055 Another person you could contact your senator and express your feeling - (949) 598-5850 (Alex Padilla) or (202) 224-3121 (DC switch board) If you are unhappy with this at all, please make sure you sign up for the local off-road collations (Cal4wheel, and Corva). Feel free to reach out to them and ask what you can do. Cal4Wheel - (916) 381-8300 CORVA - 916-710-1950

landon shook

300

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 07/16/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

This trail is extremely demanding. I have a 17 JK with 2.5 inch lift and 35s. No lockers, stock gears and i had difficulty. The guys on 37s and 40s had no issues but id say mine was the height as lots of rocks scratched underneath and i bent my tie rod stabilzer (luckily it was an easy fix). All in all it was fun and worth it. Gave me motivation to get some more upgrades done :)

Chris

200

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 06/18/2022

Awesome short trail. I ran this with Trail Militia on a Jeep XJ group run. Obstacles are passable with good spotting and patience. Body damage is likely, as it's easy to bang up against rocks if not careful or you lose traction. I was an inch away from taking out my rear passenger door playing on a hard-line at the upper waterfall (Waypoint 4). Sliders and skid plates did their job (a lot), and bumper corners took some hits. My Jeep was locked front and rear with 33's and 5" lift. Most others had 35s. I didn't need to be pulled/winched and made the entire trail on my own power. 33's can still get the job done, even though 37's seem to be the norm nowadays. Check my highlight video, I'm the all-white XJ. :)

Paul Crawford

3150

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 05/26/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Tough little trail in the Big Bear Lake area of So Cal. Rated 6-9/10, and felt every bit of it. Video does not do justice. It looks and feels worse, but is very doable. At no time did I feel like I would flop. There are harder lines that could result in flop, but the short wheelbase TJ allowed me more options as its very maneuverable. Ran with 3 very well equipped JK/JL on 37's. My TJ is on 35's with rear locker and front Tru-Trac, and did just fine. Had to take a few attempts at a few obstacles, but never got stuck. Will feel some rocks from time to time, and a good chance of pin striping as well throughout trail. Trail is significantly more different than in initial post/description at top. Running it now compared to 10 years ago is much different. Seems like everyone is on 37's and up these days, chewing up the trails and making it more difficult for those on 33's and 35's. Still doable, just pick your lines.

Christopher Pepin

1100

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 08/14/2021

We ran up Dishpan Saturday with the club. I like this one a lot because its not Gold mtn/ john Bull/Holcomb like everyone else runs. I also think this trail is harder than Holcomb or John Bull. The optional hard line are hard and we had a couple Jeeps on 40's having a blast next to guys on 35's on the normal lines. Only bad part is the locked gate causes you to do 3n34 the entire way and it's a rough and boring few miles.

Barry Dambrowski

1100

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 06/13/2021

Ran this bad boy yesterday with a group of 10 Jeeps. I'm newer to offroading but have run trails like Gold Mountain and Heartbreak Ridge but this was definitely the most challenging run that I have done. Jeep has 3.5 lift and 35's but no lockers. Really didnt get stuck too much and made it thru with no damage or issues. We started on 2N17X (pilot rock) to 2N33 (willow springs) and ended at 3N16. It was a long day on the trails but we had a blast!

Robin Hou

500

Open

Visited: 05/14/2021

Hook Creek Rd gates are locked on both ends. However, you can get to the trail head from 3N34 Willow Creek Jeep Trail. The gate keeper and the trail in general are more challenging than last year, but great fun.

Bob Justus

1900

Open

Visited: 05/02/2021

Trail in great shape and definitely the challenge you might be looking for. The 2007 Jeep JKU Sahara 2.5” lift over 35’s continued to perform well. Rock rails absolutely did their job and we did everything the 5.5” 37’s did in front of us. Every waterfall and rock crawl. Ran the trail West to East on the way to Holcomb Creek. I was very happy to meet up with the crew from Taxicos Off Road, great group and helped with the right lines. I slipped to the right on the first waterfall, and backing down got a little tipsy, the guys hung on a gave me confidence and was able to slip around and the tires eventually got traction and up we went, big smile and set the tone for the rest of the day.

Josh Noesser

Official Crew

110800

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 12/16/2020

Sounds like the gate is closed to the road below the trail. The trail is open and you can access the trail via the other trails in the area. Use the map feature above to find ways around the locked gate.

Corey Foltz

100

Temporary Closure

Visited: 11/26/2020

This trail is an amazing one for sure. One of the most-do's in the Big Bear Trail System. We did run it once during the pandemic, over the Memorial Day weekend. However, not sure as off today 12/16/2020, but not long after the last review on 07/18/2020, Riverside County locked the west gate access from Lake Arrowhead to prevent access down to Aztec Falls (Posted a sign on the info board right there, which is the same entry point) during COVID-19. We went to that trailhead on Thanksgiving Day and it was still locked up tight. It might be a good idea to contact the local Ranger Station before the next attempt. Happy Wheeling.

