Comments on: Mountain Biking Beneath the Redwoods of El Corte de Madera Open Space

By: mtbgreg1

mtbgreg1 — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 15:16:23 +0000

Thanks for chiming in everyone! Seems like this really IS the place to go for Bay-area riders!!

By: wmfinch

wmfinch — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 04:52:19 +0000

google “wmfinch”

i have tons of videos at skeggs on youtube. i have riding there since 93 nearly every week. just rode there a week ago. they tamed it down quite a bit from the 90′s, face plant and other rad trails are gone, but the place still rocks.

By: dsmdouglas

dsmdouglas — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:20:43 +0000

Never have ridden in the area and from how ‘trail riding acceptance’ has been represented I doubt I would ever visit there. So big THANKS for your writeup. I am shocked an area that accepts gay n lesbian lifestyles exhibits such a non-acceptance of trail riders. Perhaps if I rode a SantaCruz Big Top up someones azz I might be ‘wanted’ ‘accepted’ ?

By: aliikane

aliikane — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 18:34:00 +0000

Fast, flowy, tight singletrack. Not technical except a few short spots. Super nice redwood environment. The only problem with skeggs is that you ride down before you ride up. Also, the trails are not technical enough. Great for long ride and workout.

By: AlexCuse

AlexCuse — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 18:21:38 +0000

This looks fantastic – always wanted to see redwood trees, want to a little more now that I know I can see them on a bike

By: vyrpalmeris

vyrpalmeris — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 17:12:11 +0000

You found it. I have great memories of mountain biking in the Bay Area, and El Corte Madera was the best place to go. I didn’t really like that the ride usually starts at the high point (Skeggs), I prefer to end my ride on the downhill, but the singletrack there is so smooth and the redwoods are so surreal. Mt. Tamalpais offers a few fun singletrack sections up in Marin County, but it is mostly forest roads. The scenery is hard to beat though, and you get a fair share of the redwoods up there too. Henry Coe state park south of San Jose has some significant singletrack offerings, but the scenery, while good, cannot compare to the scenery on the Peninsula and Marin County.

By: Jared13

Jared13 — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 02:40:41 +0000

That is some awesome scenery!

By: mtbgreg1

mtbgreg1 — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 17:04:04 +0000

Yeah, I loved this place! And there were so many trails I DIDN’T get a chance to explore…

By: maddslacker

maddslacker — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:19:47 +0000

Wow, the scenery there is just amazing!

By: mudhunny

mudhunny — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 14:21:38 +0000

Yes, one of my favorite trails not only in the Bay Area, but of anywhere! I remember that climb well, oh and the downhill can definitely be gnarly. My good friend dislocated her shoulder after taking a spill on a rocky section here, needless to say, it was a long walk back to the car. I miss Skeggs!

By: jeff

jeff — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:16:11 +0000

Great write-up. As I recall this was mudhunny’s favorite ride when she lived in the Bay Area–back then most people just called it Skeggs.

I only got a chance to ride one trail in the south bay–Saratoga Gap–and it was pretty awesome. As I recall it was similar to what you described at Skeggs–some singletrack, some doubletrack, but all beautiful as the trail wound across grassy hilltops and densely forested pockets.