Reviewed by: gwhitegeog ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
I travelled 8000 miles to use this trail, from London, England (well, sort of..), during a three week mountain biking trip of California. It's a lovely, fast, rolling trail. The downhill sections get quite fast but not frighteningly so. I dual suspension bike is recommended and after the descent you can return to the Golden Gate area via the Bobcat Trail.

Recommended Route:
The are lots of access pints from Tam Valley and Golden Gate area. I descended from the Golden Gate side, climbed north and then down to the Tennessee Valley side

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Bobcat trail

Reviewed by: G. Wright , from Fairfax

Summary:
I had to weigh in on Old Springs, having seen only three reviews and being all charmed and lusty after riding it last week. Something about this trail is exhilerating. It's really just a junior-grade double-track and nothing special in terms of challenge (although as I speak today, the last 80 yards are TOTALLY washed out and you better be able to ride a thin rail of solid mud or suffer a splashy fall). But from top to bottom, its just a blast. Up top is all swoopy, and you cross three (four?) bridges over streams/springs. There is a water trough for the equine crowd. There are jaw-dropping holy mama views down to Tennesse Valley, which have often threatened to lead me right off the edge. Once the views recede and you can focus, it gets a little steeper, with some areas in which you can pick up speed, immediately followed by sharp turns and gravel that make you regret it.

Recommended Route:
I usually go down Old Springs, so I start somewhere in the City, grind up Miwok, which I loathe, and then boom, you're there.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
I love this lil' guy. Please be super mellow down by the horses and be generally responsible about other users...lots of hikers here.

Reviewed by: mikeb , from Sodom in the North

Summary:
this fire road ahs been bulldozed and widened at the bottom. the government has had ten inch logs embedded length wise across the trail for use as waterbars. if you ride a hardtail and don't have mad skills hitting these kind of things at high speed, be careful. the widening and trail modifications merit my lowering the rating of this trail to two tires.

Recommended Route:
via miwok, from the coastal fire road off of conzelman road, riding from the golden gate bridge.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
you have to ride with me and the others to find out.

Reviewed by: Furious D. , from Berkeley

Summary:
Good singletrack, some ruts, rocks, fast sections, and some cool switchbacks on it. This trail itself is a lot of fun, but most surrounding legal trails are pretty lame. Its a little too far for how long the trail is but is a good weekday ride if you live nearby. I give it 4 instead of 5 due to what I receive from a long drive.

Recommended Route:
Go up Marincello Grade then down Miwok trail (Good ditches that form awesom jumps)you will see a sign for Old Springs.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Mt. Tam, Repack(good!)

Reviewed by: shekky , from sodom in the north

Summary:
i don't think old springs is two miles. as a matter of fact, my crew prefers to ride up old springs if we've ridden to tam from the city and one of us is really bonking--because it's shorter than bobcat or marincello or whatever the fire road is that leads southwards to the city from miwok stables. be careful going really fast up here during peak periods because you're sharing the trail with a lot of users, namely the horesey set from miwok stables. if you insist on being Downhill Boy on this trail get a light and do it at night or ride just after dawn to avoid conflicts with other users. the trail is for the most part a WIDE singletrack trail. there's nothing overly technical on it save for a section of about seventy yards that's steep and rocky. the final stretch of this trail overlooking the stables has been graded and widened since i originally rode this trail four or five years ago and is not nearly as challenging as it was before the GGNRA simps widened it. just be careful to not hit the waterbars too fast if you're riding a short travel fork. if you're willing to explore, there are lots of little known singletrack trails in the headlands much more interesting than miwok. i highly recommend riding the aforementioned trails at night or during way-off-peak hours as most of them are, ho ho ho, "illegal".

Recommended Route:
come in by riding the bridge from the city, riding up conzelman road and taking the coastal fire road down. cross the paved road leading to the beach, ride up the steep miwok fire road and over the saddle and you're three continuing up miwok is "illegal" and painfully steep.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
the SCA trail (at night)