San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Cruz Mountains Mountain Biking Map

The Whittmore Gulch Trail in Purisima Creek Redwoods Preserve is a beautiful 3 mile climb starting in the deep forest and ending at the summit of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Two parallel fire roads make for good loop options. Whittmore Gulch is closed to bikes in winter, so plan this ride for the dry season .

Old Haul Road in Pescadero Creek County Park, and the lower portion of the Skyline to the Sea Trail in Big Basin State Park are two easy flat roads perfect for families or casual mountain bikers. Ladybugs often over winter in large clusters at the end (for bikes) of the Skyline to the Sea Trail, and it's just a short hike to a waterfall.

Some of the best mountain biking can be found at Big Basin State Park. California's first State Park was set aside in 1902 to preserve the magnificent redwood groves found there. Gazos Creek Road runs all the way to the beach. The park has several campgrounds, including bike-assessable trail camps. Not far away is Wilder Ranch State Park, now connected to trails at the University of California at Santa Cruz by the recent addition of the Gray Whale Ranch land. Great mountain biking with lots of singletrack available to bicyclists.

Highlights

Enjoy mountain biking in the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains, south of San Francisco. The map shows legal single tracks (there are a lot!), fire roads and surrounding paved roads. Gradient chevrons indicate location and severity of climbs, and topographic lines show the general lay of the land. Nearby services, camping, picnic areas, drinking water, rest rooms and more are included on the map. A chart lists and describes each of the trails shown, including the trail's length and overall difficulty. Paper, 17"x28". Scale 1:50,000. 1999.