Sullivan Canyon status (updated 11/3/10)

This sucks! Looks like it will be closed at least a month more than initially stated! :-s

http://corbamtb.com/news/2010/11/03/sullivan-canyon-update-november-2010/

 

Sullivan canyon?

Has anyone rode this lately? Last time I rode it, the old single track was a loose-shitty bull dosed road....hopefully it getting better...?

 

Last I heard it was closed to the public again as the gas company was doing another round of fixes on the gas mains that run through there. One of the locals might have more up to date iinfo, though.

A pity, too, as it was starting to come back after those series of downpours we had earlier in the year.

 

This was our report on it from a month ago: http://corbamtb.com/news/2010/11/03/sullivan-canyon-update-november-2010/

Then they were saying December 10th. We haven't had an update since that one.

 

Ok I just got an email from a Gas. Co rep who told me that, YET AGAIN, the reopening of Sullivan has been delayed until 12/17/10! Damn, I was looking forward to riding it this Friday!

 

There are so many other options up there tough, Caballero, MG singletrack, Hectic...

 

I spoke today with the security guards at the bottom of the Canyon -- they said that the Canyon is scheduled to open on the 15th. I'm guessing that the 17th is a more reliable estimate. (And with some luck, it will start raining on the 18th, so the Canyon will turn back into the singletrack that we know and love . . . )

 

Where are those trails? Any links to their description, like whether out/back/loop, distance, trail type, any shade like sully, etc.

 

As of Saturday, there were still a couple hundred of feet of the mats at the top of the canyon waiting to be laid. That leads me to think it'll be a bit before we get access again.

 

New reopen date: 4/10/22, weather permitting. They've decided to clear ALL the trees, and cover the entire canyon with concrete matts! But don't worry, the rain will make it all good again, as usual!

 

LOL. You know that the Gas Co. is going to maintain that as a service road from now on, right? No more 3' to flat hucks anymore, sorry. there are so many trails in the area that are better than sulli EVER was....

 

How many years to wait?

 

Here's a few, you can start at the bottom of Caballero on Reseda, then go up dirt mulholland past the Nike silo and down that singletrack some call Hollyhock that dumps you onto Mandeville Canyon Rd. Then head up to Westridge fire road back up towards the silo and back down dirt mulholland and cut into the MG singletrack which dumps you back onto the top of Caballero. Enjoy.

http://www.geoladders.com/show_route.php?route=42074

http://www.geoladders.com/show_route.php?route=40058

And if you just want a long workout:

http://www.geoladders.com/show_route.php?route=41994

31.4mi
5,261ft total elevation gain

 

Well, I mostly loved Sully for the SHADE as I HATE the sun and also the distance was perfect for me at 9 miles out/back from Bayliss to the T at the top, then back.

Also, there is no clay in the dirt to clog your tires if it rains, and in fact I used to love riding there IN the rain! Plus the elevation was perfect for me as well. Just overall loved it. As far are the gas co, they can't control the rain, and in time it WILL carve things out again. And I can always find stuff to jump off even if it's not directly on the trail.

 

Unigeezer is riding a unicycle.

 

haha yeah. No gears and fixed. My average trail ride is in the 8-14 mile range. I like technical terrain best, which gives me a great challenge, and hill climbing is a great workout too. But long, smooth singletrack, while being great fun to bomb with a mtb, is kinda boring on a uni since we can't go nearly as fast.

So I make up for that by riding more rocky terrain that I can "play" on with jumps, and traversing all the rocks, roots and other obstacles. Some of my favorite trails are; Hummingbird, Chumash, Cold Springs, rockit, lynx, stair stepper, 5 oaks, car wreck, iron mountain, noble canyon, porcupine rim, pratt, and some of cheeseboro. Sullivan was just a nice trail to ride once or twice a week as a more relaxing getaway ride.

Here's my latest by the way. In one of my cable cam shots, the camera came within a mm of smashing into a tree! When you see it you wonder how it missed...and so do I, lol!

 

Looks like Sully will be officially reopening THIS Saturday, 12/18/10.

<<I wanted to let you know that we will complete the project as of Friday, 12/17 and re-open the canyon to the public on Saturday, 12/18.​

​

Thank you for your patience.​

​

Sharon O'Rourke>>​

​

 

Turns out today (Friday, 12/17) was opening day. Rode up Sulli Ridge this morning planning to loop around and down Westridge. Noticed that the canyon was open, so of course I had to check it out. It was cold and raining pretty hard, which means I couldn't wear my much needed prescription glasses. Therefore I didn't spend much time poking around. Anyway, it's pretty much what I expected: hard-packed, wide roadbed the whole way with lots of new extensive concrete mat installations. At least three of the new concrete mat installations span the entire roadbed and are 20-30 yards long - dangerous, especially when wet. Really need to create a rideable path across them by filling in a narrow section with dirt. Seems like a better option than creating go-arounds. Either that or get your skinny riding skills polished up. Looks like they used some sort of sprayable seed along the sides of the roadbed in various places. There are some new humps here and there that I'm guessing are supposed to help with drainage. I doubt that they're really going do anything. Doesn't look like any other measures were taken for drainage control, so with a little time and some significant rainfall we should start seeing some new groovy lines forming. Cannot comment on the condition of the alternative singletracks that were getting established prior to the latest closing - like I said, the conditions were bad so I didn't spend any extra time poking around.

 

I was soooo excited that Sullivan canyon *finally* reopened today, after being closed for the past 4 months while the gas co. was doing maintenance. I felt like the kid in the back of the station wagon constantly asking, "are we there yet?", haha! I'd been calling the Gas co. every week asking, "is it open yet!?" They kept delaying the reopen date for whatever reason, mostly due to weather they said.

And even though they bulldozed it again, now like a blank canvas, the rain will transform it yet again. There's still plenty of carved out areas just off the trail to play on, and a big drop remains at the base of the trail. And with even more concrete mats laid down, it's like a man-made rock garden, so you get some fun technical riding over them as well!

But today it was officially reopened, and I guess I was one of only a very few who knew! This is such fun, beautiful and peaceful trail, under canopy of countless oak trees, with stream crossings, and because there is no clay at all in the soil, you can ride during or after rain without the your tire getting all clogged up! In fact, I LOVE to ride there in the rain...like it did today! So glad to be back riding one of my all-time favs!

Btw, I also wear presc. glasses, but didn't have any problem wearing them in the rain. The tree cover stopped most of the rain and with my brimmed hat under my helmet, they stayed mostly dry.

 

Good for you. Not sure what time you rode, but I can guarantee that no number of brimmed hats worn under my helmet would have kept my glasses dry and/or defogged while I was riding this morning.