Santa Monica - beginner level trails?

[SLyons]

Hey all,

I'm trying to introduce one of my LA county friends to mountain biking and I'm eyeing the Santa Monica mountains. It's pretty close to my friend and I haven't been there yet, so it seems like a good spot.

I have an idea of possible trails thanks to Geoladders but can anyone here make some suggestions? This would be my friends' first real mountain biking experience so I am looking for something on the Beginner level, just a basic ride with few technical aspects. I'm thinking 10 miles or less with minimal elevation gain.

If the Santa Monica mountains don't fit my basic ride criteria, I'm open to suggestions. I'm only familiar with the usual OC county trails and am a bit of a loss for the LA stuff.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Pain Freak]

Considering you're in GG, why not try Chino Hills first? Take Telegraph to 4 corners and back. This was a ride I did when I was first starting out and although it was difficult, it got me hooked. Nothing technical to speak of, but that would be better with a little more experience anyways. Good luck and I know you'll have fun.

[ride hard]

Geoladders --
on this one we only go to mile 4.49 at the top of the hill for a short ride thats pretty fun then we turn around and bomb back down to the cars the whole thing is a great ride though

[tkblazer]

long time no see scott! you been riding much lately? haven't seen ya since the aliso ride way back when

[0gravity]

Yeah, I'd second the post from "Ride Hard" which I think suggested doing just the first leg out and back through Sullivan Canyon. That's a real nice trail, besides being busy on weekends. I don't think they suggested doing the whole loop. That'd be a way long ride and J-drop at the end is literally the last thing you want to bring a beginner down. But bitchin' for you if you like the gnarly steeps. Just go up and back on Sullivan Canyon, that's real nice. You could also go up Westridge fire road and come down Sullivan Canyon, that's nice if your buddy wants to warm up on a simple dirt road. The views are nice.

[Abui]

Originally Posted by SLyons

Hey all,

I'm trying to introduce one of my LA county friends to mountain biking and I'm eyeing the Santa Monica mountains. It's pretty close to my friend and I haven't been there yet, so it seems like a good spot.

I have an idea of possible trails thanks to Geoladders but can anyone here make some suggestions? This would be my friends' first real mountain biking experience so I am looking for something on the Beginner level, just a basic ride with few technical aspects. I'm thinking 10 miles or less with minimal elevation gain.

If the Santa Monica mountains don't fit my basic ride criteria, I'm open to suggestions. I'm only familiar with the usual OC county trails and am a bit of a loss for the LA stuff.

Thanks for any suggestions.

I say no to Sullivan Canyon for a beginner. The technical and strength skills required are far above a beginner and falling on those rocks would end the enthusiasm.

You want a dirt fireroad. I suggest (1) Sycamore Canyon from the beach. (2) Cheeseboro on the level fireroad. (3) Westridge - just the fireroad to the Nike site and back.

[shudder]

A good leaping off point in the SM hills is Topanga State Park, just up Entrada Road from Topanga Canyon Blvd.:

Google Maps

You take the fire road off the backside of the parking lot up to the E. Topanga Fire Road and go left. From there you climb up to Eagle Rock and points beyond. Eagle Rock is a beauty of a spot. If you go past it a mile or two you come to The Hub and from there you can take the Eagle Springs Fire Road back down under Eagle Rock and wind your way back to the car.

If you feel like more, you can continue on E. Topanga Fire Road past the parking lot turnoff and head all the way down to the overlook at the end of the line for an OAB (adds about 6 miles).

My routeSlip.com map covers a fair bit of the above (you can get a feel for the climbing anyways):

RouteSlip.com - Viewridge to Lookout Dirt /Tarmac Loop in Topanga, California

HINT: If you don't feel like paying the park fee to park yer vehicle, go past the left turn off Entrada into the park portion of Entrada and go on up a block to Waveview Drive and go left and park there next to the homes, then bike in from the end of the road -- goes right on to the fire roads above the parking lot!

/\/\

[Burner]

Easiest rides in the Santa Monicas have to be in/around Malibu Creek SP.
Malibu Creek SP
There are a few trails that stay fairly close to the parking area so you could stop whenever. You can do little to no climbing if you want.

Everything else in the Santa Monicas, no matter how easy, will involve fireroad climbing. If climbing is ok, any of the above suggestions will do.

edit: trekker's idea of sycamore cyn in pt mugu is super easy, if you start from the beach side, easier than Malibu Creek even. But it is a longer drive.

[SLyons]

Thanks for all the route ideas! I figured Santa Monica would have a good amount of climb to it, but I think I have a good idea of some of the easier sections.

Responding to some posts at random...
TKBlazer - I've been out on the trails every now and then, but life keeps interferring with my ride scheduled. I'd say a good month would have 2 weekends of riding...but thats not really a "good month" either. A few of my friends aren't big on mountain biking but they do a nice river trail ride from Cerritos to Seal Beach, about 22 miles round trip, and I've been doing that more then anything. I'm itching to get back to the trails and off pavement though...

Segway to other item...Chino Hills and Telegraph. Excellent trail for any new rider. I'm organizing another "beginner's day" type ride for some of my friends on the 24th and this is the likely destination. You don't get the full single-track experience, but its wide open trails, no cactus to fall into, and its a fun downhill shot back to the car once everyone is tired. Always makes for a great ride.

Aside from that, hopefully I'll run into some of you on the next ride. I'm keeping an eye on the boards for upcoming events. As soon as a ride matches up with a free calendar day, I'll probably be there