Review Date
October 13, 2009

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 2 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Every few months

Reviewed by: CheapWhine ,  Cross Country Rider

Summary:
The west side of Harvey Bear is grass-covered hillsides with fireroads or a few doubletracks. There is a route along the ridgeline at the top of the hill. The east side of the park runs parallel to Coyote Lake through oak forest and grass lands (doubletrack) and then does a loop around a hill on the south end of the park (near Roop Road).

The climbing the west side trails is a good training exercise as you can work on hill climbing speed rather than just grinding out the climb as on steeper hills. It can be very hot and dry here in the summer. There may be a very few hikers or horses, but sight lines are excellent and everyone is polite (you should be too).

The trails on the east side are pretty nice. They tended to be shaded with more ups and downs and slight bends. There may be some people on these trails, but very few (many less than other nearby parks). You can see quite a few animals on the east side if you keep your eyes open.

These trails are hot in the summer and pretty nice in the autumn. Spring is definitely the best time with the new grass and wildflowers. If you go in the spring, check out the wildflowers on some of the hillsides on the east side.

There are no technical trails here, so don't bother if you need jumps, stunts, or rock gardens.

Recommended Route:
Park maps are available at the trailhead at the end of San Martin Ave and on-line. With minor planning, you can ride all of the trails in one outing. One possible route is:
Up Harvey Bear
Up Coyote Ridge
Down Willow Springs
Up Townsprings
Up Harvey Bear
Along Calaveras
Along Valley Oak
Up Campground
Out Coyote Ridge
Up Mendoza
Back on Coyote Ridge
Down Willow Springs
Left (down) on Savannah (not on older maps)
Back on Willow Springs

This works out to about 23 miles and 3100 feet of climbing.

For beginners, park on the Coyote Lake side and explore Calaveras and Valley Oaks. This is a nice ride that everyone will be successful with.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Henry Coe, Rancho Canada del Oro, Santa Teresa, Grant, Sierra Azul, Quicksilver