California is a huge place, with almost every biome you can find in North America. The only ones it lacks are the ones related to the furthest northern reaches of the continent. Just in Southern California, there are enough different trails to make dedicated riders invest in specialized UTV tires that make the most of the terrain. From deserts to muddy swamps, beaches to mountain switchbacks, you’ll find it in the southern half of the state. Here are five great rides for those who are still exploring the area:
- Ocotillo Wells OHV near San Diego
- Pioneertown, CA
- Miller Canyon
- Mammoth Mountain
- Kennedy Meadows
These selections show off a little of everything the southern half of the state offers for inland rides. If you’re looking for something with more beachfront exposure, check out the trailheads and UTV paths near coastal cities like San Diego and Los Angeles for options that let you take your UTV right out to the water’s edge. There are literally hundreds of options to choose from.
Best Tire Upgrades For Your UTV
If you are looking to support high performance tires with an upgrade that will help them last longer while improving handling and power transfer from the engine, it’s worth investing in new rims. Not only do they let you change tire sizes within the limits of your chassis, they reset the clock on issues like the corrosion that causes slow leaks. Check out options for 25x11x10 atv tires and the wheels that go with them if you are considering an upgrade or if you want to keep a second set of tires for specific terrain. If you do a lot of work in extreme terrain, it’s also a good idea to consider an aftermarket suspension kit.
How To Identify The Right Tires For Any Terrain
All-terrain tires are good for areas where you know you’ll be dealing with a lot of regular trail and occasional changes to terrain with a little more challenge, but they are not designed for extended or exceptional performance in any one terrain. That’s why a lot of UTV riders keep at least one extra set of terrain-specific tires. It lets you go out for a day in extreme terrain without adding extra wear to your daily use tires. Here are the features of different specialized tires:
- Mud and sand tires both have deep treads, usually in excess of an inch, and knobby patterns
- Sand-specific tires tend to have wider spaced designs than mud tires, which provides deep traction in dry, loose dune and beach sand
- Mud tires designed for swamps and other amphibious environments have tread designs that push liquid away from the center of the tire for better traction
- Snow tires on UTVs resemble the tread design of snow tires for cars, but with deeper grooves to handle unplowed trails
Many terrain specific tires like the Sedona Ripsaw are built to handle one environment best while still being suitable for others. That makes it easy to power through a mixed trail run with woods and swamps as well as beachfront stretches.
