Posts
103
Joined
2/10/2009
Location
canyon hills, CA
US
Edited Date/Time
1/27/2012 3:55pm
Saddleback
by Gary Martini
INTRODUCTION
So thirty five years after it opened, and almost eighteen years after it closed it's gates forever, it's time to examine the phenomenon that was Saddleback Park. A place that still lives in the annals of Southern California legends.
Into the frey enter Joe Parkhurst, who at the time was the publisher of Cycle World Magazine. Together with partner Meyers Manx (founder of the Manx Dune buggy company) they leased approx. 700 acres of parched land bordering Irvine Lake in the hills of Orange County, CA that was once part of the Irvine family Ranch.
The Irvine Company in the late 1960's was a giant land holding and developing company owned, for the most part by the Irvine family. The Irvine Company controlled vast tracts of undeveloped land south of Los Angeles County. Most of this land having been in the family since the days of the Spanish explorers.
Mr. Parkhurst was able to procure this land due to his contacts in the Irvine family. Being a Newport Beach, CA business person, he socialized regularly with members of the family and executives of the corporation. Parkhurst was able to sell the Irvine Company on the idea of leasing him this land for several reasons.; first, he convinced them that this particular parcel, even though near Irvine Lake, was valueless because it bordered a county land fill. The most significant argument he used is that he never mentioned motorcycles (at least not initially). Parkhurst and partner Meyers Manx told the Irvine Company their park was to be a dune buggy off road park. Manx envisioned the park as a was to increase sagging sales of his dune buggy conversion kits. Parkhurst saw it as a way to help increase sales of motorcycle magazines. There were also some within the
Irvine Company who thought this park could add some value to the many new housing developments they were building through the county by offering alternative recreation opportunities to the newly affluent middle classes who were buying houses in these areas.
After a short time, it became apparent that the dune buggy crowd was not flocking to the new park in numbers imagined by the partners. They needed to add to their customer base. Parkhurst, who had watching the increase in popularity of off road motorcycles, went to the Irvine Company and convinced them to allow motorcycles in to his park by telling them that, in admitting motorcycles, they would eliminate all of the illegal riding on the vacant lots in Irvine, Tustin, Santa Ana, etc.
At this time they hired an operations person. Vick Wilson was convinced to sell his interest in a Dana Point gas station and join the partners as the day to day manager. His experience as a farmer gave him the ability to operate the machinery, he also helped them buy WWII water trucks and other grading equipment.
Mr. Parkhurst could not have known the significance of his endeavor. Indeed, rather than being some grand visionary, history will show he was a good businessman who saw a potential market and tried to serve it
II - OPERATIONS
Saddleback Park got its name due to the fact that it was laid out in the foot hills of Saddleback peak.. This mountain was part of a range that separated the costal hills of Orange County from Lake Elsinore and the lower deserts. The mountain could always be seen from any point in the park. Indeed, the mountain was used as the park's logo.
One of the first items to lay out was a moto cross track. In the fall of 1967, Joe Parkhurst solicited the help of the visiting Europeans MX stars to lay out a moto cross track on his property. The location chosen was the front side of the ridge line that separated Peter's Canyon from Irvine. Remember, originally the front gate of the park was in Peter's Canyon, not it's current location. On a fall day in 1967 Roger DeCoster, Dave Bickers, and Joel Robert showed up to help the partners lay out their MX track. After several hours of walking and surveying an excellent, natural terrain track was created (the area had, the week before, suffered a brush fire and those involved in laying out the track ruined their shoes from the ashes). That next weekend the fledgling CMC held the first moto cross race at Saddleback Park (the CMC would have the distinction of also holding the last Race ever held at Saddleback Park in 1984). As it turned out, that event was the last held on that first track. The neighbors in the exclusive homes in the valley below complained bitterly about the noise. Both the track and park entrance were soon moved to the location known by most people.
A fleet of motorcycles was procured for the rental business. A store and shop were constructed adjacent to the main ticket booth.
Saddleback Park was open seven days a week (weather permitting) dawn to dusk. For a small entrance fee you could ride your motorcycle on the front half of the acreage (remember, in the beginning, the park was fenced in to two parts. Motorcycles in the front, dune buggies on the back trails).
