Nate Harrison Grade Trail Guide - Palomar Mountain
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 มี.ค. 2021
- Nate Harrison Grade Trail is a gravel and dirt truck trail in San Diego County that winds from Pauma Valley to the top of Palomar Mountain. The trail was named for Nathaniel Harrison, a former slave who lived on the mountain in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The steep 9.5-mile road, which offers stunning views of the surrounding landscape, is popular among off-roading and overlanding enthusiasts, mountain bikers, and hikers (to a lesser extent).
In this video, OutdoorSoCal.com editor Chris Emery explores the road in his Jeep after a March snowstorm left a blanket of snow over the top of Palomar Mountain.
For more detail and maps of the road, visit the OSC guide at www.outdoorsocal.com/posts/na...
Other Palomar Mountain adventures:
Palomar Mountain Camping Guide: www.outdoorsocal.com/posts/pa...
Bailey's Palomar Resort Guide (cabins and yurts):
www.outdoorsocal.com/posts/ba...
Boucher Hill Loop Trail Guide (article and video)
www.outdoorsocal.com/posts/bo...
• Palomar Mountain Fire ...
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I used to ride up this way in my 2001 Saturn SL2. You can smell the orange blossoms on the breeze.
I did that route in the snow back in 2010 in a mazdaspeed6, no sweat.
Nice video! We just ran it from top to bottom on Sunday 5/7. Some ruts here and there, and some narrow places where passing is a minor hassle, but it's totally beautiful and fun -- and yes, those 2000' drops do hold your attention. :)
Sounds like you guys had a great trip--including a little pucker factor ; )
I've been up that road several times in my Ford Fusion hybrid. And down. Epic view 😎
Cool, I will be tearing it up in my custom lifted taco!!
Cool video. Just went up that track last night and the moon was incredible so even at night there was a bit of a view.
This trail looks amazing, I definitely need to hit this trail since I am not that far. Great video by the way
It's a fund adventure for sure. Thanks!
just drove it this week. Only one 30-40ft section that required me to engage the 4wd.
thats where we saw the ringtail...we used to have it all to ourselves, and my buddy r.in peace,we had the best times riding enduros up n down ,gomez trk trail is further n.w,a fire road gated ,but we found it untouched,and connected to high point,past the observatory we ,then could connect to aguanga,or warner,those were awesome times, on sacred palomar
my prius made it up this great
I hit some serious muck on it back in February that definitely would stop most average vehicles.
It depends on the season. Rain requires some rut clearance. It’s smooth again by summer. I’ve gotten a Mercedes sedan sideway on the curves.
more palomar drives plz, maybe cutca valley truck trail
The road is now much rougher. In many areas, especially on step inclines there are deep ruts 8 - 12 inches deep due to water washout. If you do come up May to November, head on up to Boucher Fire Lookout. It is a great place to take a break in a paved parking lot with picnic benches in the shade. We have a 50+ mile view on clear days and a friendly staff at the lookout who may just invite you up in the tower for an even better view and mini tour on what we do.
Thanks for the update Steve. I haven't been up there since before the winter/spring rains.
Great Video. How about one down from the park?
Thanks David! Which park do you mean?
I've driven up the South Grade road (S6) to the Palomar Observatory on a weekend and it was nuts with a bunch of bikers on their crotch rockets speeding around every hairpin turn, crossing into my lane. They must have had a death wish. I'll have to check out this alternative instead.
Lol, I take my Golf up and down both the South Grade and the East Grade. I totally know what you mean lol.
Great tour ! 👍🏼 do you know if UTVs are allowed ?
I believe any vehicle has to be road legal. So thinking UTVs aren't allowed.
Appreciate your response.
Anyone interested in a more scenic and less crowded route up palomar, look up high point truck trail. It takes you to the fire lookout tower on the highest point on palomar
Awesome suggestion. Thanks! Do you know if the fire tower is open nowadays? I've been into thr tower at Los Pinos and it was really a cool experience. It was open when the lookouts were on duty. They shut it down to public access due to Covid, but hoping they open it back up.
@@Outdoorsocal out of the 6 times ive done it the last gate to the lookout tower was only closed once and that was after a day of snow. Even then i still had a fantastic view from the top by the gate
@@Outdoorsocal It was used as lookout by husband and wife teams for at least a week at a time.
Enjoyed the video brother. Thanks for posting. Isn’t Palomar where the Observatory is located or do I have my area confused?
Hi Robert. Nate Harrison is the "back way" up to the top of Palomar. And you're right, the observatory is on top of the mountain.
@@Outdoorsocal Copy that. Would you say a full size truck would make it ok without pin striping the sides of the truck? I’d like to hit that trail in my new Tremor. Maybe see ya out there
@@robertf3340 I think you'd be fine. Don't hold me to it, but I don't remember it being super tight with bushes. Nice truck!
@@Outdoorsocal Believe it or not I traded a 2021 Jeep Rubicon 392 for it. Loved the Jeep but could t ever find anyone to go off roading with and didn’t wanna go alone. The Jeep was small and used super unleaded only and I just couldn’t see hanging on to it. I sort of wish I still had it but oh well
@@robertf3340 Oh wow. Those are burly - but Jeeps are definitely tight for certain uses. I do sometimes wish I had a truck bed for hauling. 🤔
Hey how are the conditions on this trail currently? Has the recent rainy season made it any more challenging?
I haven't been up there yet this year. You might check with the forest service. It's probably fine, would be my guess.
What’s it like in January??
It's often closed due to rain/wet conditions. Check the NFS for info on closures.
Is it an official ohv road? I want to drive my can am there.
I think you can only drive street legal vehicles on the road. But not sure. Call the Palomar Ranger District office of the National Forest Service and they can tell you.
I have run into deer up there many times...
Cool. We haven't seen any, but can imagine how they'd like it up there.
Do you think a 2wd truck would make it?
Should be fine in dry weather. Might think twice about it after rain, but the gate at the entrance would probably be closed anyway.
Without a doubt, we used to cruise up in my 99 Corolla I had in highschool
@@ryanhuelsman4463 LOL Any pictures?
If my 1976 Olds Cutlass 4 door sedan can make it (at least half a dozen times) you should have no problem. After a heavy rain, don't even attempt it though. Sometimes there's a lot of fallen rocks, even boulders due to lose soil and steep slopes. From up top, you could easily travel the road from where the pavement ends in the State Park to the Harrison Monument intersection, but then it becomes pretty sketchy w/o 4wd, so you would need to U-turn back to the pavement at Lone Fir point. Please make sure your tires have good tread before attempting this - it can get a bit slippery even on the "easy" parts.
@@billyjoeboomboom hahahaha fair enough. Thank you! Just had a set of new MTs put on.
Does this trail require you to air down?
Not really. It helps cushion the ride a bit though.
@@Outdoorsocal awesome thank you
I have done Nate at least 100 times. As one of the many offroad routes in southern california the ONLY thing this road has to reccomend it is that it is practically the only game in town in this area/this side of palomar mountain mainly because there is no route available to get to the fantastic dirt roads on the OTHER side of the mountain....WHY? Because any pass is gated via the infinite wisdom of the paranoids that control the observatory (s) I only ever road motorcycles the only fun thing was to challenge my average speed which was at best right around 30mph average ....which requires riding pretty fast I dont think I came across maybe one other person doing that pace (also a motorcycle) the 4 wheelers crawl by comparison...which is GOOD lol!
Any vehicle will make it if it's not muddy. That said it's rough.
Very rough