While Marin County to the north of San Francisco was home to some decent mountain biking, the peninsula to the south of the city boasts some fantastic singletrack, including many more miles of legal trails. Since we already had a significant amount of information in our the database on trails in the Redwood City/Palo Alto area, I didnt get to spend much time riding in the area.
But there was one trail that I just had to check out: El Corte de Madera.
Singletrack in El Corte de Madera Open Space.
El Corte de Madera is an open space, which in practice translates to much looser management than many of the Regional Parks in the Bay Area, as well as a much wilder feel.
The way the trails are laid out, alternating from singletrack to doubletrack to forest roads and back again, reminded me vividly of Panthertown Valley in North Carolina. While the vegetation and natural wonders in each of these places is drastically different, both locations are a spaghetti bowl of old forest roads and newer trails connecting them, allowing a rider in El Corte de Madera to easily put together a 20-30 mile ride… if not more.
Many of the trails close to the Skeggs Point trailhead where we parked are regularly traveled, with some excellent, classic benchcut singletrack wrapping around the hillsides, hidden deep beneath the vaulted canopy of the mighty redwood trees.
Riding the Airborne Goblin beneath the massive redwoods.
Further away from Skeggs Point, the singletrack got fainter and fainter with more and more elevation change, dropping steeply down into the bottom of lush ravines with a babbling brook to cross, and then climbing so steeply up the other side of the ravine that I would have to hike-a-bike for a ways.
Massive trees.
As the trail grew narrower the further I got from my trailhead, I truly felt like I was out in the wilderness even though I wasnt ever very far from a decent road. Since my wife had gone for a shorter ride and was waiting for me back at the trailhead, I was trying to be conscious of the time, and eventually decided to cut my route short and head back toward the trailhead. What I didnt realize until I finally got back was that the trailhead we parked at was essentially the high point in the trail system, and I had been, aside from a few climbs, descending almost the entire time. From where I turned around, I ended up climbing about 2,000 vertical feet straight back up some steep gravel roads to the trailhead. Since I was already ready to be done by the time I turned around, it was quite the ordeal!
The forest surrounding the trails on the peninsula are typically greener and more vibrant than the dry grass hills of the mainland (although there are a couple beautiful stands of trees there as well).
In the end I rode 17.8 miles and climbed 4,075 vertical feet over the course of the ride. As you can imagine, it was pretty intense, but after the anti-mountain biker prejudice evident in the East Bay, I was ecstatic to be riding such gorgeous singletrack, and to absorb the beauty of the mighty redwood trees that I had only ever seen in books and movies before this trip.
Your Turn: Have you ever ridden in the Bay Area? If so, what’s your favorite (legal) trail?
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.
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!
Wow, the scenery there is just amazing!
Yeah, I loved this place! And there were so many trails I DIDN’T get a chance to explore…
That is some awesome scenery!
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.
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 🙂
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.
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’ ?
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.
Thanks for chiming in everyone! Seems like this really IS the place to go for Bay-area riders!!