This was part of our regular weekend ride for several years on our Dual Sport bikes from Hollister down 25 and then back up through Clear Creek/New Idria/Panoche back to Hollister.
@@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.
My friends and I have ridden so many of these roads you are exploring. Elkhorn rd and Hurricane rd in Carrizo. Two favorites. Elkhorn parallels Soda lake rd north to south but on the east side of the plain at the base of the Temblor range. Hurricane rd goes up over the pass to the Taft area. A lot of spurs/side roads/primative camp sites. Just leave it like you found it.
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.
Nice video! What are the approximate GPS coordinates of Hernandez Road meeting Coalinga Road? I like to camp at Sweetwater Campground in that area. Safe travels!
Last week I approached Old Hernandez on Coalinga Rd riding from Coalinga. As soon as I turned North I saw a signpost that the road is closed 9 miles ahead. As it was mid-afternoon and I still wanted to ride La Gloria Rd before returning to Paso, I didn't continue. When I returned home, I called San Benito County Public Works Department and asked about the sign. I received a bit of an ambiguous reason for the sign but was told it was okay/legal to ride the road. Something tells me that the signs are not actually temporary and that perhaps the local ranchers are pleased that the County does not remove/cover them. Or they are left standing at the behest of the ranchers.
@@portquarter yes, you can Google this and find multiple reports of specific ranch owners engaging in aggressive (bulldozing the road where it fords the San Benito River, chasing people off) behavior to try to keep people off what is recorded as a county road (I checked). There are road closure notices on each end Old Hernandez, and in each case the *actual* road closures is at that ford over the San Benito River, which trickles to a couple of inches in summer (winter will be a wholly different story). It is clear that the road is used often by local traffic. There is a ranch at the San Benito end of the road with scary no-trespassing signs, and I interpret that as ‘stay on the county road’. I am not offering any legal advice here, but I am guessing the road closure is intended by the county to be seasonal.
Yes, I heard about those signs on the North end, hence my plan to start on the South end. Next time I am in the Central Coast area, I'll give it a go. Thanks again for your videos. Just the kind of roads I was looking for. I left the area on the dirt Pozo Rd which was also enjoyable.
Also, the San Andreas fault runs straight through the middle of Carrizo Ntl Monument, north to south, up to Parkfield. You can actually see/follow the fault which is in a gully.
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.
I remember when that happened. Probably why the road closed sign is still there today. That was after a big storm and the ford was impassable to anything for several years there. They found his KLR about a 1/4 mile downstream!!!
![La Gloria Road | Gabilan Range, California [Off The Beaten Track Episode 8]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ewAdAgeGyUo/mqdefault.jpg)
![La Gloria Road | Gabilan Range, California [Off The Beaten Track Episode 8]](/img/tr.png)
Nice Video. Good work. San Benito County, CA.
It’s like stepping back in time out there.
Great video. I will be visiting that area soon and you showed some roads that I didn't even know about.
Thanks for watching and commenting! Let us know how you get on.
This was part of our regular weekend ride for several years on our Dual Sport bikes from Hollister down 25 and then back up through Clear Creek/New Idria/Panoche back to Hollister.
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.
My friends and I have ridden so many of these roads you are exploring. Elkhorn rd and Hurricane rd in Carrizo. Two favorites. Elkhorn parallels Soda lake rd north to south but on the east side of the plain at the base of the Temblor range.
Hurricane rd goes up over the pass to the Taft area. A lot of spurs/side roads/primative camp sites. Just leave it like you found it.
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.
Nice video! What are the approximate GPS coordinates of Hernandez Road meeting Coalinga Road? I like to camp at Sweetwater Campground in that area. Safe travels!
Thanks for watching & commenting! Maps and GPX linked in the description, and here for convenience: four.wheel.travel/old-hernandez-road/
I use to live in that area
Last week I approached Old Hernandez on Coalinga Rd riding from Coalinga. As soon as I turned North I saw a signpost that the road is closed 9 miles ahead. As it was mid-afternoon and I still wanted to ride La Gloria Rd before returning to Paso, I didn't continue. When I returned home, I called San Benito County Public Works Department and asked about the sign. I received a bit of an ambiguous reason for the sign but was told it was okay/legal to ride the road. Something tells me that the signs are not actually temporary and that perhaps the local ranchers are pleased that the County does not remove/cover them. Or they are left standing at the behest of the ranchers.
@@portquarter yes, you can Google this and find multiple reports of specific ranch owners engaging in aggressive (bulldozing the road where it fords the San Benito River, chasing people off) behavior to try to keep people off what is recorded as a county road (I checked). There are road closure notices on each end Old Hernandez, and in each case the *actual* road closures is at that ford over the San Benito River, which trickles to a couple of inches in summer (winter will be a wholly different story). It is clear that the road is used often by local traffic. There is a ranch at the San Benito end of the road with scary no-trespassing signs, and I interpret that as ‘stay on the county road’. I am not offering any legal advice here, but I am guessing the road closure is intended by the county to be seasonal.
Yes, I heard about those signs on the North end, hence my plan to start on the South end. Next time I am in the Central Coast area, I'll give it a go.
Thanks again for your videos. Just the kind of roads I was looking for. I left the area on the dirt Pozo Rd which was also enjoyable.
Also, the San Andreas fault runs straight through the middle of Carrizo Ntl Monument, north to south, up to Parkfield. You can actually see/follow the fault which is in a gully.
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.
10-15 year's ago a guy lost his KLR 650 in that San Benito river crossing, it can get wild there. The KLR was recovered and rode another day.
I know the rivers out here in the rain season and I would not mess with them. If you can’t see the bottom, it is probably not a good idea! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
@@fourwheeltravel Glad to see they repaired the birm so its passable.
I remember when that happened. Probably why the road closed sign is still there today. That was after a big storm and the ford was impassable to anything for several years there. They found his KLR about a 1/4 mile downstream!!!
Thank you so much for this video. I was trying to get info on the current state of OHR!
Glad it was helpful!
He past the old school house I use to go to
It’s a beautiful spot! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