The park had Moto Cross tracks (later a second track was added),, TT Scrambles, Trials, A hill climb area known as the Matterhorn, and later a BMX track. A wide graded (sometimes) fire road ran along the ridge line and connected all the areas park with the front side and main entrance. There was a great deal of elevation change through out which made for many challenging trails for all skill levels.. At it's western edge, the property bordered a "soap box derby" track (this area and any trace of the soap box derby track were wiped out by the construction of the I-241 freeway in the mid 1990''s, it also removed the last trace of the original Moto Cross track, remnants of which could be seen after thirty years. As the popularity of the park grew, on busy weekends there could be as many as three different racing events occurring at the same time. For some major events the park was closed to open riding due to the crowds
Over the years Saddleback Park played host to many championship events. In addition to events like the CMC Golden State series, many other events such as , Trans -AMA, Out Door MX Nationals, World Mini GP, National Championship Trials, A BMX National, Enduros, and TT and Flat Tracks were all hosted by the park. Some events were even invented by park management. Most notably , the "Baja De Saddleback" and "Motorcycle Olympiad" were created due to the fact that Saddleback had the land and terrain available to pull these events off. The "Baja De Saddleback" was a four wheeler, buggy, and motorcycle off road race designed to mimic it's name sake (the Baja 1000). It used the entire lay out of the park to create a rough, fast off road course. The "Motorcycle Olympiad" was a decathlon type event using the same bike in many different styles of races. The results were combined into a overall score. This event even featured drag racing which was held at near by Orange County International Raceway. This event later became the "Superbikers" held at Carlsbad and televised by ABC.
Through the 1970's many other parks founded on the same operations as Saddleback Park were up and running. Places like Indian Dunes, Escape Country (right down the road in Oneal Ranch), Rawhide, and Rialto (later known as Glen Helen). In 1980 the principals sold the business to Marv Hendricks an Orange County, CA truck dealer. As the prevailing attitude in America changed, so to did the fortunes of Saddleback Park. After paying out some large liability law suits (some rumored to be as large as 20 million), the Irvine Company locked the front gate for good. In July of 1984, despite the combined efforts of many individuals, and some corporations. The park never re-opened.
III - CONCLUSION
Its been 18 years since the park closed. It is very unlikely that Saddleback Park will ever re open. All the other similar parks have long since closed. While there remain a good many race tracks open, there are currently no privately owned "open riding" parks in operation.
The area has changed a great deal in the years since Saddleback Park was opened. The land fill that bordered the eastern edge has taken over much of the back portion of the park and buried land marks such as the Matterhorn and Hill Climb Valley under hundreds of feet of dirt and refuse. The dump has since reached capacity and been closed by the county. The property now sits at the intersection of two new freeways. In construction the I-241 freeway a giant culvert was created on what was once Santiago Canyon Road. This required the excavation of what was the pits for the motocross track. It also destroyed the start line up hill once called "the world's best national dyno".
The new interstates have opened a corridor between south Orange County and the inland empire. They have also opened this area to development. The 2002 editions of maps for this area show streets and housing tracks covering what was once Saddleback.
Over the years, various promoters have approached the Irvine Company with plans to re-open the park for a one day outdoor national motocross. After several attempts, it is evident that there is no possibility of even a one day reprieve.. Legend has it the Irvine Company is still litigating law suits filed in the 1980's. In the late 1980's the Irvine family lost control of the company that bore their name in a "hostile take over" only later to regain some financial remuneration in court. The Irvine Company is these days a Michigan Corporation.
IV - LEGENDS
Everyone who was regular at Saddleback Park has a favorite story. Some of my best times were spent on Sunday afternoons joining Dave Miller (DMC) and many others riding XR75's on "Dangerous Trail". I think my favorite story was on Saturday December 4, 1973. It was the day before the final round of the Trans-AMA series. All the factory teams had arrived and were attempting to park their trucks. It had rained most of the day and the adobe had turned to slime. Eric Crippa (who works in the press department at American Honda) was a factory mechanic for Gary Semics at Husqvarna had arrived driving that teams's transporter (a converted mail carrier the size of a large bus nicknamed the cycle liner). Back then factory teams were very large and this day Eric's rig was loaded with over twenty bikes, thousands of pounds of parts and equipment, and very bad brakes. As he entered te top of the pits it quickly became apparent that the bus would not stop due to the mud. Eric slid down the hill towards Santiago Canyon Road at an alarming rate. The cycle liner slid right through the Suzuki pits scattering mechanics in it's path. It came to a rest just inches from going over the ledge on to the road. Eric jumped out as if nothing had happened stating "looks like we're pittin here"
by Gary Martini
INTRODUCTION
So thirty five years after it opened, and almost eighteen years after it closed it's gates forever, it's time to examine the phenomenon that was Saddleback Park. A place that still lives in the annals of Southern California legends.
