Review Date
July 10, 2008

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Every few months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by: mrcerebral ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
I think it is inaccurate to refer to this area in terms of trails. It is 75% fire roads and pavement. Most of the reviews I read rate this area as one of the best in the Bay Area. The longest loop possible is only around two hours with maybe 30-40 minutes of single track (20 minutes once dialed) and 90 minutes of road. There are really only three trails. These trails are sandwiched between long (45 minute) uphill grinds on fire roads and pavement. The rides start and end with uphill road. The three trails (Braille, Tractor and Sawpit) are seriously worked from too many downhillers riding their rear brakes. Yes, there are fun log-rides and stunts peppered throughout some very flowing sections, but most of the trails are the "same-ole same-ole." You can get the same experience at Wilder, Pogonip and UCSC Campus without the ball-numbing road grinds. It's fun for an occasional break from the routine, but it quickly becomes repetitious and predicable.

Soquel Demonstration Forest is not one of the best trail systems in the Bay Area. It has some good trails, but it is too small and inaccessible. I know - every time I ride there I encounter some full-faced helmet guys with long travel bikes who are in love with the place. They line up for the stunts and take pictures. Yahoo! I still think it is a lot of squeeze for little juice.

Recommended Route:
If you go, skip the Braille Trail. This is touted as the clandestine trail that was recently made official. It's mainly a straight down the fall-line rut factor with stunts that you have to pass when onsighting the trail. For the full effect, go all the way to the Sawpit trail. It has stunts and a nice technical rock section. Also, look for the Cusacks trail cutoff instead of the fire road approach.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Ride UCSC Campus and Pogonip. There are both technical downhills and uphills. Many riders have webworked flowing trails and built excellent stunts on both the uphill and dwonhill single track.

Review Date
March 6, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Reviewed by: bstyle74 ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Best legal trail system around Bay Area. With the exception of crackheads breaking into cars and Highland Rd eroding into oblivion, there is nothing bad about this place. You'll find great trails here that you can get lost in (in a good way) and the other riders here are all really cool. Lots of maintenence work goes on here, so trail are in great shape and there is something new every year. Stunts, logs, ladders, jumps galore but there are also ride-arounds for beginners and novices.

If there's only one trail system to ride, it has to be Demo.

Recommended Route:
Ridge -> Sawpit -> Tractor -> Braille -> Sulphur -> Braille (the trail so nice I do it twice!)

Review Date
January 14, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a week

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by: Dbassian ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
As some of the other reviewers have said, This is easily the best collection of trails in the SF Bay area. I have been a Mtn Biker in this area for about 12 years and I can't believe that trails like Quick Silver and Saratoga Gap have higher ratings. No way, maybe if you are a rank beginner or have limited cardio capacity, you might like those trails more. But if you posess a few technical skills then this is a must try spot. As others have said there are all types of stunts, jumps, Logs, etc. Nothing super sick, difficult though.

Recommended Route:
Now that the access route, Highland way is washed out, you must park about 1 mile up the road, not a big deal. I like to take a semi-legal single track up that you access just after the main parking area. This eventually leads up to buzzards lagoon fire road, you turn right at the intersection and continue straight, at the next intersection. You make a right about 1/4 mile after that intersection on to a single track section we call Kosack's. This will eventually lead you back to the fire road. Turn left on the fire road and it will eventually lead you to the summit. Here you can go right on to the ridge trail which is the connector to several Down Hill Options in order: Corral, Sulpher Springs, Braille, Tractor, and Sawpit. My favorits are Braille and Sawpit. They are the most technical, steep and fun. Corral has been recently reworked and now has lots of jumps, worth checking out. All of these trails eventually end up on Hin Rd,(turn right), which is a melow climbing fire road that takes you back out. Or you can climb up tractor or Sulpher Springs and go for another loop. There are also several other semi-legal off shoots that are also worth checking out. Since the access r

Review Date
November 4, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Once a month

Reviewed by: pmarshall ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
This trail is amazing with many different ways to take. If you take the Braille trail or tractor or sawpit, you have to climb out. The climb is not too steep but after some serious ride time it can be tiring. Especially after hanging on to you handlebars for dear life on Braille trail. One problem with this area is Highland Way. The road will be closed to through traffic starting on November 8th. This means either going to the other side(Aptos) or parking 2.5+ miles down the road and riding up. Leave any valuables at home and leave your car unlocked. I have not had a problem but figure my time is coming.

Recommended Route:
Just ride all of them

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Santa Theresa, Saratoga Gap, Kennedy

Review Date
September 30, 2007

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 4 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: ebnash ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
Rode Demo for the first time last Thursday morning, and all I can say is, "*#$@ yeah! There aren't any technical downhill trails like this anywhere else in the bay area. I have some buddies from work that ride here once a month and took me out to show me Braile and I had a blast. Some areas I walked back up to hit obstacles I missed the first time. Another thing great about this ride is you actually get some climbing in and a real work out.

Now for the bummer. I never pay too much attention to warning signs about high theft areas oe not leaving vauluable in you car, but you need to respect these rules at Demo. I went with a group of six people in 4 cars and 2 of the vehicles including my own got broke in too. Smasshed door glass and stole anything in sight. They even stole my freakin clothes. When my buddy and I reported in to the Santa Cruz sherrifs, they said they get thefts every week out there. Sometimes they even vandalize vehicles without stealing anything. If you head out to Demo, drive a piece of crap car, leave nothing in it, and leave your windows open so they don't have a reason to break in. I had about a $1000 in personal items stolen.

Recommended Route:
I folowed my buddies, but we parked at the Demo sign, rode up the rode about 2 miles and then went right on a fire trail in to Nizene Marks area. My buddies knew all the secret little single track routes and I was completely lost the whole time.