Santa Ana Mountains, Corona

Updated: December 15, 2013

LOCATION:
Santa Ana Mountains above Corona CA 92882

MAP INFORMATION:
33.8393°N, 117.6172°W • Google Maps • topozone.com

FAVORABLE WINDS:
Bottom slope works well in NNE to ENE Santa Ana winds. Upper ridgeline has slopes facing both NE and SW but slopes can be found up there that will probably work well in wind from about any direction.

WEATHER OBSERVATION LINKS:
EW3129 Sierra Peak (MesoWest), N end of Santa Ana Mountains.
NWS Doppler Radar Site, (San Diego Mesonet), Top ridgeline between Corona & Irvine.
EW3128 Santiago Peak (MesoWest), S end of Santa Ana Mountains.
FRCC1 Fremont Canyon (MesoWest), SW side of mountains above Santiago Reservoir.

WEATHER FORECAST LINKS:
NOAA/NWS Local 7-Day Forecast • NOAA/NWS Zone Forecast • NOAA/NWS Area Discussion
National Weather Service Graphical Forecast Map

GENERAL NOTES:

Skyline Dr. from Burerro Way at the bottom of the hill to the Skyline Truck Trail is a Riverside County Road and access is controlled by a gate at the bottom. This gate is supposed to remain closed and locked, but people with keys will often leave it open. But it’s important to note that “responsible” citizens, County employees, and USFS personel will usually close and lock the gate if they find it open. Consequently, it’s quite possible to get locked in behind the gate. This, I’ll add, is something I know from personal experience because I once had to wait nearly 3 hours at the gate for someone with a key to happen by and let me out. Hikers, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and ATV-type vehicles can get around the gate but not cars and typical 4WD vehicles, so it’s best to obtain a key or go with someone who has one. You can call the Riverside County Cashier’s Office at 951-955-1814 for information about obtaining a key, but the short version is you need to fill out some paperwork and pay a $100 deposit to get one. This may be a bit much for an occasional visitor, but access to these mountains can be real rewarding if you live in or frequent the area.

The bottom slope is 900′ facing NE towards the Inland Empire. A little wind can produce a lot of lift and a lot of wind can be huge. The lift band goes out hundreds of feet even in moderate wind. There are dozens of flying sites for N to E winds as you continue up Skyline Dr. to the ridge and there are lots of sites with great potential for winds in ANY direction once you get up on the Skyline Truck Trail along the ridgeline.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS:
Starting point: Junction of the Riverside Freeway (SR-91) and Lincoln Ave. in Corona:

Go S on Lincoln Ave. aprox. 2.6 mi. to W. Foothill Pkwy. and turn RIGHT.
Go W on Foothill Parkway 0.7 mi. to Trudy Way and turn LEFT.
Go SW on Trudy Way 0.15 mi. to Rawley St. and turn LEFT.
Go S on Rawley St. 0.27 mi to Burrero Way and turn RIGHT.
Go W on Burrero Way 0.10 mi. to the end of the pavement and follow the main dirt road W about 1 mi. up the hill to the lower flying site.
The road continues up the mountain to the Main Divide Truck Trail which follows the ridgeline from Sierra Peak on the north end to Santiago Peak on the south end. There are countless flying sites with slopes up to 3000′ high up there with potential for epic front-side flying and DS.

GPS WAYPOINTS:
33.84401, -117.58790 • Junction of Lincoln Ave. and W. Foothill Pkwy.
33.84248, -117.59918 • Junction of Foothill Pkwy. and Trudy Way
33.83691, -117.60181 • End of pavement on Burrero Way and CNF gate
33.83927, -117.61720 • Lower flying site.

All coordinates on this page are WGS84/NAD83 map datum.