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El Corte de Madera
67 reviews
4.6 of 5
Everything from very Technical Singletrack to mellow Fireroads. Lots of different loops, routes available. Nice redwood forest area with a big creek at the bottom. Excellent variety of trails from woodsy singletrack to fast fireroads to rocky sandstone. Stays fairly cool thanks to tree coverage and proximity to oceanside winds. Lots of mosquitos in summer. Very muddy in winter.
I-280 or 101 to highway 92 west. At the top of the hill, turn left onto Skyline Blvd (hwy 35). Skyline south for 8 miles to the Skegg's Point parking lot on the left. (Note that you can't legally turn left directly into the parking lot; instead, continue along Skyline and make a U-turn.)
Or coming from the South, take 84 west from 280, then turn right onto 92 north. Follow for about 7 miles, Skegg's Point will be on your right hand side.
Summary: I've ridden "Skeggs" a few times and am finally beginning to figure this place out. There's an endless variety of loops and routes you can take, with proper trail markers to lead you into the right direction. A couple of great trails have been closed though, but hopefully they will be opened soon and better than ever.
Recommended Route: Hit up Manzanita, Resolution. If you've got legs, do a full loop counterclockwise (north leaf, south leaf).
Other recommended trails in the same area: Waterdog
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Summary: I am from Utah and have lived in the Bay Area 6 months now. I have biked a different trail every week since I got here and this system is by FAR the best I have found out here (including Henry Coe and anything you hear about in Marin). The trick that people don't seem to know is that you can park at the bottom -- you don't have to park at Skegg's and its a short drive from Skyline to the bottom of the preserve. Well, its not quite the bottom, you still have to climb out a little, but I park at the bottom, ride to the bottom of the preserve and climb to the top of the other side, somewhere by Skegg's, and its not a bad climb at all. The downhill is FUN, the only place where I can really open up and cruise for a while. The trails are in great shape and work perfect with a mountain bike. There are a lot of fire roads, but you can easily avoid them if you want to plan your route around them.
Recommended Route: Take any route to the top that will let you come down El Corte Madera Creek Trail. That is my favorite way down so far. Avoid going down on Manzanita. It looks inviting at first but it gets very technical with extremely rocky sections -- might be better coming up.
Other recommended trails in the same area: I hear there is some good stuff in Santa Cruz, but I haven't gotten down there yet. Henry Coe State Park trails were ok, but not nearly as good as this.
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Summary: I hate fire road climbs and this place is all about them. Do not get me wrong, I love to climb, but on singletrack. This place would be perfect is all fireroads would become singletrack overnight. Overall, it is a good workout on SS. Resolution has a few hairy spots, but otherwise it is not very technical (may be cause I always do Manzanita up).
Recommended Route: dan51's root -> cm02 -> cm05 -> blue blossom (yammy) -> crosscut -> manzanita -> fir -> resolution -> tafoni -> back to cm02
Other recommended trails in the same area: demo, henry coe (oh yeaHHHHHHHH)
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Summary: Was there last Sunday. Started at 11:30. Drove up from Saratoga and saw there's a major sheriff/CHP crackdown at 35 and 9. Major. Several cop bikes and several vehicles. Cops standing next to the stop signs, waving motorcyclists over. Drove past 35 and 84 to Skeggs Pt.
At gate CM01, I enter and immediately take asphalt road up, entering trail gate and begin on Fir Trail, then Manzanita, then Timberview, then Virginia Mill, then South Leaf, then Leaf. Have to admit, I didn't eat my Wheaties and had to exit at Star Hill Road and then up Swett Road to Hwy 35 and back to the main Skeggs Pt. parking lot.
Most of this is fire roads. Timberview and Virginia Mill has singletrack and Leaf is only singletrack. There are recent truck tire tracks in the mud in some places.
I noticed a couple trails were closed to cyclists due to rainwater runoff (oops). Several fallen trees and a bit of mud. On my way in, a guy warns me of the "major mud". No worries, I still have my fenders on my Santa Cruz. Nearly zero wildlife here today. There are parts of trails where you don't even hear birds. Serious. The silence was at once sought after & stunning. At a couple of stream crossings, I see salamanders in the water.
Somebody left a blue tent behind on the side of Virginia Mill(?). A very new galvanized steel bridge crosses very high over the creek. All of the other briges are wooden and could support horses, but this one is beefy!! A little poison oak on my legs, but none on my arms.
The best trail of all is the singletrack on Leaf Trail. This is a XC trail with slight climbs that hugs the edge of the hill, winding around and over rocks, between trees, and really is a serene part of the Preserve.
Recommended Route: Take the paper map from the trailhead. Or, buy the map from Krebs. I had mine laminated at Kinko's. I wouldn't go in here w/o a map - unless you've been here several times. There are some steep climbs on a few trails that can be muddy w/o traction or dusty w/o traction. Either way, if you're trying to leave and have no more gas in your tank, you don't want to get onto those trails trying to exit.
Normally, I take Tafoni to Resolution to El Corte de Madera, etc.
Last Sunday, I wanted to take the recommended route from the Krebs map. A great workout, it was. My front disc brake made such melodies on the downhill that I committed to a pro mechanic checkup. You will know why some people say this place was made for motorcycles.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Grizzly, Saratoga Gap, Longridge, nearly everything on 35 / Skyline is great. Excellent signage, and very well-maintained.
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