Tag Archives: marin

MTB Trail: Miwok Trail – Tennessee Valley to the Marin Headlands

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If you are up for a challenge, the Miwok Trail adds a degree of difficulty to your ride with its technical climb out of the Tennessee Valley back towards the Marin Headlands.  With its horse trail stairs and deep ruts, this is no trail for beginners.  Conquering this trail gives you appreciation for your front shock and builds your climbing prowess.

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Distance: 5.75 miles  (9.3 km)

Elevation Gain: 1068 feet (325 meters)

Difficulty: This trail has a technical assent with stairs and a fast descent back toward the Marin Headlands.  This is definitely an intermediate ride.

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Starting at the Tennessee Valley parking lot, walk your bike through the Miwok Stables until you see the trail on the right next to the manure pit.

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This is the beginning of the Old Springs Trail.

The Old Springs Trial has a series of stairs and bends as you climb the 1.3 miles to the Miwok Trail.

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This trail can get technical in spots where the dirt gets larger rocks and the pitch increases.

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Continue to follow the Miwok Trail as it continues to roll over the wooden bridges before turing onto the Miwok Trail.

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At the top of Old Springs Trail, make a right onto the Miwok Trial and start the descent.

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The descent is fast, so check your brakes and stay in control.  Watch out for the deep ruts and hikers on the descent as well.

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As the descent flattens out, watch for a turn to the left to return to the Bobcat trail and the Marin Headlands.  The left turn is 2.75 miles from the start.  If you make the left, watch for a quick right just after a set of stairs.  Follow this trail for a few hundred feet to the bridge and make a right, then a left on the other side of the bridge to return to Bunker Road.

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Or…

If you miss the turn (like I did on this particular run), continue straight on the Miwok Trail and you will end up in a parking lot along Bunker Road.

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Make a left on Bunker Road and follow it to the entrance to the Coastal Trail on your right, the same trail you came down on our Bobcat Trail route.

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Follow the Coastal Trail as it climbs its way back to the roundabout in the Marin Headlands.

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Go through the gate and start up the trail.

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As you experienced on the way down, this trail narrows in places and has loose rock in others.

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Continue winding your way back up the trail and through the narrow single-track.

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At the top of the climb, you’ll be back at the parking lot next to the roundabout and will be able to see the familiar red paint on the North Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge.

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While challenging, the Miwok Trail is rewarding not only for the views, but also the sense of accomplishment once you realized what your mountain bike and you can do!  Enjoy and stay safe.

 

MTB Trail: Bobcat Trail – Marin Headlands to Tennessee Valley

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Mountain biking was invented in Marin County and there are numerous trails you can ride as you get deeper into Marin County.  However, if you live in San Francisco, don’t have a car, or just don’t want to drive your bike to the trail, then there are a few trails just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge that you can ride to from the City.  The first of these is the Bobcat Trail.   This is a beautiful, but steep route which takes you up and down the Marin Headlands and then winds its way to Tennessee Valley.

Map - Bobcat Trail

Elevation Map - Bobcat Trail

Distance: 6.3 miles (10.1 km)

Elevation Gain: 943 feet (287 m)

Difficulty: The loose terrain and ruts in the single track portion of the ride is a bit difficult, but the remainder, while steep, is wide and smooth.  This is a good ride for intermediate cyclists.

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Starting at the roundabout on Conzelman Road, about halfway up the Marin Headlands route, head past the restroom and to the dirt trail.  Follow the trail as it winds down the back of the headlands to Bunker Road.

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Make a left at Bunker Road and follow it a few hundred feet to the next dirt trail which heads toward a parking lot on along Bunker Road.

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Continue following the trail and make a right to cross over the bridge.

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After the bridge, make a left at the intersection to continue on the trial.

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The trail merges with the Bobcat Trail at a tight intersection, watch for oncoming bikers and hikers as you turn right onto the Bobcat Trail.

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Follow the Bobcat Trail as it winds its way up and over the hills for the next two miles to the next trail intersection.

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Continue along Bobcat Trail to the left down the deep descent.

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Continue climbing until the Bobcat Trail turns into the Marincello Trial and continue toward the right as the trail crests.

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After the crest of the hill, check your brakes, take the fork to the right and get ready to descend then next 1.5 miles to the Tennessee Valley trailhead parking lot.

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Where this route ends, your next choice begins.  You can either head back to Sausalito via Tennessee Valley Road and the Marin Crossroads.  Option 2 is to ride the Tennessee Valley trail to Tennessee Beach or the Coastal Trail.  The final option is to ride back to the Marin Headlands via the Miwock Trail after walking your bike past the stables.  Stay tuned to for future installments and trails.

 

Trail: THE LARKSPUR CONNECTION

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Connecting to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal is one of the easiest ways to return to San Francisco from a ride in Marin County. The route takes you from the end of the Marin Crossroads, through one of our favorite short descents we call “The Chase Scene,” through the town of Larkspur and back along another multi-use path to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal.

