Rinconada to High Mountain Lookout
(Lopez Lake from High Mountain Road)
The ride starts off as a short single track, but is mostly fire road. “Where” to end this ride is totally up to you. You can drop in on the Pozo Saloon, Lopez Lake, or access the Garcia Ridge Trail.
You can start this ride in a couple of different places, but I like starting at the Rinconada Trail just off Pozo Road. Another good place to start is from Lopez Lake, or where High Mountain Road turns to dirt near Lopez Lake.
Take highway 101 to the highway 58/Santa Margarita exit. Roll through town and continue on Pozo Road. Highway 58 will bend left…don’t go there. Stay on Pozo Road for about 10 miles until you see a sign that indicates the Riconada Trail on the right hand side. There is a good sized parking lot at the trailhead.
At the front left hand corner of the lot you’ll see the trail. Climb up a steep but cleanable single track for approximately one mile. You will notice some mines off to the right, and can find a good overlook to view the old site on your way up.
Soon the single track turns to double track. Stay on it veering to your left until you arrive at a gate. No worries…hop over it. Continue until you reach the saddle. Right in front of you you will see a steep singletrack that drops down to a road. This is High Mountain Road. The single track is very sketchy (lots of shale and sand) so be careful. Veer left instead if you’d like to take the easier double track down to the road. Both trails end up at the same place eventually.
Once on High Mountain Road, continue left. You’ll see where that double track pops out on the left side after riding for about a half mile. Stay on High Mountain Road and enjoy the views while you approach the Condor Lookout (formerly a fire lookout).
This is a good place to turn around if you’re looking for a solid loop. I recommend taking the double track back up to the top instead of riding back up the shale section.
If you want to keep going you can continue on past a great campground, and soon arriving to the crossroads where you can drop to Pozo (left turn), Lake Lopez (right turn), or you can walk up Garcia Ridge (gnarly out and back).
