favorite dirt 'roads' in the Los Angeles area?

[onsight512]

I did a search earlier for Mt. Lukens and the 'LA Neighborhoods' thread popped up, which got me thinking...

What's your favorite dirt 'road' here in LA (and I use that term broadly)?

Think more Stoner bike, less full squish mtb types of places.

Of particular interest to me, personally, is anything in the hills (San Gabriels) in this photo:

[p nut]

I've not biked there, but looks like some nice rides there:

https://youtu.be/GD6dLzsNPh4

[classtimesailer]

You've done "Dirt Mulholand"?
And how about "The Arroyo Seco Trail" from the JPL?

[Wolfman]

I've done Mulholland end to end and It's ok, but I'm sure there are better if you go further north.

[onsight512]

Originally Posted by classtimesailer

You've done "Dirt Mulholand"?
And how about "The Arroyo Seco Trail" from the JPL?

Dirt Mulholland, yes. A bunch of years ago. And I've been up past JPL, but not very far. It was a bouldering trip with the kids. At the second bridge (concrete), there are two little boulders on the side of the stream that are fun to play on.

[MattTuck]

You guys certainly have some nice views out there. We've got plenty of dirt here, an embarrassment of riches, really; but much of it is through forests with only occasional views. I guess that is the price you pay for not living in a desert.

[campy man]

Last year Peloton Magazine did a series on dirt rides in the LA area, check out issues 52-55.

[Don49]

Originally Posted by onsight512

What's your favorite dirt 'road' here in LA (and I use that term broadly)?

Well, the Verdugos (as pictured), Mt Lukens (3 different routes), Mendenhall Ridge, Santa Clara Divide Rd, Mt Gleason, to name a few.

[onsight512]

Originally Posted by campy man

Last year Peloton Magazine did a series on dirt rides in the LA area, check out issues 52-55.

thanks!

[beeatnik]

Originally Posted by MattTuck

You guys certainly have some nice views out there. We've got plenty of dirt here, an embarrassment of riches, really; but much of it is through forests with only occasional views. I guess that is the price you pay for not living in a desert.

The Eastern Wilderness is so weird.

I think some guy from England who came over on a boat said that.

Anyway, Matt, SoCal is not a desert; it is a chaparral biome with some other types of forest (too lazy to remember). Chinatown was just a movie, yo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaparral

[mhespenheide]

Chapparal, coastal sage scrub, oak savannah and woodlands, grading up into pine forests in the higher mountains.

[ofcounsel]

Originally Posted by beeatnik

Anyway, Matt, SoCal is not a desert; it is a chaparral biome with some other types of forest (too lazy to remember). Chinatown was just a movie, yo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaparral

You need to get out of LA more often.... The City of LA and OC is not desert. But much of SoCal is. Don't forget the Mojave and Colorado deserts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojave_Desert

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Desert

[beeatnik]

ofcounsel, by SoCal, I mean Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties. Not including Riverside and San Bernardino (largest county in the US) as they include Palm Springs and Death Valley. And Death Valley is not in SoCal, not by anyone's definition (tho it is in San Bernardino Co).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Be...ty,_California

edit: urban Riverside and San Bernardino could be included as they are not in the Mojave.

[bart998]

Lots of good dirt roads to be had at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas and Chino State Park... in Chino. If you're on the east side. Also, Marshall Canyon in La Verne is popular.

[cachagua]

Reading John McPhee's "Los Angeles Against The Mountains" (in the collection The Control of Nature) will vastly enhance the experience of riding the San Gabriels. They are among the fastest-rising mountains anywhere in the world. They are also among the fastest-eroding of any mountains. McPhee observes that you can get from civilization to wilderness in an extremely short distance... and although he doesn't mention it, the trip back from the wilderness to civilization is all downhill! Who doesn't love a ride like that?

Anyone spends any time up in there, come and tell us about it afterwards. I'd really be interested to hear what it's like.