VOLUME ISSUE SEPTEMBER , P29
Saddleback MX Park
Founder Passes
V
ic Wilson, founder of Saddle-
back Park, passed away
peacefully on July 12, 2025, at the
age of 90 in his home in Gardnerv
-
ille, Nevada. He was born on April
12, 1935, in Glendale, California,
the third child of Omar and Janice
Wilson. The family migrated to
Vista, California, where his father,
with his oldest son, E.R., devel
-
oped and ran a large avocado
ranch in Bonsall, California. This
was a family operation, so every
-
one worked. This work ethic car-
ried him through his life, and he
became a well-known promoter
and successful entrepreneur.
His first business was a 24-
hour service station on Pacific
Coast Highway in Newport Beach,
California. But he also spent
many weekends competing with
his four-wheel-drive jeep, particu
-
larly in the sand dunes in Glamis,
California, stacking up many wins.
In 1965, he worked briefly for B.F.
Meyers and started competing
in a Meyers Manx dune buggy,
which led to his first Baja 1000
win in 1967. He later repeated
winning the Baja 1000 in 1970 in a
Drino Miller-designed vehicle.
In 1967, he founded Saddleback
Park, a 400-acre property leased
from The Irvine Company in Or
-
ange County, California. This was
the first specialized off-road facility
in the United States, and it featured
one of the first motocross tracks
in this country. He operated the
park from 1967 to 1980. Open 365
days a year, except when heavy
rain made the clay soil impass
-
able, even for walking. (Check out
SaddlebackPark.com to
read the complete history
of the park and its current
status.)
Soon after he opened
the gates to Saddle
-
back Park, he started
promoting "The Bug
In," a popular event for
Volkswagen-powered
off-road vehicles that
was held twice a year at
Orange County Interna
-
tional Raceway.
In 1980, Vic retired
from the full-time promo
-
tion business. Based
on his expertise in not
only managing a motorcycle park
but also designing one, he then
consulted for the State of Cali
-
fornia in its Off-Highway Vehicle
department, building motorcycle
parks throughout the state for
16 years. He admitted he was
happiest making trails and tracks
while driving his John Deere 450
tractor.
Promoting was in his blood, so
he continued to do small-scale
events, one of which was an in
-
dustry ride from Mammoth Moun-
tain in California to Hawthorne,
Nevada, over two days with about
150 riders, called the Saddleback
Safari. Unfortunately, in preparing
for this ride, he had a head-on col-
lision with a rider who should not
have been on the trail. Due to the
accident, he had to undergo open-
heart surgery months later. This
made him decide to play more, so
he bought his first of many motor
homes to start years of travel
-
ing with his wife, BJ, across the
United States.
Even after the injuries from
the accident, he didn't give up
riding his motorcycle. For more
years than he could count, he
would travel to Baja California
with friends, exploring the most
remote areas on motorcycles.
In 1978, Vic was inducted into
the Off-Road Hall of Fame. To
read more on his career, visit
https://ormhof.org/vic-wilson/.
Through Saddleback Park and
other promotions, he touched
thousands of lives, giving them
lifelong memories.
A service will be held on Octo
-
ber 4 at 1:30 p.m. at the Shadow
Mountain Church in Gardnerville,
Nevada. In lieu of flowers, the
family requests a donation to
DAWG or Austin's House.
CN
Saddleback Park founder Vic Wilson
passed away at the age of 90.
