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See the linked video for all the info! :)

Yeah I’ve scouted Rocky Butte Truck Trail on maps and I’ve read accounts online from people who have driven over there in years gone by. Seems like it’s behind gates these days as you say. Most of the trails in Los Padres are similarly closed for one reason or another.

Thanks for watching & commenting! We had a fabulous trip and yes it was 2018 when we went, and that series was the first on our channel. We’d love to get back there - we spent 2 weeks traveling Scotland and barely had time to stop anywhere!

Per the BLM site, “Clear Creek Management Area (CCMA) encompasses approximately 75,000 acres, of which 63,000 acres are public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management Central Coast Field Office.” If you look at a map, it’s basically a big rectangle, with areas of state and private land ownership within it. CCMA is contained entirely in San Benito County (historically Monterey County until the establishment of San Benito County in 1874). This does mean for example that New Idria mine was established in Monterey County. As to whether the roads are BLM or state roads, that might be a technicality since they are within the CCMA and have BLM route designations (Clear Creek Rd is BLM route R1 for example). On the safety concerns, I would note that chrysotile asbestos (‘Calidria’ as the King City Asbestos Company/Union Carbide named it) is banned in 50 countries worldwide.

Next time, I’ll bring maps. :)

Hey thanks for commenting! I did find myself without a map, which was due to an unfortunate incident where my phone was reset, causing me to lose the offline maps I'd prepared. I plain forgot that the phone reset would have wiped the map data. Also, I showed the Overland Bound logo in the video with a bit of a wink, because my team and I built Overland Bound One, which is an offroad mapping app. :) Yeah, I've heard it is more technical beyond the ACEC, wanted to find out for myself. I was also wondering if the northern access along New Idria Rd is still washed out, have not seen a news update on that.

Thank you! I’ll be sure to go back, I really want to get over to New Idria. I didn’t see maps at the kiosks, but then again, I really didn’t look too closely. I was prepared for the trip with downloaded maps on my phone, but then my phone was reset and I just plain forgot that I’d lose my offline maps - very little phone signal out there! It was a fun trip, I was not so much lost (going back was easy) as disoriented. Does the first decision point also lead to New Idria if you go straight? It seems from the map I was looking at that Clear Creek Road takes that hard left at that point. I guess there might be multiple roads up there.

@@fourwheeltravel Yes, lots of roads up there! The hard left at the first decision point was correct, the second left decision point was not. I have been up there a couple of times, the first time I was lucky in that I came upon some BLM workers who pointed me in the right direction (& who also told me I was in a forbidden area) but that was many years ago. The map that I have can be found on the BLM/Marina website. There are two maps there, one a pretty detailed Topo Map & the other the map that is in the brochure. This second map doesn't show either of the decision point roads but it is downloadable to a phone. And, New Idria Rd from Panoche Rd appears to open now, at least that's what some of my internet searching shows. Good Luck --- am looking forward to the rest of your trip!

@@mredofsc1937 I am planning to do this route. If I understood correctly, we should take a left at (36.367051, -120.751711) - the first decision point and then take right at (36.391814816100386, -120.68947140030359), the second decision point? Alternatively, is it possible to enter CCMA from the North from the New Idria side? Thank you.

Yep, left and then right. Also, I just watched this, helpful: th-cam.com/video/ZCiZPKiqDck/w-d-xo.html

You went over Parkfield Grade in a Toyota Avalon? That must have been interesting! That whole San Andreas rift zone is very scenic indeed.

@@fourwheeltravel yeah 2007. . .reminded me of the backside going up Mt Murphy in Colma. I live in Georgetown on the divide. So if you ever do the Rubicon it's pretty much right there if you wanted to check it out.

I am not sure if the Boone fire has impacted CC. 17K acres and still only 31% contained.

