Status of Lizards in LCWP (not yet opened)

First time on Lizards yesterday, had never ridden it before. Had so much fun after the first run that we looped it and did it again. That first section with the banks and rocks is awesome, super fun to carve through and then rip over the rocks. Tons of poison oak right up against the sides of the trails just waiting to attack. Rest of the flowy singletrack at the bottom was super fun with the exception of one corner that's just too tight, ran right into a little tree/bush (looks like I wasn't the first one to hit it). Only saw a couple other bikers and one group of hikers.

Can anyone ride up those two rock step ups?

Also, the fireroads are absolute nightmare sandboxes.
 
I checked it out last night, and was not impressed.
They basically paved the rock garden, loose sand/dirt everywhere, cut back the vegetation, and made it very vanilla.

I got the feeling that who ever "designed" the trail had to build it to lawyer's specs.

Overall the grading all over El More sucks! It is a giant sandbox @this point.
(I'm glad the did fix fanceline)
 
BTW...the "rock garden" didn't show up until the very last bout of El Nino at the end of 2010? (about the same time large portions of the Luge/STT were washed away)...and then it grew as the soil washed away and rocks became dislodged. Not the same geology as on Rattlesnake, so it wasn't sustainable, and was getting rock-it rock-garden width.

Visibility still isn't great, but had to be improved now that its a legal two-way multi-use trail...really the majority of the work done was the very upper part before the rock-ledge dismount. There's some issues that will require some work if it ever rains again, but now it can be done by a couple of 4-5 person hand crews in an afternoon, just like fence line gets about every year.

Lets see how it beds in over the next 6-9 months...the rangers will have a good feel for it...they also ride.
 
Not surprised that Lizards would be easier now that it is a system trail. That is the way things go. Just happy that they opened it. Wish they would give us Pac Man.
 
Rode Lizards today. The top part is pretty fun with a few rock jumps (not sure if they were intended to be jumps). The trail is mostly out-sloped right now, so it will need the Kioti-Meadows treatment next winter when it rains. I like that they used rocks rather than pavers to reinforce a few of the softer sections.

Then, the section after the rock climb is as fun as I thought it might be. In the past, it was so tight that the vegetation would grab your h-bars with the slightest lean. Plus the sight lines were non existent. Now it's been brushed back so it's just an easy, fun little slalom course. Still - call out or use a bell so hikers or climbing bikes know you are there. Sight lines are still short. The trail is also a little longer than I remember it.

I sure would like to see them open Laurel Canyon to bikes (is that what you referred to as Pac Man Dean?). Regardless, I am glad the trail fairies opened this important section of trail and provided a legal singletrack to connect to Camarillo, Stagecoach and more. We'll take it!

Now let's make sure we use it responsibly and be extra courteous while riding. A few collisions or near misses and I could see us losing access again.

(thumbs up smiley)
 
Hit the new Lizard Trail and don't really understand what there is to complain about. I never thought the top section was technical or challenging before (we easily cleaned it on a tandem).....I just saw swathes of 20 foot wide trail getting wider. Overall, I think it's a fun little trail and a great addition to some good loops. There were lots of runners and hikers coming from the bottom so, like herzalot mentioned, please be extra careful. I would hate to see a serious collision jeopardize this little gem.
 
I rode it yesterday with a big group and thought it was great. I'm glad they didn't sanitize it too much. Plus theres a good sized step down double option on it now (one of the rock jumps mentioned above).... Not that I would hit it.
 
Marie Calendars is likely to remain closed with the accompanying sign (part of the tradeoff to get Lizards open)...it took long enough for Lizards to get approved. There's probably a better shot at crafting a trail from the bottom of Emerald Falls at the dead end to the top of the Boat Road Spur or north to the Moro Ridge Spur...seeing as how there's already tracks there from 'hikers'...and it would be in-line with creating a loop to the trail system...which the government powers like.
 
MnMDan said:
There's probably a better shot at crafting a trail from the bottom of Emerald Falls at the dead end to the top of the Boat Road Spur or north to the Moro Ridge Spur...seeing as how there's already tracks there from 'hikers'...and it would be in-line with creating a loop to the trail system...which the government powers like.
Click to expand...



Back when did some trail work on Emerald canyon to get the lower part reopened, the ranger gave a pre/pep talk and mentioned there were plans to make a loop. I took it to mean, up to Boat Rd, but given how steep it is right at the bottom, I find that... unlikely? So maybe it'll be further up the cyn (*cough*), or maybe the other side. Of course by the time anything gets sorted it could be years and years...?
 
I took a group down to the tennis courts last weekend. Some foolios tried to ride down from up top somewhere. There were EMT, fire and rescue, etc. Stupid stuff like that won't help the cause. We all looked at where they tried to ride down and were like WTF?

Went down Lizards today it was nice. Wasn't sanitized much. Not like it was ever TNA. Hikers (and riders) coming up is going to be no bueno. Or in the bottom sections with short sight lines. Fun as always though. Amazing how hot LCWP/El Moro gets for being at the ocean.
 
Rode it today as well. Much the same, for which I am happy. Lots of hikers on it.
Tons of cactus pads on Bommer near a drunk seaman. Thanks OC Fire! I grabbed a stick and threw them back from where they came. Nice day.
 
Andy said:
Back when did some trail work on Emerald canyon to get the lower part reopened, the ranger gave a pre/pep talk and mentioned there were plans to make a loop. I took it to mean, up to Boat Rd, but given how steep it is right at the bottom, I find that... unlikely? So maybe it'll be further up the cyn (*cough*), or maybe the other side. Of course by the time anything gets sorted it could be years and years...?
Click to expand...

Its highly unlikely that you'll ever see a trail going up the Crystal Cove side but there has been talk of going up the county side.
Crystal Cove still does not consider the top of BVD as a legal trail. The first 50 feet or so is on state property.
 
Rode Lizards this weekend as well and loved it. Better than the old. The first section is fine. Sanitized? Maybe. The old ruts were just making the trail wider and wider though. What I really liked was that the remaining 3/4ths has had the sightlines and overhead brush removed. As one of the taller riders, I used to have to ride with my chest practically on my bars. Much more fun now!

As to Emerald all the way to the bottom. I tried it a few weeks ago and it seemed virtually unpassable with poison oak in some locations. Did I mis-identify the plant or do you guys just charge across it anyhow?

Lastly, as the Laguna catch-all thread: Wow Camarillo is sketchy good right now. Erosion from the last rains made weaving through the rock section even more of a balancing act. Enjoy!
 
I want apologize in advance for being THAT guy, but please note that there's no 'S' in the trail name. It's just Lizard.
 

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