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Residents of Southern California communities like Rancho Santa Margarita don’t spend a great deal of time thinking about rain. In Rancho Santa Margarita, the annual rainfall average is a mere 13 inches, a good deal of which falls in the months January, February and March.
It does rain though and some years it even rains a lot. Here’s one way that Rancho Santa Margarita and Trabuco Canyon residents take advantage of the rain and turn it into something fun.
Holy Jim Canyon is located along Trabuco Creek, on Trabuco Creek Road, at the base of Trabuco Canyon Road, just down the hill from Robinson Ranch, Trabuco Highlands and Rancho Santa Margarita. The 5 ½ mile dirt road to the Holy Jim trailhead is rutted, rough and problematic for most 2 wheel drive vehicles but it provides a welcome adventure for owners of 4 wheel drive vehicles. It’s a fun drive on an average day - but it’s an amazing mud park after the rain.
Ok…there are a couple of things to take into consideration:
1) Water depth in road depressions is very deceiving and many inexperienced drivers end up with stalled-out cars.
2) Always make sure you’ve got someone who can help pull you out of a tough situation…or be willing to pay a towing company to do so.
3) Bring along some ratty towels. You may need to wipe down.
4) Keep an eye out for mountain bikers and hikers. This is a multi-purpose road.
Speaking of mountain bikers…die-hard mountain bike enthusiasts can also be found enjoying the challenges of riding after the rains. The air is cool, crisp and clean and the truly commited (or commitable?) can be found struggling through the mud, up the slick inclines and around the muddy puddles. Now if you ask me - that’s nuts! But to each their own.
Anyway you slice it though, after a decent downpour, Holy Jim Canyon becomes a mud-mecca. Chances are if you’re driving around town and see a truck absolutely covered in fresh mud, it’s just come back from an adventure in the canyon. Try to resist the temptation to inscribe “Wash Me” on the window. Instead, grab a friend a 4-Wheel Drive and head out to the canyon. Why should they have all the fun?
Technorati Tags: 4 wheel drive, community, dirt roads, driving, fun, Holy Jim Canyon, Holy Jim Canyon Trail, local, mountain biking, off roading, orange county, rancho santa margarita, rancho santa margarita annual rainfall average, residents, Robinson Ranch, rsm, Saddleback Mountain, south county, south orange county, southern california, things to do, things to do in rancho santa margarita, things to do in the rain, Trabuco Canyon, Trabuco Canyon Road, Trabuco HighlandsPopularity: 57% [?]
12 responses so far ↓
1 Maureen M // Apr 22, 2007 at 1:25 pm
MUD!
I have NEVER put a video on either of my blogs. You are ahead of me!
2 Mary Pope-Handy // Apr 22, 2007 at 5:20 pm
Great post! I love the video too - and want to learn how to do that! Also your blog has a BEAUTIFUL layout.
3 Teri Lussier // Apr 22, 2007 at 6:15 pm
Your blog is looking fabulous! I love the pix, the clean feel to it, everything. Great job.
4 Andrew Mattie // Apr 22, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Not only should you have an AWD / 4WD vehicle before attempting to drive out Holy Jim Canyon, you really need to have good ground clearance as well.
The first time I had heard of Holy Jim Canyon and it’s 4WD requirements, I didn’t buy it. Having just moved from central Pennsylvania just a few months earlier, I figured there was no way that people from snowless, sunny CA knew what a 4WD vehicle was even really supposed to be used for.
Needless to say for anyone who has even driven that road, my wife and I didn’t even make it two miles or so in our Audi A4 even though it is an AWD vehicle. We still need to get our bumper fixed from that fun little excursion.
Anyway, fantastic post Kelly!
5 Joan // Apr 23, 2007 at 5:27 pm
I know that car. It got washed in my drive way. That looks like fun. Now I know what my son does when he is not home
6 Linda // Apr 24, 2007 at 6:54 pm
What a trip! So great to think there is such fun adventure so close to the lovely Rancho Santa Margarita!
7 Linda // Apr 25, 2007 at 9:05 am
After the rain the DFG plants trout in Trabuco Creek. In the wet years some of these trout survive to become just like wild fish. “Fresh from the hatchery” fish aren’t much fun for fly fishermen as they don’t know much about natural insects. This year doesn’t look much like wet, does it?
Bob
8 brendon // Apr 25, 2007 at 7:36 pm
mmmmmm i love mud…… those are some great pics as well as the outstanding video.. well done….. and you do write really well. i wonder what heppend to me…
9 Jonathan Washburn // May 1, 2007 at 5:52 am
I can’t help but to chuckle!! This is hilarous! I absolutely love this post.
10 tom // May 10, 2007 at 8:37 am
that looks like so much fun i should try this sometime
11 clint // May 28, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Is offroading legal in Trabuco canyon?
12 Kelly Kilpatrick // May 28, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Off-roading is legal in the canyons providing that off-roaders obey any other posted rules (i.e. no trespassing on private property). On some occasions the roads are temporarily closed (high fire danger, flooding) when authorities determine conditions are not safe.
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