Reviewed by: mikeb , from Sodom in the North

Summary:
tenderfoot. green, green tenderfoot, with the trees and roots and rocks. tenderfoot early in the morning, tacky in places but slippery as a dickens in other places from the overnight rain. tenderfoot, the only reasonably narrow, technical-by-definition trail on tam legally open to mountain bikes--without a pass. tenderfoot trail was one of my nemisis trails when i started riding sometime around 1990-1991. i just could'nt ever clear those damned roots at the top going either direction back then and probably still can't now. the lower two-thirds were good for me, especially the exposed sandstone section--this is where i learned to ride through relatively rough stuff at higher speeds. i remember riding this trail many times on a fully rigid bike, complete with a loose headset. reading and writing about this trail makes me kind of want to go back and try it again. my crew has'nt ridden tenderfoot in more than a year, although we used to ride on tam at least once a month. there it is--as all of our skills have progressed and we've become more addicted to this sport, all of us have discovered new and arguably more challenging places to ride. sometimes i like to dis on tenderfoot and tam in general. the area is full of poseuers, on bikes and wearing hiking boots and most of the time, the area is crowded beyond comfort. that's why i'm giving this trail sort of a low rating, due to my dimming memories of the "scene" here. somehow, when i'm riding on or near mt tamalpais, i get the feeling that most people disapprove of my being there--and that i'm not "cool" enough. on the other hand, if you're lucky, you'll ride this area on a quiet day--there will be just a few other bikes and the hateful hikers will all be on the singletrack trails that are closed to mountain bikes, where they belong. when the mountain biking gods smile on you that day, let 'er rip, because the tenderfoot is still one of the bay area's classics--even though i have'nt ridden it in so long my memories of this trail are dim. i guess i should talk the boys into coming up here again. riding the tenderfoot on a new suspension bike sure will be a lot different than dealing with a loose headset on a rigid fork going through those rocks.

Recommended Route:
start in mill valley (or better yet, ride in from the city) and try to remember your way through those little narrow assed roads.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
china camp

Reviewed by: Ned Bendover , from Fairfax

Summary:
...as are many parts of TF. But ride TF primarily if you want to see what bad drainage and 0 trail maintenance means. The trail is deteriating quickly. Franjkly, it's kinda sad and I think such a shit quality trail looks bad on Mt. Bikers.

Recommended Route:
The paved road leading to bottom of TF is beautiful...