Into the frey enter Joe Parkhurst, who at the time was the publisher of Cycle World Magazine. Together with partner Meyers Manx (founder of the Manx Dune buggy company) they leased approx. 700 acres of parched land bordering Irvine Lake in the hills of Orange County, CA that was once part of the Irvine family Ranch.
The Irvine Company in the late 1960's was a giant land holding and developing company owned, for the most part by the Irvine family. The Irvine Company controlled vast tracts of undeveloped land south of Los Angeles County. Most of this land having been in the family since the days of the Spanish explorers.
Mr. Parkhurst was able to procure this land due to his contacts in the Irvine family. Being a Newport Beach, CA business person, he socialized regularly with members of the family and executives of the corporation. Parkhurst was able to sell the Irvine Company on the idea of leasing him this land for several reasons.; first, he convinced them that this particular parcel, even though near Irvine Lake, was valueless because it bordered a county land fill. The most significant argument he used is that he never mentioned motorcycles (at least not initially). Parkhurst and partner Meyers Manx told the Irvine Company their park was to be a dune buggy off road park. Manx envisioned the park as a was to increase sagging sales of his dune buggy conversion kits. Parkhurst saw it as a way to help increase sales of motorcycle magazines. There were also some within the
Irvine Company who thought this park could add some value to the many new housing developments they were building through the county by offering alternative recreation opportunities to the newly affluent middle classes who were buying houses in these areas.
After a short time, it became apparent that the dune buggy crowd was not flocking to the new park in numbers imagined by the partners. They needed to add to their customer base. Parkhurst, who had watching the increase in popularity of off road motorcycles, went to the Irvine Company and convinced them to allow motorcycles in to his park by telling them that, in admitting motorcycles, they would eliminate all of the illegal riding on the vacant lots in Irvine, Tustin, Santa Ana, etc.
At this time they hired an operations person. Vick Wilson was convinced to sell his interest in a Dana Point gas station and join the partners as the day to day manager. His experience as a farmer gave him the ability to operate the machinery, he also helped them buy WWII water trucks and other grading equipment.
Mr. Parkhurst could not have known the significance of his endeavor. Indeed, rather than being some grand visionary, history will show he was a good businessman who saw a potential market and tried to serve it
II - OPERATIONS
Saddleback Park got its name due to the fact that it was laid out in the foot hills of Saddleback peak.. This mountain was part of a range that separated the costal hills of Orange County from Lake Elsinore and the lower deserts. The mountain could always be seen from any point in the park. Indeed, the mountain was used as the park's logo.
One of the first items to lay out was a moto cross track. In the fall of 1967, Joe Parkhurst solicited the help of the visiting Europeans MX stars to lay out a moto cross track on his property. The location chosen was the front side of the ridge line that separated Peter's Canyon from Irvine. Remember, originally the front gate of the park was in Peter's Canyon, not it's current location. On a fall day in 1967 Roger DeCoster, Dave Bickers, and Joel Robert showed up to help the partners lay out their MX track. After several hours of walking and surveying an excellent, natural terrain track was created (the area had, the week before, suffered a brush fire and those involved in laying out the track ruined their shoes from the ashes). That next weekend the fledgling CMC held the first moto cross race at Saddleback Park (the CMC would have the distinction of also holding the last Race ever held at Saddleback Park in 1984). As it turned out, that event was the last held on that first track. The neighbors in the exclusive homes in the valley below complained bitterly about the noise. Both the track and park entrance were soon moved to the location known by most people.
A fleet of motorcycles was procured for the rental business. A store and shop were constructed adjacent to the main ticket booth.
Saddleback Park was open seven days a week (weather permitting) dawn to dusk. For a small entrance fee you could ride your motorcycle on the front half of the acreage (remember, in the beginning, the park was fenced in to two parts. Motorcycles in the front, dune buggies on the back trails).
