Ride Report New construction at The Oaks

Yucca just isn't the same, and coachwhip is not what I expected. I miss the early years in the park when I was on the paramount and answer fork.

 

Yup.......would have been nice if they would have left more of the old trail, and maybe built an alternate line.

Yucca wasn't really in that bad of condition...there were a few spots that needed some work......but definately didn't need plowed from top to bottom.

The park is no longer what many of us will remember how it was.....a little flat and smooth.....gone are the days of rough, chunky, bumpy trails.

The place is pretty much ridable on a cyclocross bike now.

 

I've been riding out at the Oaks for a long time as well, yes it is much different.

The key thing to remember is that the new trails are sustainable; they will not suffer the erosion from the rain we receive each winter. The new trails will not require the same amount level of maintenance each year.

All of the new trails held up exceptionally well during the heavy rain that we had earlier this year, they needed only very minor repairs. Other local parks required many hours of trail work before re-opening.

Did any of you ride Coachwhip (Mr. Wiggly) after the rains earlier this year? It had turned into a nearly continuous rut; as a consequence new lines were formed, making it even wider.

Many of the old, historic trails were point A to B routes, placed right on the fall line, a sure recipe for problems in the future.

The new trails may seem wide, but the brush will fill in, making the trails narrower, to the singletrack that I like. Just go and see how Deer Trail has filled in the past year.

If you don't like what is happening at Santiago Oaks, get involved. There any many opportunities to do so, either thru a mountain bike club or the OC Parks volunteer program.

 

Sustainable is a trendy term, but by your definition the most sustainable approach would be to build a concrete superhighway. No argument that the old trails needed work, absolutely true. I did volunteer a couple of times. But when I saw that we were not being used to build trail, but simply to throw a couple token shovelfuls of dirt on an already finished steam shovel built trail/excavation project, I stopped looking for opportunities. If you're gonna use a steamshovel, my Macleod isn't gonna add much.

Not saying that's the right approach to take, but I'm not going to beat my head against a wall on this. The park is going to be built the way the park is going to be built. I don't need to sacrifice a day of riding to give the park people the veneer of volunteerism on this construction program.

When my Macleod is actually needed, send me a PM.

 

I don't think that's very fair to say. I live locally and would have attended meetings if they had been publicized. I've never seen a sign on the trail, nor have I received a flyer at my home.

In addition I did volunteer to help rebuild the trails after the fire. We (re?)opened Cactus using hand tools. I would have gladly volunteered to help rehabilitate the trails, rather than have them all re-routed and dumbed down.

 

the new oaks is: stupid, boring, and overrated. everyone should just ride peters canyon.

of course, back in the day peters was much better because big red (we called it giant commie back in the day) was a technical singletrack with jumps every 50 feet. and we rode with onions strapped to our packs, as was the style in orangeville, which was what we called tustinville back then, and it cost a nickel to ride the trails, and the nickels had bees on them, so you'd say "give me 5 bees for a quarter"...wait, where were we?

anyway, if you happen to see me in oaks, it's only because i took a wrong turn...

 

Just rode it today and only saw 2 other riders out. I love that place - but then again I have not been riding too long. And give those trails a year or so and they will fill in like Deer. Everyone on this forum is complaining about coachwhip that its too slow - I love that new trail and right now its a great climb to get you up to barrahm ridge since you are not supposed to climb the 3rd B.... For me I love the variety. Since there really are not any flat trails at the oaks- its all up or down unlike other places -- so even with a shorter 7-10 mile -- ride you get a great workout there.

You are never going to get everyone to agree on change - but I think overall most people will like the changes made at the oaks - seems like everyone i run across there has a smile on their face.

 

I'll take "stupid, boring, and overrated" (in your opinion) over Peter's HIKERS Canyon any day.

I've only been riding Oaks for about 5 years now and in my opinion, is better overall. I don't know how Oaks used to be 5+ years ago and maybe the trails were better back then but there is so much variety now, I think the work that has been done is second to none.

 

^^ dude...i know it's early, but i was just being sarcastic. :lol: peters is pretty much a hiking park.

Long Live the New Oaks!

 

Lol, ok cool. I didn't catch it. #-o

I actually like Peter's Canyon so once in a while I'll head over to do Big Red or "giant commie" (never heard that one before) but nowadays, no thanks.

 

I rode Oaks today for the first time in a while:

Up new Chutes
Down Cactus Canyon
Up Coachwhip
Down Deer
Up & over Robber's Peak (maybe a crime was committed crossing private property, I don't know)
Down Yucca Ridge
up Bumblebee
Down El Camino/Peralta
Up Goat
Down Chutes (the "new" old one)

I have to say I'm astonished that this amount of trail construction could actually take place in this day and age of tree hugging and squeezed budgets. While much of the new trail system is buff and wide perhaps lacking a little personality, I'm sure after a year or two of weather they'll get more narrow and roughed up a bit. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this. I feel less of a reason to drive down to Aliso now.

 

Amen, Brother!

Amen, Brother!! That was a cool loop, how many miles??
Did you start from the front? If so, did you cross the river or find a dry way around??
C-Ya:bang:

 

Someone put out the recommendation to get involved if I had a problem, so I did.

I met with the park ranger this morning to discuss the changes and it turned out to be a very informative conversation. I was surprised at how easy it was for an individual trail user to set up a meeting and provide feedback. He was able to explain the reasoning behind many of the changes, as well as the history of the park.

For example, I had felt that Yucca had been bulldozed unnecessarily. The idea was to completely erase the ditch that had formed, and improve the drainage. Yucca might not be as fun in the short term, but it will be much better off in the long term.

In addition, I was concerned that the trails might have been simplified in order to reduce liability. It wasn't the case. They talked about technical features that were added, as well as how they planned to keep existing features when fixing other drainage problems. They care about safety, but also feel people should use their best judgement.

I also asked about the trail leading to Robber's Peak, because there is a lot of signage in the area indicating it is not park property. Basically, it is owned by a private land owner and it is up to that person to enforce. The park has no plans or duty to block access to that area.

Finally, they assured me that the trails would go back to being more natural in a few years time. The wider trail base will allow them more flexibility in the future.

I still have my opinions on the trails, but at least now I can focus on riding and not wondering.

 

Head into Irvine Regional and there is a nice dry concrete river crossing towards the Outdoor Education Center. Once you cross the river there are a couple of nice singletrack options instead of taking the fire roads over to the bottom of Chutes.

 

This is my most recent ride.

It shows the concrete pad crossing and east and west singletrack options to chutes.

http://www.geoladders.com/show_route.php?route=44472

 

Its one of the only places I can take my cyclocross and get massive climbing and fun downhills. So what?

#1 rule of biking: Bored? Apply less brake.

 

One could ride a cross bike out there before the trail work.

 

Thanks for asking about access to Robber's Peak. I was curious about that.

 

We were able to ride here yesterday with the big bike and we must say this place now kicks a$$. We linked a bunch of trails together to do a 13mi loop. Up chutes to coachwhip, down coachwhip to bumble bee, up bumble bee to the fireroad up to yuca, down yuca to coachwhip, up coachwhip to deer, down deer to a.h. trail, down barham to chutes ridgeline, down chutes ridgeline and out.
Wow....we were able to ride everything and only missed 2 switchbacks. I must say this is now a much more fun park to ride and with all of the new trails there are less crowds.
Great work on this park!

 

I'd encourage you to drop cactus and up bumblebee to grasshopper to hawk next time, good fun.

Steve