Thanks for watching and commenting! Check out this playlist, currently at 15 episodes in the 'Off The Beaten Track' series about Central Coast CA dirt roads. th-cam.com/play/PLybLVurzQWsEv7PULzwEGdsBBf82unRBN.html

Hey Marc! Thanks for watching and commenting. I enjoy making these, you can really get into flow state with the editing, and you can't beat getting outdoors and exploring new locations.

@@fourwheeltravel Planning on touring around Europe when we retire (7 yeas and counting) so might consider doing a vlog about that.

That sounds like a great trip! You should vlog it! At the moment I am trying to avoid the involuntary version of retirement, lol, but we do want to do some longer trips. I've considered shipping the truck over to Europe. We'll see. :)

Thank you for watching & commenting!

The old Indians Road would have been quite the drive, but that whole area is prone to landslides I guess. I had not heard about Nacimiento reopening - that is great news! Wonder if the forest roads up there will reopen?

@@fourwheeltravel Hearing mid September now. We are going to be camping at Kirk Creek next week for six days.

@@scottymac5174 love that campground! Once towed a 30ft camper behind my Suburban over Nacimiento Fergusson to Kirk Creek. Had to make a few wide turns going over there! Hard to get a booking at Kirk Creek.

@@scottymac5174 I almost made the connection on a cycle. Getting through the land slides and washed out sections of road was sketchy to say the least. I counted my blessings and thought about a very long ride on the pavement back to my truck and turned back at a small cave(mine) right off the road. How long has this road been closed ?

@@jammiebandy4341 Central Coast, between Fort Hunter Liggett and Big Sur, in Los Padres National Forest. The area covered somewhat in the linked video.

Thanks for watching and commenting. :)

Thanks for watching and commenting! It was a serene location on the Wednesday night/Thursday morning I visited. I got a sense that it might be busier at the weekend, though I noticed that the 'reserved' notices on a few of the campsites were dated in May, and it was August when I visited, so maybe not! Interesting about the cold water, you mean at a spigot or tap? I did notice a water tank above the campsite a little further up Indians road, and wondered about that.

Yes , you have a great channel been following since the old coast road video . A lot of those sites in the Indians don't get updated and the reserved tag can be there for months, the water tank you saw leads to the spigot I was referring to, I would still filter it ..I highly recommend coming in the spring time, it looks so different !

I'll be honest, and I did touch on this in the video, while I was generally aware that there were campsites behind Hunter Liggett, it wasn't until I was idly dragging the Google Street view icon over Google Maps one day that I saw the blue line back there indicating street view coverage of Del Venturi and Indians Road. You can see that they or one of their associates sent a jeep out there right up to Escondido Campground. It looked pretty interesting, so I immediately made plans to go out. Glad I did and will go back for sure, looks like plenty to explore in the area!

Thanks for watching and commenting! I have Clear Creek footage in the can, so now comes the editing. Also, things did not go exactly to plan (though I did get a bunch of footage), so I may end up going back out there to complete the 'story', or a may do a 'part 2'. Not decided yet, but I am starting the edit. Takes more time to edit these than it does to record the footage!

@@fourwheeltravel yep! Your editing skills are on point! It is worth the time! If you head out that way again, I wouldn’t mind heading out as well if you want to coordinate a trip out there ? Do you need to get permits for the gates?

Could be interesting! What rig do you have? Yes 2 permits needed, one for vehicle entry to CCMA (it is a 5 day permit) and another permit for the Serpentine Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), that is a per day per person permit. They’re all available online and if you go for a day it is basically $17 all told. I was aiming for, but failed to make it to New Idria, due to reasons, mostly but not entirely my own fault. So that’s what I want to do to complete the initial exploration (though there is more to explore in there!)

@@fourwheeltravel yes I wanted to get up to New Ideia as well. Sounds like a great route! I have a 2023 Tacoma 4x4 TRD Sport. Skid plate, falcon wildpeaks,but no lift yet. I’ve been up Tassajara, Buzzard Lagoon, Huder Pass and a couple other off road trails

Clear Creek Road was not very technical, as far as I went. I have read that it is more gnarly beyond the north ACEC gate to Idria. I didn’t get that far because I took a wrong turn and ended up on some OHV tracks and that was gnarly in my truck lol.

