The Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) Draft Environmental Impact Statement proposes a new management plan for the 1,533 acre park that would replace the current framework established in 1981. Carnegie SVRA has a long history of off highway vehicle use. The area functioned as a private motorcycle park during the 1970s but had already been used by OHV riders since the 1940s. In 1980 California State Parks purchased the property using OHV Trust Fund dollars and began managing it as a state vehicular recreation area. The current management plan adopted in 1981 established a system that allowed broad access for motorized recreation across most of the property that allowed for varying users and skill level.
Under the 1981 plan, approximately 813 acres were open to general OHV use, 630 acres were designated as trail only riding areas, and only 95 acres were closed to motorized recreation. That plan created a system where the majority of the property remained available for motorized recreation, either through open riding or a network of trails.
In 2024 California State Parks updated the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area management plan for the 1,533 acre park. Under the current 2024 plan, Carnegie SVRA has only 1,300 acres available for OHV recreation and includes approximately 45 miles of existing trails. The 2024 plan organized the park into 14 Recreation Management Areas, or RMAs.
Under the 2024 framework, 989 acres are designated specifically for challenging OHV trail riding. An additional 168 acres are open for distributed riding where riders can travel off designated trails. There is a 29 acre practice area intended for skill development and learning. There are 28 acres designated for special events such as competitions and organized riding activities. There is also a 75 acre gathering and services area that includes facilities such as campgrounds, parking areas, the ranger station, staging, restrooms, and picnic areas.
Many routes are multi use, while some trails are not wide enough for ATVs. Carnegie also includes developed riding features that riders depend on, including a motocross track that periodically closes for competitive events, an ATV and motocross track open to both ATVs and motorcycles, youth tracks for small engine riders up to 70cc and 110cc, a four wheel drive challenge area for 4WD vehicles and ROVs, and a hillclimb area that is closed to the public except during formal events. The park also provides 26 campsites and a concession that sells parts, safety gear, food, and offers minor repairs.
The 2026 proposed project described in the Draft EIS would build on the 2024 plan but would also change how some of the remaining open riding terrain is managed, and it would add new restrictions in specific areas. State Parks frames the proposal as a response to soil conditions and erosion concerns, describing the goal this way: “…Would provide ongoing sustainable OHV recreation management through reducing trail density, increasing vegetation cover, creating sustainable trails, enforcing trails-only riding, rehabilitating damaged soil surfaces, and implementing soil loss and erosion control measures that disperse storm water runoff to prevent accelerated erosion.”
One of the most direct changes motorized users should focus on is that 169 acres that are currently open riding would be converted to trails only. That means terrain riders can currently use for distributed riding would shift into a more confined system where travel is limited to designated routes. In addition, the proposal describes a major reconfiguration of RMAs across a large portion of the park, stating that: “The proposed project would establish new RMAs on 773 acres of unfenced distributed (non-route specific open riding) and trails-only riding areas and implement specialized maintenance projects in established RMAs.” Even where motorized use continues, this signals a stronger emphasis on formalized boundaries, fewer rider created lines, and more active enforcement of trails only riding in areas that are currently more flexible.
The 2026 proposal also includes closures and access limitations that riders need to understand clearly because they affect where people can go, not just how they ride. Closed or restricted areas include Waterfall Canyon and a portion of the Corral Hollow floodplain.
The proposal also includes a Corral Hollow Creek buffer. Buffer zones often become permanent squeeze points that narrow the footprint of usable riding terrain, and they can create additional loss of access beyond the acreage listed as closed, especially when they are paired with increased enforcement and physical barriers. Some of these buffer zones will be up to 500 feet for suitable habitat for certain species. Not only will certain trails be closed in order to “protect” biological resources but then buffer zones will also be created.
The new proposal will convert a meaningful amount of open riding acreage into trails only, create new RMAs across hundreds of acres with an emphasis on reducing trail density and enforcing trails only riding, and add closures and buffers in sensitive areas including Waterfall Canyon and parts of the Corral Hollow floodplain and creek corridor.
At the same time, the proposed plan introduces several new non motorized and restricted use areas. A total of 146 acres would be designated as trails only areas under the new framework. Another 98 acres would be reserved specifically for hiking and mountain biking with no motorized use allowed. These changes represent a shift toward separating user groups and concentrating motorized recreation into specific zones.
Alternative 1 No Action: The first alternative is the No Project Alternative. Under this scenario, the proposed RMA program would not be implemented. Existing trail systems, open riding areas, and current management practices would remain in place, and the park would continue operating under the current management framework established through the 2024 General Plan and existing maintenance programs.
Trails-Only Riding Alternative: the Proposed Project, “Under the Trails-Only Riding Alternative, all 773 acres of the proposed new RMAs would be converted to trails-only riding; no part of the project area would remain a distributed riding area. This would eliminate the open riding areas within the SVRA hills except for the Hillclimb Event Area. The project activities proposed in the new RMAs (e.g., perimeter fencing and gates, signage and public outreach, trail removal and hill rehabilitation, erosion control and repair, and revegetation) would still occur under the Trails-Only Riding Alternative.”
Environmentally Superior Alternative: “The Trails-Only Riding Alternative is considered the environmentally superior alternative. This alternative would allow DPR to obtain most of the project objectives and has beneficial effects of reduced erosion and sedimentation and reduced potential impacts to aesthetics, biological resources, and cultural and tribal resources that are slightly greater than the proposed project. The alternative would not fully achieve the project objective of providing for quality OHV recreation experience due to elimination of distributed riding, which is a valued OHV riding experience. Because the proposed project activities would have beneficial effects, the potentially significant impacts are temporary and would be minimized or avoided with BMPs and mitigation incorporated into the project, and the project would meet all project objectives, DPR has rejected the Trails-Only Riding Area Alternative in favor of the proposed project.”
Carnegie is classified as a State Vehicular Recreation Area, a designation created under California’s Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Act to provide areas where off-highway vehicle recreation is the primary use. The Act established the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Program and directed the state to acquire and manage lands specifically for motorized recreation. These areas are funded largely through fees and fuel taxes paid by OHV users, and the law created State Vehicular Recreation Areas to ensure riders have dedicated places to recreate. Carnegie was purchased in 1979 with OHV Trust Fund dollars and opened as an SVRA in 1980 specifically to provide motorized recreation opportunities.
The new proposal places a strong emphasis on biological resources and environmental restoration, repeatedly prioritizing reducing trail density, restricting riding areas, and converting open riding terrain to trails-only management. That direction conflicts with the purpose of an SVRA, which is to provide and manage motorized recreation opportunities. Converting open riding areas to restricted trail systems and expanding closures shifts the focus of management away from recreation and toward conservation priorities that are more appropriate for other state park classifications. For a park created and funded specifically to serve motorized users, management decisions should prioritize maintaining and providing riding opportunities rather than reducing them.
Please submit your comment below by March 10, 2026 to protect this beloved riding area and support the no action alternative.
