Reviewed by: someguy ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Long and boring i guess is how i would describe it. Just a long fire road if you go to the ocean the is some paved road. Not really a mountain bike ride. In fact i saw a guy in flipflops rideing a 10 speed with a fishing pole and some beer.

Reviewed by: glunt bramling ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Great ride. Steady doable uphill for a long ways. Very scenic. Very private.
You might want a map because as it gets dark, descents get a lot slower. You might want lights, because descending after sunset in winter sucks.

This ride would've been a five chili rating if a)the sun hadn't set, b)the fog hadn't rolled in, and c)we had flashlights or a map. YMMV.

Recommended Route:
IF it's well after dark and you have no lights, there's a bailout to the Big Basin Park Headquarters that's only 4 or 5 miles downhill from the summit. Instead of staying on Johansen, follow Middle Ridge Road and turn right on Gazos Creek Road to the park HQ. Say "Hi!" to Ranger Neil, who is also a mountain biker, and who might be able to get you emergency late night calories from the park gift shop if you're polite. And once again, get a map.

Reviewed by: Glacier Fedd , from Fremont

Summary:
Excellent ride. Had the place to myself even on a holiday weekend. The climb to the 3000' summit is gradual enough so you can have a good pace and not just grinding it out. Awesome views of the forest and ocean below. Trail is wide, dry, packed and mostly well-maintained except for a few washouts. Fast descent back to the gate with hardly a pedal stroke. No single track. No technical terrain. But just a great touring ride, followed by a long easy downhill. Worth the drive.

Recommended Route:
Length of Butano Ridge Trail to Big Basin HQ. Bring 2 water bottles and light lunch.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Whitemore Gulch

Reviewed by: Michael Chung , from San Gabriel, CA USA

Summary:
Wow! What a ride! Nothing real technical but I just can't get over how beautitul this ride is! We got started late and so we decided we would shuttle a car to Gazos Creek Beach at the bottom of the trail just in case we ran out of light or got tired - I have really become enthusiastic about riding in the last 7 months and I have lost 17 pounds doing so (yeah!) but I am still really out of shape. The ride starts with a climb that would most likely never be considered by even a beginner as moderate. It is extended so that may wear on someone new like me. After the first long climb, it is ups and downs for awhile...overall, there is more elevation loss than gain and the downhills are much longer than the subsequent climbs. There aren't any really long climbs after the first and I have a feeling the first would be considered nothing by seasoned riders. However...it is so beatiful from the start that all I had to do to take my mind off of my huffing and puffing was to look up and watch the green canopy or the sunny tree breaks to roll by. At one point, you will realize you have crossed the ridge because you will see a mass of open sky and you will be able to see down the other side. Also, the ground here will be solid rock but again, nothing techincal about it. It is fairly buff and wide. A few more up and down exchanges after that and it will be almost all flat or downhill. You will be in and out of the redwoods for the most part. But there are some incredible section near the end of the dirt section that is so lovely, dark, and deep! Damp ground, rotting redwood mulch, a rushing creek covered with ferns and dense, thick redwoods. It will feel like twilight but the green glow of the canopy above will remind you that it is midday outside this cathedral. Soon after this, you will exit onto the paved portion of the ride and ride a few miles to reach the beach. There was only two time I got off of my bike for very short stretches. On some latter climbs, I bonked and walked a couple of hundred yards up one steep hill. If you are out of shape, you will know which hill. Nothing too stressful. Good break. Please do not let this scare you off. There was one part that was steep enough going downhill with some loose dirt. I decided to help me and a beginner buddy with me and walk down one short, steeper section. I have only been riding 6 months and I think had I been alone or in a less remote area, this would have been no problem. Again, this was a very short section and it was still fireroad. There aren't any crazy sections. The only dissapointment was that with the long, fast, downhill sections, all 17.6 miles from Gazos Creek Fireroad Gate to the beach took only 1hr45min. Consider that this time included a fat ass (me) and lots of stops for pictures. It seems a back and forth trip from either end is totally feasible for anyone in reasonable shape and with riding exprerience. Overall, even beginners could do this ride as long a they are comfortable riding for any extended distance. Before doing this ride, the longest mountain bike trip I took was 12 miles. I had ridden some paved routes that were 25 miles long. I ride at the most twice a week on the average with only one of the rides being long. The other never exceeds nine miles. While this is not an optimal trainign regimen, I hope by sharing my lazy biking habits you might be able to make a confident decision wheter or not to ride this beautiful route. If you want to take it really easy, start early. If you are going to shuttle, factore in that it will take about 1.25-1.5 hours to get from the beach to Big Basin HQ. So you will need about three hours up front (round trip - assuming you start off initially in Big Basin State Park) to do the shuttle unless your travel plans already put you in Santa Cruz area to begin with. From the city of Santa Cruz to Gazos Creek Road (and beach) it will be between 20 minutes to 1/2 hour depending on traffic and construction. From the town of Boulder Creek it is about 20 minutes to Big Basin HQ. From Santa Cruz to Boulder Creek it is about 1/2 hour. I give five stars not for the technical factore but for the overall enjoyment of this ride. PLEASE NOTE: Big Basin only allows cyclists on fireroads. All other singletrack, doubletrack. horsetrail, and narrow hiking areas are off limits. There are also two distinct junction you will have to navigate. I STRONGLY suggest paying two bucks to get the awesome trail map at the HQ. It saved us from a long detour at one point.

Recommended Route:
Follow Scott's recommended "real" route below

Other recommended trails in the same area:
I did not get to ride any other areas, but I suggest looking at the following URL to get some great Virtual Quick Time panoramas of the same area and neighboring areas like Wilder Ranch (recommended by many to ride in this area).

Reviewed by: Scott , from Ben Lomond, CA

Summary:
When I say the "real route", I mean to go from Santa Cruz Mountains to the beach. Otherwise, the review above is correct for a simple round trip. Great fun..try it!