Riding in N. Cal

[canyncarvr]

No riding going on in s. oreegone. All public lands shut up tight due to fires and fire danger.

Any input on N. Cal (redding or north) rides? Is shasta dam still closed (accesible only from antlers after 9-11)??

Thanks!!!

 

[dirt bike dave]

I don't get that far north, but here is a link with a list of many of CA's riding areas. There is a map and contact numbers for most of the areas.

http://www.employees.org/~calridng/allsites.html

 

[canyncarvr]

Thanks for the info. The closer of these sites I'm familiar with..they're closed. Gives me places to call a bit further out, though.

Thanks!

 

[The Tortoise]

This is my canned response to this question. I wrote it awhile ago.

The trails I know of:
Elkins Flat - Intermediate terrain. Two long loops (18 and 26 miles). Good easy woods riding with some tight woods experiences. Kid friendly (near Pioneer off 88 on way to Kirkwood) (aprox 134 miles from home)
Georgetown - Intermediate terrain. I have been on only two trails. Both were fun and easy. Nice tight woods. Kid friendly (near Auburn) (aprox 132 miles from home)
Foresthills - Beginner, Intermediate, Adv. I have been on most of the trails. Fast wide rocky with lots of jumps. Some single track. woods Kid friendly (near Auburn) (aprox 132 miles from home)
Washington - New. I need to ride. Rodney Smith rides here I hear. I have trail maps and will be exploring. I have talked to a person to guide me he runs a staging area for RV's. (near Grass Valley)
Downieville - Intermediate to Adv. I have Mtn Biked this area a lot. Lots of trails. Rocky and smooth single track in the woods. Stay off divide two. Big cliff to fall off. ( I don't think kid friendly. I will explore on motorcycle first. There are areas that are easy. Like dirt roads to lakes to swim in. The single track is full of Mtn Bikes. OHV legal area though. We can ride for miles into back country. The single track can have some nice climbs to it. I'll let you know when I go) (aprox 172 miles from home)
Moonrocks - Beginner, Intermediate, Adv. Good desert riding with mountains. I prefer Spangler Hills (Ridgecrest)a tad more. However they have fun single track out of sand and rocks with banked turns all over. Also goat type single track. Open desert too. Bolder drops also (24 miles north of Reno) (232 miles from home)
Stonyford - Beginner, Intermediate, Adv. My only experience with the place is intermediate to advanced. I'm told Davis Flat and Potatoes Hill areas are good for kids. Some of the single track is friendly. This place has a wide variety. You have hill climbs (opening climb out of Little Stony Staging area is 1.8 miles long and is just up. For an Idea Carnegie is 2 miles long. This is like you put Carnegie sideways and had to climb. The hill out of Little Stony OHV Staging will wear you out). So you got hill climbs, dirt roads that are challenging (some are adv riding), single track, smooth dirt roads and easy. Basically a salad of all kinds of riding. I haven't decided if it is kid friendly yet. I need to take my kids and explore out of Davis Flat. Woods and open areas(132 miles to Little Stony)
Penny Pines - Beginner, Intermediate. Fun and easy riding. Single track and wide single track. Lots of woods. Just fun easy riding in the woods. Kid friendly (172 miles from home by way of Ukiah) (This ride takes me 3 hours to stage)
Clear Creek - Beginner, Intermediate, Adv. I haven't been yet. Wade and Les want to take me there. It is 3 hours from my house where as Stony is 2.5 hours away. Everyone who has been to Stony says they like Stony better. I intend to check it out soon and will report to you. (south of Hollister by about 1 hour). I'm told so so woods and open areas
Spangler Hills - Beginner, Intermediate, Adv. One of my favorite riding spots. Thanks Wade. Fun desert with good ground to ride on. Hills, Flats, single track, across desert, go go go. Everyone in my family enjoys this place a winner. (near Ridgecrest, 6 hours from home). The scenery is nice too. (We will be here on March 30, 31 and April 1. The kids are off for one week. We were thinking of going to Arizona and Utah but I'm burnt on a lot of driving. This may change though. If we go here for 3 days we then go to Newport Beach for 4 days. Makes for a fun trip).
El Mirage Lake - South of Spangler Hills by about 60 miles. Same terrain except smaller and also has large flat dry lake bed. They fence this place in. However, I found some holes to go through. Nice bathrooms here.
Lucerne Valley - South of El Mirage Lake about 40 miles. Huge area with all kinds of terrrian. Lava rocks, sand, rocks, real soft sand (no fun). This place I wasn't real impressed with. Hard riding. Lots of adv terrain. There is beginner and intermediate too. This is were everyone rides desert. Spangler Hills is fun so why bother. The kids and I were challenged here. Don't get me wrong, some of the riding is easy here. But easy to get into difficult situations quick. More experience is necessary for me

Let me state this. I have been to many other desert spots like Barstow, Jawbone cyn, Phelan, Sunrise motorcycle park, etc. All are fun. With Moonrocks only being 210 miles (3.5hrs) to Reno and another 25 min north for riding we should ride this spot with Dave Strick showing us the area. The intermediate trail I was on was fun. The single track through hills I took my kids on was fun. The ground is consistent in sand. Spangler Hills has sand and rocky dirt and more open terrain. Moonrocks more mountains (big mountains). We need to explore this area.

I also have maps and info on many more spots around our area. Like Bear Valley OHV Staging area near Truckee, Prosser Creek OHV Staging Area near Truckee, Eagle Lakes OHV staging area near Donner Summit, Meadow Lake OHV Staging near Eagle Lakes, Sierra Buttes OHV Area, Shasta Area and I getting tired. There are still a few more Like Ragdump (spelling). Then we can get into Oregon around Bend. I have a trail map and photos of area (7.5 hours from home). So lets ride and explore.

Carnegie is when we are bunt out and want to let kids ride around. The place is just too crowded on weekends and the riding is not all that fun. You can find similar challenges mixed in with woods and desert within 2 to 3 hours from home. And driving once in awhile is not that bad

The "canned response" Tortoise