By the late 1960s, motocross racing had established itself as one of Americans’ favored forms of racing. It did so at some rather crude scrambles tracks and several ad hoc facilities of the time.
But by December, 1968, there was a new and complete off-road facility opening to Southern California off-road fans, one that included a purpose-built, pro-level motocross race track. The place? Saddleback Park, and it was like no other motorcycle off-road facility of its time.
Three influential off-road enthusiasts had a hand in creating Saddleback Park. Cycle World magazine publisher Joe Parkhurst teamed with off-road racers Vic Wilson (winner of the first Mexican 1000) and Bruce Meyer (creator of the Myers Manx VW-powered dune buggy) to lease a tract of land from the Irvine Company where Wilson mapped out the park’s layout. An official announcement appeared in the May 1968 issue of Cycle World, in which Parkhurst capped his monthly “Round Up” column with: “Saddleback Park opened to a huge and happy crowd March 1 [1968].” That was joined with an advertorial penned by Wilson, giving details of what park visitors could expect.
Begin with the park’s crown jewel: a 1.25-mile-long motocross track dedicated to pro racing. The track itself was laid out by Motocross World Champion Joel Robert, with assistance from another MX legend, Gunnar Lindstrom. The racecourse included 27 turns and 12 uphill sections. Best of all, it was maintained daily for practice and use by park visitors.
The entire park occupied 700 acres of raw land located at the base of Saddleback Mountain overlooking Orange, California. Single-track trails and fire-road sections led park riders in various directions throughout the facility, making it a perfect place for experts and novices alike to experience the joys of off-road riding.
Notably, Saddleback (as regulars called it) was intended for all off-road motorcyclists to enjoy. All-day admission for bike and rider was two dollars. Amenities included dedicated parking, picnic areas and sanitation facilities. A groomed TT track presented flat track racers a place to tune their bikes, etc., and a small hot-pit lane allowed bike owners to ride and tune their engines without hindering other riders. An especially alluring feature was “The Matterhorn,” a steep hill climb capped with a 40-foot, 80-degree vertical stretch at the top. Parkhurst boldly wrote that “it’s unlikely that anyone ever will climb it.” Later, Malcolm Smith proved otherwise!
No doubt, too, Saddleback’s Southern California location made it the ideal place for the nearby national motorcycle magazines to test off-road bikes. Consequently, the park became a fixture among readers across the nation, and many are the magazine covers or inside off-road bike test features that diehard motorcycle enthusiasts recount to this day.
By 1991, racing had ceased after Saddleback Park’s lease expired, closing the park for good, to be replaced by a stretch of the 241 Corridor, a new toll road connecting Orange County with Riverside County. The wheels within America’s off-road community continue to turn, but clearly a major part of our heritage was reclaimed by the surrounding landscape, and by progress itself.
