From the Vallecito Springs Station, I broke off from the Butterfield Trail, and headed towards Dos Cabezas in order to link up with a defunct old railway, leading to a special place I’d always wanted to check out in Southern California, the Goat Canyon Trestle.
Built in 1932, The Goat Canyon Trestle is the world’s largest freestanding wooden trestle bridge, and was in operation until the mid 2000’s, when one of the tunnels through the rock face collapsed on the tracks. Located pretty far away from anything, you can reach the railway from the North side, via about 6 miles of unpaved roads, followed by another 6 miles of singletrack trail handrailing the rail itself on one side, and a sheer canyon dropoff on the other (be careful of the high winds if you are riding this precarious trail)… it takes a while to get to, but was completely worthwhile to visit.
Along the way you cross several smaller trestles, each one is exhilarating to ride, offering views straight down, hundreds of feet below. You’re also treated to the remains of old railcars, abandon throughout the ages.
The collapse that shut down the line is seen along the way, forcing you to take a trail around the cliff’s edge before arriving at the main event…
There is also a much more popular route from San Diego that approaches from the South side that starts at a the DeAnza Springs Resort in Jacumba Hot Springs.
The massive trestle bridge was great to ride across, and enjoy some of the great views, and surreal experience of standing on something so magnificent.
I retraced my route back to the car and headed back to my original route of the Butterfield Trail into Anza-Borrego state park, exploring Canyon Sin Nombre and Vallecito Wash along the way.
Unfortunately, the state has closed the route halfway, eliminating the ability to complete a through-drive of the original Overland route, so I was forced to backtrack, set up camp for the night, and re-map the next morning’s route plans…
Thanks for watching, I hope this helps you explore the Goat Canyon Trestle Bridge, or the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach Route.
Music courtesy of Gillicudy and Jason Shaw