Josh Noesser

Official Crew

110800

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 07/19/2020

Ran the trail the other day to see how the winter was. I am happy to say the trail is a bit rougher but still at the same difficultly. There is a large rock right now at the bottom of the fall in the way to climb up it but you can get around it just barely. I actually cracked it coming down when i hit it with my front end. Overall the trail was nice but it was hot. We went up and down the trail. I took my CJ because I wanted to try and cross the main falls by going straight. I ended up backing up because i didn't feel comfortable with the rear dropping down at the angle it was dropping at. The rear end keep sliding down the hill as the front was starting to push on the other side. I will go back and try again again, but I will first try going from the top down to so I can feel not committed to how bad the lean will be at the bottom of the V-Notch. Thinking about going up there in a few weeks and camping.

Bill

1300

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 11/02/2019

Great trail. Pretty hard, even on 37s. Didn't get stuck, but did have to pay attention. There are harder and easier lines, but some areas are challenging on either line. Continued on to Holcomb Creek and ended the day with Gold Mountain.

George Karpouzis

1100

Open

Visited: 06/29/2019

Tough trail. Went with a group and saw carnage at the lower waterfall. My 4runner equipped with 32s and a rear locker wasn’t enough for this tough trail so I turned back before the first waterfall. I’ll be back when I’m set up better

Juan Velasquez

1400

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 02/09/2019

Epic trail with a couple challenging parts. All have an easier line. Was raining during our run so made the trip more interesting. Awesome creek on the way in. 2 guys had open diffs never got stuck. off chamber on the gate keeper. Took the far left line spotter needed for less experienced and less built rigs.

Rob

1950

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/08/2018

This was my first time on the infamous Dishpan Springs trail. I've seen more videos of rigs flopped on their side here than anywhere in the San Bernardino mountains. The middle waterfall is where most of the carnage takes place, but you can take the easier line to the left (assuming you start at Deep Creek in Lake Arrowhead) near the tree. The trail is pretty short, but the two main obstacles provide a real challenge. The "9" rating seems to be on the high side, but then again, with all the rollovers that happen here I guess it makes sense. I think Holcomb Creek and John Bull are more difficult trails overall, but the main waterfall on Dishpan is probably more challenging than any single obstacle on either of those trails.

Nicholas Nielsen

Official Crew

250

Open

Visited: 02/03/2018

It was a beautiful day to be on an awesome trail. Very few were camping due to the cold weather. Dishpan continues to be one of the hardest trails in the San Bernardino mountains.

Josh Noesser

Official Crew

110800

Open

Visited: 09/14/2017

Top 5 Hard Trails In Big Bear

David May

Official Crew

3450

Open

Visited: 07/22/2017

We ran Dishpan twice in two days. The first day we ran it from Deep Creek to Holcomb Valley. The second day we went back the way we came. Great trail. Running from Holcomb Valley to Deep Creek is a little more technical only because it seems more tippy. This is one of my favorite trails in the area.

Josh Noesser

Official Crew

110800

Open

Visited: 06/22/2017

2016 Video of the Trail

Josh Noesser

Official Crew

110800

Open

Visited: 06/17/2017

Great trip today. Had a ton of fun but also had two rollovers. Can't wait to go back.

Chaplain Bill

900

Open

Visited: 04/02/2017

Video conquering Dishpan Springs off-road trail (white knuckle, axle breaking excitement). What a wonderful day with my 'first ministry' (my wife), as well as friends, and new friends. This trip consisted of five Jeeps, and ten persons. Regretfully we only have video of 'some' of the critical obstacles. We winched one Jeep, and strapped another that was ‘wounded in action.’ The only carnage we had today, was one axle shaft-yolk that broke. I feel bad that I wasn't able to help them repair that Jeep, but I have medical restrictions (Lord willing only for a season). But I was able to distribute some Gospel tracts.

Josh Noesser

Official Crew

110800

Open

Visited: 05/15/2016

Full Video of our trip

Josh Noesser

Official Crew

110800

Permanently Closed

Visited: 05/15/2016

Just ran the trail and holy moly it has changed a lot in the last 6 months. The trail is very torn up and just getting to the main obstacle isn't easy at all. This trail could be the hardest trail on the mountain easily now. Expect tons of V-notches, larges rocks ever where, and the main spot is so torn up that there is no mild way up or down anymore. It's now either hard or stupid...

3N34 - Dishpan Springs

Trail Information

Highlights

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Recommended Vehicle:

Concerns:

Summary:

Community Consensus

0 votes

2 votes

0 votes

Mandatory

Optional

Start your next adventure on 3N34 - Dishpan Springs

Upgrade your Membership

Trail Navigation

1. Trailhead and Airdown Spot (0 mi)

2. Bridge (0.4 mi)

3. Lower Waterfall (0.5 mi)

4. Upper Waterfall (2 mi)

5. East End of Trail - 3N16 (3 mi)

Trail Reviews

From the Community

Josh Noesser

3N34 - Dishpan Springs

Trail Information

Highlights

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Recommended Vehicle:

Concerns:

Summary:

Community Consensus

0 votes

2 votes

0 votes

Mandatory

Optional

Start your next adventure on 3N34 - Dishpan Springs

Upgrade your Membership

Uploading to Gaia GPS

Directions to...

Share Trail

Trail Navigation

1. Trailhead and Airdown Spot (0 mi)

2. Bridge (0.4 mi)

3. Lower Waterfall (0.5 mi)

4. Upper Waterfall (2 mi)

5. East End of Trail - 3N16 (3 mi)

Trail Reviews

From the Community

Josh Noesser

Print Trail Guide

Recent Updates