Reviewed by: Jay Dubb , from Costa Mesa

Summary:
Santiago Truck Trail is your classic 7 mile climb to Old Camp. Great for groups, wife. single speeds, everyone! The climb is very reasonable & if it is winter & the smog is not too bad, there are a lot of cool viewpoints. This is a FIRE ROAD. However, within the last 5 years or so, the bushes have grown in tight in a few areas, thus the single track feel. (Trailbuilder of Massachussetts, you will have to forgive us southern californians for being a bit confused. Most of us are too stoned or have been out in the sun too long so it can be a bit dificult for us to reason sometimes. However, with that being said, if your fire road grows over & the only tread available is a 10 inch wide trail, does it still register as a Fire Road? I don't know,...you be the judge.)
ANYWAY,..the climb is pleasant if the weather is cool. Don't ride here when it is hot. Much of the climb is sun exposed and can be miserable if you add some bugs & smog. Winter riding is best, however, the lower section of trail can get serious mud-bog after rains. Old camp can be charming if there is water in the creek. I highly recommend hiking or riding up Joplin trail if for nothing more than to enjoy the wooded surroundings & enjoy some creekside hang time. Enjoy the downhill, please use caution as this is a very popular trail with all trail users. The upper section has a few sharp rocky spots & a few loose ruts, but wide open road with lot's of room. the climb back over the vulture crags is steep & loose, but is short. The lower section is wide-open and FAST.

Recommended Route:
Up STT to Old Camp (Ride/Hike up joplin?)and back down. Include Luge if you want, however, I prefer the climb over the crags & rip all the way down STT back to the car on Modjeska grade.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
I recommend parking at the bottom of STT on the Modjeska grade, riding up Harding, down joplin trail to Old Camp & down STT back to the car. The Luge is an option as well, just loop back to the car via the pavement (Santiago Canyon Road).

Reviewed by: Mike Cisek , from Lake Forest, CA, USA

Summary:
The truck trail is a great place to ride and has a great singletrack, the Luge. The fact is, it's actually about 8 miles one way (from start to Old Camp). The Luge is my favorite singletrack and is the best!

Recommended Route:
From start to the intersection and down the Luge. And from start to Old Camp and back at the intersection then down the Luge.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Aliso Woods and Cyn.

Reviewed by: trailbuilder , from massachussetts

Summary:
I guess there are a lot of things I don't yet understand about you Californians, but one of the most astounding things is the fact that you can't figure out what singletrack is. Single (one) track (Kiwi for trail, path, lane etc.) Honestly folks, it really isn't taxing on the cerebellum. This is a truck trail because for the most part you could drive a truck up and down it, and on any other planet would be considered mostly fireroad. Get a grip! Descriptiions are only useful when the are accurate! A great fire road ride with great views and a good bit of singletrack at the top, worth doing!

Recommended Route:
up the trail to the camp, down the luge

Other recommended trails in the same area:
San Juan, and add the extra at the top! Hey, it's almost all singletrack.

Reviewed by: LouiSurfer , from Portola Hills, Ca

Summary:
STT to Old Camp back to Luge - Started from my home in Portola Hills (above Whiting Ranch), down to and up Modjeska Grade road. Always a good warm-up burning and spinning up that grade. The rest of the climb is relatively easy for intermediate riders. The trails on STT are in really good shape, a couple of loose rock / gravel spots here and there, dry, but not rutted at all and tight. It is starting to get warm now June (6/30/02). 70oz camelback and one 16oz bottle was barely enough. I rode up with the helmet off, down with it back on. About 10 mile climb to old camp, passed by a dozen riders coming back down, crowd factor was almost pretty good. Scenery was very nice, reminiscent of Thunder Mtn at disney (no doubt, old mining trail!). Hit Old Camp , rested for about 15 minutes, had a banana, came back down fast.
As mentioned in earlier posts, be careful on the fast decents, although the trail is tight, the ground can get loose with gravel, rocks. Luge was a little loose and steppy, my arms got a good workout as did my v-brakes. I crashed twice, but only because I was fatigued and too lazy too lay on the brakes. Back down Live Oak Rd. and back home. All in all a good workout.
Some worthwhile notes:
A: Be in control
B: Bring lots of water on warmer days
C: Sun screen is nice
D: Have fun
E: All of the above

Recommended Route:
Start at Modjeska Grade rode, go all the way up to old camp (8 miles uphill) come back down approx 5miles to stop at Vulture Crags (The luge). Down the luge, back down to cooks corner.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Whiting for beginners/novices, 8 mile easy loop, but there are some alternate routes to make it tougher and longer.

Reviewed by: Curt , from Midway city Ca.

Summary:
this trail starts out with an easy couple of miles of paved warm up before turn right up Majeska grade which is just about the toughest climb on this trail. Once on top of this road it is mostly a pretty easy climb with two sections close to the challenge of the paved climb. there are three options, at about three miles there is the luge, a very fun short decent. At about 6 miles there is rose canyon or Joplin truck trail, this is not recomended because it travels next to the Joplin boys ranch and the Sherrifs Deputy there gave us a hard time and said we would have to go to court if he saw us again. the last option is a long hike a bike to the peak. Not fun.

Recommended Route:
park at Cooks Corner and head north on Santiago Cyn. Rd to Mageska Grade and turn right, at the top turn right onto the actual trail ride 8 miles mostly up, turn around and come back down to about the three mile mark and turn left down the Luge. 1 mile down the Luge you will hit Live Oak, turn right band go back to your car.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
Silverado and Harding truck trails.