Status of Lizards in LCWP (not yet opened)

Rode at LCWP today and parked at Nix just as the Ranger (very nice lady) was getting in to work. Among other things, asked her about Lizards opening, and she said the plan was to have it open last November, but some paperwork was missed and had to be submitted and now they expect March opening. She talked of some of the contractor's work that they hired and their feeling the trail was unsustainable until that work was done.

Anyways, during the ride, we rode past the top entry of Lizards and there is a big sign and tape saying it is NOT OPEN. So we passed on it today, and took the fire road down to the bottom exit. There was a ranger truck there, and a ranger giving a ticket to a mountainbiker, who we presume just exited the closed trail. Probably that ranger just sits there waiting for people to exit.

This just an FYI.... and March isn't too far off

 

Just like the paperwork that didn't get submitted 5 years ago when it was only days from opening.

 

My post was just to relay what the ranger told me, and that they are giving out tickets. I have no idea what the history of that trail is and if it was days away from being opened 5 years ago, nor do I care, that was then. If it's not open in March 2015, I for one will ask some more questions of the rangers.

Glad to see at least the negativity is alive and well on STR.

 

Appreciate you taking the time to talk to the ranger, and then coming here to post - thanks Dave!

 

Thanks Andy, I'll encourage all to put on their friendly mountainbiker face and check out the Nix nature center and talk with the rangers there. Maybe I'm naive but the conversation seemed really transparent from their side, talk of biker involvement in the Lizards re-do, putting in jumps but having to accommodate beginner bikers too, no bureaucratic sideways talk that I experienced, just a missed piece of paperwork to the state that delayed the opening. There are some cool 3d relief maps of the park there too.

 

thanks for the info, Dave. Barbara Norton (head ranger) has always wanted to open lizards, but it has taken this long to get the county to finally go for it. Since trailwork is currently being done, I think its quite clear its gonna open soon.

 

I have talked with people at Laguna Canyon Foundation who are also working with local authorities to get a few more trails open in LCWP over the next year or so. LCF are not MtB specific, but have deep connections to local hardcore cyclists. They seem to be navigating the political and bureaucratic roadblocks with a deft touch. I just hope I can still ride when there are actually 5 good singletrack trails opened in LCWP. Fenceline and Missing Link don't count.

Thanks, Dave, for the intel. I will be patient for Lizards - but with the aggressive ticketing, now there is no good way to connect Ridge Park to the Nix Area.

 

Thanks for the info dcrfx and herzalot!

 

Great info here, I was just wondering the status. I hope they can beat March, but I can be patient until then. Information like this is why I come to STR, so thanks again!

 

Actually, if you ride the fire road down you will be under the 73 in faster time than taking Lizards

 

He said, no good way.

 

Thanks, but I am not interested in fire-road riding, especially downhill. In my book, fire-roads are those annoying access routes that we climb/tolerate to get to the fun trails. Since the only fun legal trail from Ridge Park is Rattlesnake - and that doesn't connect to Camarillo/Stagecoach etc, I'll pass until the "heat" calms down and/or until Lizards and/or other trails are opened.

"waving smiley"

 

ha, i totally agree here, its almost like breaking a rule to take that fire road down...

 

Do you take a break somewhere on Lizards? Going through Lizards is about 3/4 of a mile shorter. I've taken the fire road when in a hurry to get Nix in during lunch, and yes, you can fly on it (not fun), but it's about the same time as going through Lizards when you really push it and don't stop and enjoy the scenery or stop and chat (I checked some of my times riding solo through Lizards. Strava has a segment for the fire road from Ridge Park to the 73). Fun level can not be compared. That hard-packed, rutted, full of foot traffic downhill on the fire road sucks.

"waving smiley"

 

According to Strava, my best lizards time is ~5:30. I made a private route for the bypass and my best time is ~5:32. Almost exactly the same so the bypass is not faster! My bad.

Anyways, temporarily closing Lizards blows but the unfortunate fact is that Socal MTB'ing is dominated by fireroads and more singletracks are being closed rather than opened.

 

Curious what you mean by "private route"....is that the same as modifying existing singletrack on a public trail so you can squeeze a few more seconds off your Strava time? If that's the case, you should be embarrassed to do it, let alone write about it. If I misinterpreted your post, I absolutely apologize.

 

You make private segments in Strava. They are not public, do not have leaderboards, and are used for your own purposes. Many users create them because they have no interest in comparing themselves against the world, or because they have no wish to populate the segment list with things that are only important to them.

How about a return to civility, rather than accusing first, then apologizing later.

Lizards will open when it opens. Money has been spent, the plan exists, the trail has had a considerable amount of work done on it.

 

Strava segments on what will be a multi use tight singletrack? Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

 

Dont worry, by the time they are done with lizards it wont be singletrack anymore. Unless single track stands for a 10 foot wide cleared trail