Review Date
April 26, 2008

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Every few months

Reviewed by: frana ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Got downed trees? Several downed trees today. So bad we had to turn around after about 9-10 miles! Trail maintainence is badly needed. Other than that the trail is very scenic and technical at times. Without the trees this would be 5/5.

Recommended Route:
Parking area past the post office on the 38. Followed the fire road then hopped on the SART after about 2-3 miles of downhill fire road.

Review Date
August 21, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 5 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: BAD_S197 ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
I'm a beginner in Mountain Biking and this is my first trail ride aside from fire roads and asphalt streets. This review reflects that, as I've nothing else to compare it to.

I met up with the guys from the 3F bicycle club at the Barton Flats campground in the morning and after getting everything ready, we rode up I38 to the edge of the South Fork Campground. To them it was a warm up and to me it was a sign that I'm very out of shape. I was out to push myself and see what I was made of so to me it was fun either way.

The single track at that point was not very small until we reached the beginning of the trail. At that point it got very narrow with lots of steep dropoffs. I was boardering on scared to death at this point but kept pushing myself. I found it to be very tight singletrack with lots of loose dirt on the sides and the leaves that dropped into the loose dirt didn't help either. I found my front end washing out quite a few times in areas that I would have chosen for it not to. To me, difficult riding but fun and challenging.

Some of the single track on the steep hillsides were a little washed out in places but totally passable, you just have to hug the hill side. There were a few places in the first third of the ride that I was told to walk it and some of the veterans I rode with walked it as well.

The middle part of the ride was as described above, very fast singletrack on some rolling hills. There were some very fast sections wiht some gear changeing happening with some switchbacks in some areas. This to me was the most enjoyable area as I could concentrate on riding and not on thoughts of falling and being injured or killed.

The last portion of the ride was back to tight single track on hill sides again with the most beautiful views of the ride. I couldn't get over how nice it was there and combined with the riding it was perfect. A lot of steep runs down the sides of these hills with again, more loose stuff on the side but not as sketchy as the first part. It was here that I started to "bonk" due to me just plain being out of shape. I rested in some shaded areas and when we reached a small waterfall I got some nice cold water to cool down with and get refreshed.

Toward the end of the ride you get dumped onto a small fire/access road that is pretty fast. Then a 3 mile climb out to the main road.

Recommended Route:
(South Fork Campground to Post Office)

This is the route we took that day and to me was the best route. It involved some climbing but nothing too crazy. Definately a challenge but less so than doing it in the reverse order. There really wasn't any place you could get lost as the route, while not marked very well, was obvious in which way to go. This route took my out of shape self a little over 4 hours to complete.

For those who are gung ho and up for torture, you can go from the Post office up to the campground and come back all in a day.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
I've never been on any trail, much less anything in this area.

I totally recommend the top-bottom route to anyone wanting to push themselves. I had no reference as to what EPIC was and no idea what I was looking at but aside from that... it was the most fun I've had in a long time. I was exhausted 3 hours into it and had to push myself along with some friendly coaching and jokes from the ride master and other guys, but it was WELL WORTH IT IN THE END!!!

Review Date
August 1, 2004

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: FireDoug ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
Nick and I rode the first time today. We have heard a lot about this being a great local ride. We were not disappointed.

We Started by riding a .9 mile back up Middle Control Rd. and turned left on what we think was 1NO7, but it was only labeled as 2EO3. This is typical of the trail we rode, many times we came to forks that seem to direct you in different directions and everything seemed to be labeled 2E03. This is pretty typical of mtn. bike trail navigation and I have gotten used to maps and trials not being consistently labeled. We never got lost, nor did we feel too confused about where to go.

Anyway we continued riding up 1NO7 (poorly maintained fire road) turned left on to 2EO3 (SART single track). Enjoyed the roller coaster ride through the woods. This is in my opinion a classic XC roller coaster ride. You are shifting gears a great deal as you carve through the fast single track. This is a very fun ride that offers very few surprises.

Once we passed Glass Rd. the climb up 2E03 is a bit more consistent uphill. We continued to South Fork Camp, took a break and turned around for a fun return ride back down 2EO3. This was a great ride that is 95% true narrow single track, lots of carving up and down mountain drainages, 3 stream crossings, lots of shifting, a few wide open fast runs through meadows, and even some mild rock garden runs.

I highly recommend this ride for intermediate and advanced riders, not that it is overly difficult, just not a place to take a first timer.

I have mapped a lot of variations to this area, that I will be back to explore if you know any good additions please email.

Recommended Route:
Parked at River crossing at Middle Control Fork and Seven Oaks Rd. Rode up 2EO3 to South Fork and then returned on same trial.

Review Date
July 27, 2004

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: EBasil ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
This is a great XC/Trail ride, and includes enough shade on the upper sections that it's great even in the heat of summer. It can be ridden as an out-n-back from Angelus Oaks (very easy to find) that gives you 16 miles to the South Fork campground before you turn around to come back mostly downhill, or as a shuttle from South Fork, 32 miles down to Mill Creek/Mentone, or a shorter shuttle, or a long-ass loop of 50+ miles.

The upper sections are buffed, but narrow singletrack without technical difficulty but with some steep slopes to psych out riders. There are rideable water crossings, some mildy rocky sections and lots of shade. Both ascending and descending, this is good singlespeed country, but also great for XC and trailbikes.

There's a significant climb/descent to/from the general store/Highway 38. If you're riding toward Angelus Oaks, take the smooth, shaded fire road 3 miles up. If descending, to then ride up to South Fork, take the singletrack descent!

Recommended Route:
Post messages and ask in the forums. If you have A GPS, we can send you our maps and let you create your route.

Review Date
February 18, 2002

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week