The park had Moto Cross tracks (later a second track was added),, TT Scrambles, Trials, A hill climb area known as the Matterhorn, and later a BMX track. A wide graded (sometimes) fire road ran along the ridge line and connected all the areas park with the front side and main entrance. There was a great deal of elevation change through out which made for many challenging trails for all skill levels.. At it's western edge, the property bordered a "soap box derby" track (this area and any trace of the soap box derby track were wiped out by the construction of the I-241 freeway in the mid 1990''s, it also removed the last trace of the original Moto Cross track, remnants of which could be seen after thirty years. As the popularity of the park grew, on busy weekends there could be as many as three different racing events occurring at the same time. For some major events the park was closed to open riding due to the crowds
Over the years Saddleback Park played host to many championship events. In addition to events like the CMC Golden State series, many other events such as , Trans -AMA, Out Door MX Nationals, World Mini GP, National Championship Trials, A BMX National, Enduros, and TT and Flat Tracks were all hosted by the park. Some events were even invented by park management. Most notably , the "Baja De Saddleback" and "Motorcycle Olympiad" were created due to the fact that Saddleback had the land and terrain available to pull these events off. The "Baja De Saddleback" was a four wheeler, buggy, and motorcycle off road race designed to mimic it's name sake (the Baja 1000). It used the entire lay out of the park to create a rough, fast off road course. The "Motorcycle Olympiad" was a decathlon type event using the same bike in many different styles of races. The results were combined into a overall score. This event even featured drag racing which was held at near by Orange County International Raceway. This event later became the "Superbikers" held at Carlsbad and televised by ABC.
Through the 1970's many other parks founded on the same operations as Saddleback Park were up and running. Places like Indian Dunes, Escape Country (right down the road in Oneal Ranch), Rawhide, and Rialto (later known as Glen Helen). In 1980 the principals sold the business to Marv Hendricks an Orange County, CA truck dealer. As the prevailing attitude in America changed, so to did the fortunes of Saddleback Park. After paying out some large liability law suits (some rumored to be as large as 20 million), the Irvine Company locked the front gate for good. In July of 1984, despite the combined efforts of many individuals, and some corporations. The park never re-opened.
III - CONCLUSION
Its been 18 years since the park closed. It is very unlikely that Saddleback Park will ever re open. All the other similar parks have long since closed. While there remain a good many race tracks open, there are currently no privately owned "open riding" parks in operation.
The area has changed a great deal in the years since Saddleback Park was opened. The land fill that bordered the eastern edge has taken over much of the back portion of the park and buried land marks such as the Matterhorn and Hill Climb Valley under hundreds of feet of dirt and refuse. The dump has since reached capacity and been closed by the county. The property now sits at the intersection of two new freeways. In construction the I-241 freeway a giant culvert was created on what was once Santiago Canyon Road. This required the excavation of what was the pits for the motocross track. It also destroyed the start line up hill once called "the world's best national dyno".
The new interstates have opened a corridor between south Orange County and the inland empire. They have also opened this area to development. The 2002 editions of maps for this area show streets and housing tracks covering what was once Saddleback.
Over the years, various promoters have approached the Irvine Company with plans to re-open the park for a one day outdoor national motocross. After several attempts, it is evident that there is no possibility of even a one day reprieve.. Legend has it the Irvine Company is still litigating law suits filed in the 1980's. In the late 1980's the Irvine family lost control of the company that bore their name in a "hostile take over" only later to regain some financial remuneration in court. The Irvine Company is these days a Michigan Corporation.
IV - LEGENDS
Everyone who was regular at Saddleback Park has a favorite story. Some of my best times were spent on Sunday afternoons joining Dave Miller (DMC) and many others riding XR75's on "Dangerous Trail". I think my favorite story was on Saturday December 4, 1973. It was the day before the final round of the Trans-AMA series. All the factory teams had arrived and were attempting to park their trucks. It had rained most of the day and the adobe had turned to slime. Eric Crippa (who works in the press department at American Honda) was a factory mechanic for Gary Semics at Husqvarna had arrived driving that teams's transporter (a converted mail carrier the size of a large bus nicknamed the cycle liner). Back then factory teams were very large and this day Eric's rig was loaded with over twenty bikes, thousands of pounds of parts and equipment, and very bad brakes. As he entered te top of the pits it quickly became apparent that the bus would not stop due to the mud. Eric slid down the hill towards Santiago Canyon Road at an alarming rate. The cycle liner slid right through the Suzuki pits scattering mechanics in it's path. It came to a rest just inches from going over the ledge on to the road. Eric jumped out as if nothing had happened stating "looks like we're pittin here"
Post a reply to: saddleback park