Santiago Oaks Regional Park - Chutes Trail Work Starting

How is Coachwhip these days? It was rutted and overgrown the last time I rode it (about 6 months ago).

 

i saw that part last Wednesday, i was up there shuttling with frens. I only been there twice and i loved it.

 

That route sounds cool. I'm one that doesn't like to backtrack so I'm always trying to find the perfect route with all the new trails. I know there are many ways to go but a little revisied route could be:

Up "Chutes B"
Up Barham Ridge
Down Deer
Up Anaheim Hills
Down B.R.
Down Goat to Bumblebee (hard right) - Only because from the top of goat, I like going straight roaring down the "not recommended for horses" trail.
Continue Down Bumblebee
Up Bumblebee
Down Hawk
Up Goat
Down Chutes

Good question. I'd like to add that in the mix.

 

Map

Map PDF Linky

 

I don't know, it might be 9-10 miles from Albertsons & maybe 1500 feet of up. That doesn't sound like much but the I feel the 34 lb bike makes it a worthy workout. I stopped using a bike computer several years ago, so no GPS. I think there's enough on Geoladders to piece most of the route together. But the trails are reasonably easy to find. There are wooden posts with the trail names marked on them. If you haven't been to Oaks before, check out the OCParks trail map (see above). Deer shows up pretty well on Google Earth if you want a preview.

You should have a blast this weekend. Cactus Canyon was helped immensely by the rain, the fun little jump at the start puts a smile on your face that won't quit until you have to downshift down at the bottom of the canyon. Deer is ripped out of a textbook for how to make perfect singletrack. And someday I will get down Hawk without putting a foot down...If I ever do, it should be soon--that trail is as good right now as it will ever get.

 

Coachwhip has green grass growing in the tread---it will disappear by spring if no action is taken.

I HABbed up it a few weeks ago and it's loose, overgrown, rutted.

 

Rode down Cactus Canyon for the first time ever today. I think that is my new favorite down in the park. Up the new chutes is now the only way to fly.

 

Just got back, today has to have been the busiest day at Oaks I've seen since the fire. And yet another week of perfect conditions.

 

I was going to make a stand alone post about Cactus. I did the loop mentioned above and hit Cactus on the way down. What a trip! I felt like I was carving on my snowboard! So smooth, super sticky. Awesome.

 

I did the same loop listed up top but went out to weir canyon to find it closed and added the Irvine park horseshoe loop to find that closed. Then I went down to peters to see it open but they should have closed it I got out of there pretty quick still needed some drying time.

 

I did this run yesterday for the first time... and while I thought it was great a bunch of guys who've done this ride before said the trails changed... for the better!

 

Yeah I'd been only once, a year ago, and had mixed impressions. The 3 B's sorta sucked, and the drop down Chutes was all I knew (and was over too quick).

Now I'm seeing there's a much more robust "tight" trail system here, with a lot better climbing than the 3 Bs (I enjoyed Deer, Chutes, and Bumblebee on the way up) and a lot more decent than just blazing down Chutes.

Another plus is there seems to be a fairly good network of flat, shaded single track around Irvine Park where I can take the wife to putter around.