@@Squirlybumrush thanks for watching & commenting! You may well be correct on the trees - the red color is very striking. I do love reading up on the history and geology of these dirt backroads, the Klau and Buena Vista mines in particular were very surprising (that it is an EPA Superfund and the impact on the area esp Lake Nacimiento).

Thanks for watching, commenting, and subscribing! 😊

Thanks for commenting! There are 2 signs on the gate right now, one polite and one with F-bombs. I’m sure there are good reasons for the sign. We’ve owned property on the continuation of that road since ‘97, but many (understandably) locked gates block access from the other end. The W15 is a real curiosity!

@@fourwheeltravel My legal access in those days was from Jolon Road, off Argyle Road, if you know that area. It was 7+ miles of dirt that way to Hall Canyon where I was staying. W15 was the back way out, better access to Lockwood, the other way was better access to Fort Hunter Liggett where I worked in those days.

@@billclancy4913very familiar with the area. W15 would be a heck of a commute, hairy in places. Passage through there from Argyle is not really possible now without passing too many locked gates, unfortunately.

It’s more like a track than a road. Probably the closest we got to off-roading. :)

Thank you so much for the kind words! We have a few more videos coming this year. I skipped the Google Earth on our most recent videos but I think I’ll reintroduce that section. Again thanks for watching & commenting.

Seems like a good time of year to visit, though still a bit wet in places. Nice to see green grass though. We’ll be back for sure!

Well hello! :) Check out th-cam.com/video/Aieo2TsPo5w/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/NM8BUBIpVok/w-d-xo.html for some scenic California 'off the beaten tracks!' :)

Thanks for your comment. We’d agree, and as noted in the description and in the video, “We would recommend a high-clearance vehicle. The road is rutted in places, and rocky in others. We would strongly advise against attempting this without at least all-terrain tires, and four-wheel drive or at least all-wheel drive is recommended. The road is impassable when wet, and if you've traveled this route, you will know why - there are shelf roads with sheer drops of hundreds of feet interspersed throughout the track, and there's no way I'd want to be out here in slippery conditions!”

@@fourwheeltravel : Revised comment...

You show total lack of respect by this post. Take this off & leave your personal experience is yours..keep it there & spare those who work, live, & seek privacy from you rubber neck's... Those of you who typically throw trash into our lands..beware! We are through accommodating poop, any trash, roadside camps. If discovered your day may become one of your worst.

Took us about an hour with stops for YouTubing etc.

@@fourwheeltravel like 15mph?

It’s about 10 miles so probably something like that. We crawled down the descent into Little Sur, and there is a narrow section just before that where we took it slowly.

Did not air down. Maybe a couple of pinstripes, though it really wasn’t that bad. I have had much worse, like our W15 video, that was painful! th-cam.com/video/0bKXVfHZal4/w-d-xo.html

The fault is involved in several of the routes we’ve explored, La Gloria, Parkfield etc. It's a defining feature of the area and probably why there is so much mining in the area.

@@fourwheeltravel You will like Clear Creek if you can get in there. Old mines everywhere. Back in the 70's and 80's they used to hold National AMA motorcycle enduro races down there. Winter /spring is the best. That asbestos dirt does not turn into mud.

Carrizo Plain was amazing. I want to do Elkhorn and saw Hurricane Rd on the maps but didn't know if it was passable. We will definitely revisit, we were there for most of a week and barely scratched the surface.

Clear Creek / New Idria coming up next. Had permits for Memorial Day weekend but stuff came up. Soon!

@@fourwheeltravel Looking forward to seeing the footage from your trip. About 15 years ago there was a period when you could access Clear Creek without a permit. Technically the main road through is still designated as a county road and not supposed to be under BLM jurisdiction.

April 2024. I think the hills turned golden brown pretty soon after we went.