Old Main Divide Trail at Cleveland National Forest

more stats

3,228 ft

Distance

-461 ft

Descent

00:02:48

Avg time

-461 ft

Altitude change

4,952 ft

Altitude min

5,414 ft

Altitude max

5,414 ft

Altitude start

4,954 ft

Altitude end

-14.3%

Grade

-44%

Grade max

-5.1%

Grade min

3,205 ft

Distance down

23 ft

Distance flat

00:02:48

Avg time

Old Main Divide Details

Activities
- Mountain Bike
- E-Bike
- Horse
- Hike
- Trail Running
Riding Area

Cleveland National Forest
Mission Viejo, California
Difficulty Rating

Blue Rate
Local Popularity
35 in Mountain Biking [+]
- 25 in E-Biking
- 5 in Trail Running
- 65 in Hiking
- 5 in Horseback
Global Ranking
#308871 in Mountain Biking [+]
- #137054 in E-Biking
- #432371 in Trail Running
- #75646 in Hiking
- #44243 in Horseback
State Ranking
#9,985 in Mountain Biking · California [+]
- #3,144 in E-Biking
- #15,852 in Trail Running
- #4,266 in Hiking
- #3,524 in Horseback
Trail Exposure

Normal
Trail Type

Singletrack
Bike Type

AM
Direction
Both Directions[+]
Popular Direction Shown
- Both Directions for E-Biking
- Both Directions for Trail Running
- Both Directions for Hiking
- Both Directions for Horseback
Dogs Allowed

Yes

Old Main Divide is a singletrack that descends off the backside of Santiago Peak north towards the saddle between Santiago and Modjeska Peaks.

This is, in fact, where the Main Divide used to run. There is an old abandoned rusty car off the side of the trail.

This trail is in the 2024 Airport fire zone. All the plants, trees and canopy were badly burned, so much so that burned dead trees may fall over onto the trail and the bare hillside may erode in places. Currently there is poodle dog bush establishing all over the entire region. We will do our best to manage the poodle dog from encroaching into the trail.

This is the best option for hikers and bikers to get to and from Santiago Peak from the north. It is a short cut and it is off the sometimes busy Main Divide road.

This trail is unsanctioned.

Traditionally Indigenous Territory

Recent Activity on Trail

Past Week

0 rides

6 Months

1 rides
23 miles avg distance

All

5 rides
Last: Jun 10, 2026

c1	c2	c3	c4
January	February	March	April
May	June	July	August
September	October	November	December

update trails status or condition

Old Main Divide Trail Reports

status	date	description
	Jun 10, 2026 @ 5:17pm (America/Los_Angeles) Jun 10, 2026	Overgrown with toxic poodle dog bush. I hiked up and had a very difficult time avoiding it. I descended the road.
	Jan 25, 2026 @ 10:25pm (America/Los_Angeles) Jan 25, 2026	We cleared all the poodle dog bush and made a huge nice berm to fix the blown out right turn See 2026-01-24 Restoring Santiago Peak's Old Main...
	Jan 18, 2026 @ 9:47pm (America/Los_Angeles) Jan 18, 2026	We fixed the major rut at the bottom, cleared the tree and started removing the poodle dog at the top. See https://youtu.be/OLB5f6ruxro
	Jan 18, 2026 @ 5:16pm (America/Los_Angeles) Jan 18, 2026	Some large ruts off to the side and one segment has vegetation encroaching but otherwise fine.
	Jan 9, 2026 @ 9:48am (America/Los_Angeles) Jan 9, 2026	Overgrown vegetation - poodle dog bush