Distance from San Francisco Ferry Building (see Golden Gateway Trail): 22.65 miles; Distance from Marin Crossroads: 8.22 miles; Distance from Sausalito: 12.24 miles
Elevation Gain on trail: 305 feet
Difficulty: It’s not about the road, it’s about the destination. With a mix of on-road riding and multi-use paths, this rolling eight miles runs from the end of the Marin Crossroads to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal and is a short, but fun adventure.
Download your route sheet here: Directions – Larkspur Connection
The path to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal begins at the end of the Marin Crossroads.
At the light, cross East Blithedale Ave. and continue down the path along Route 5 until you reach the the first paved intersection, and make a right and continue to follow Route 5 down the path.
Continue along Lomita Drive past the hill where the local horses graze.
Lomita Drive turns left up a hill to the path that follows along US-101.
Keep to the left and follow Route 5 to Meadowsweet Drive.
Continue along Meadowsweet Drive as you cruise downhill.
At the “Y” in the road at the bottom of the hill, veer left and continue along Meadowsweet Drive.
At the next intersection, make a right toward the stop light, continuing along Route 5.
Continue through the light along Madera Boulevard.
Follow Madera Boulevard until you reach the stoplight at Womum Drive.
Just before Womum Drive, merge onto the sidewalk to cross Madera Boulevard at the crosswalk.
Follow Route 16 along the Larkspur Bike Path until it ends at Montecito Drive.
 An alternate to the Route 16 bike path is to take the path to the right after the bridge, Route 18, and follow Lucky Drive to the bridge over the channel as seen in The Sharks Fin.
Turn left at Montecito Drive, then make a right at the stop sign onto Tamalpias Drive.
Make another quick right at the light on to Magnolia Avenue and Route 15.
Follow Magnolia Avenue, Route 15 towards Ross, through downtown Larkspur.
Go through the light at the bottom of he hill and stay towards the center of the lane at the next light staying in the bike lane.
After the light, hop up on to the path on your right.
Follow the path until you reach Bon Air Road.  Once you reach Bon Air Road, this is the point where you would continue along Magnolia Avenue to reach San Anselmo, Fairfax and beyond.
Take a right on Bon Air Road, follow it over the bridge and make a right onto South Eliseo Drive.
Follow South Eliseo Drive, Route 20, just over a mile, up the hill and down to the bike path along the channel.
Follow the bike path until you reach the bridge…
Keep following Route 20 toward the Larkspur Ferry as it winds under the overpass and over the wooden bridge.
Then follow the path next to Sir Frances Drake Boulevard all the way to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal.
Make a right just before the parking lot entrance.
Once you reach the Larkspur Ferry Terminal your journey is complete.  Check the ferry schedule for times, but most of the ferries go directly to the San Francisco Ferry Building, except for the 5:30 p.m. ferry on weekends which stops in Sausailto first.  If you are going to take this ferry, make sure to check out The Hat Trick to protect your bike from the heavy comfort bikes of the tourists.
Whether your goal is to have another way of getting back to San Francisco from deeper into Marin, or you just don’t feel like riding back to the city after cycling Paradise Loop, the Larkspur Ferry Terminal adds another option for your return home.

Golden Gate Bridge West Side Reopened!

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Jon and Miko Like Totally Pause Near Fort Point

On September 10, 2011 the West Side of the Golden Gate Bridge reopened to bicyclists. The West Side of the bridge will now be open 24/7 until seismic renovations are completed on the East Side of the Bridge. However, there are some restrictions on bikers during the week in the construction zone where the repainting is occuring. See the release for full details.

The East Side of the Bridge has limited access until mid-January 2012

As of September 12, 2011 pedestrians are unable to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. Presently, pedestrians entering from Vista Point in Marin County are limited to the area immediately surrounding Vista Point and a 700 foot section of the Bridge. The renovations will be at the north anchor-housing and will last through mid-January 2012. Visitors from the San Francisco side of the Bridge are able to walk past the second tower, but must turn around at that point.

BIKES ONLY on the West Side! NO Pedestrians, Joggers, Rollerbladers or Skateboarders!

This effectively means that pedestrians, joggers, skateboarders and everyone else, EXCEPT bicyclists WILL NOT be able to cross the Bridge until it reopens in mid-January 2012. If you are a jogger and feel you should be able to run on the bike side of the bridge, DON’T! Bridge Police will be out and cite pedestrians trying to cross on the West Side of the Bridge. So if you want to walk to Sausalito, you will have to park in Marin County to do so.

Although tempting, pedestrians are not to ender the West Side of the Bridge

Bicyclists, you can now rejoice in the fact we can once again ride across the bridge without dealing with pedestrians. So don’t be bike douches, just slow down around the towers and in the construction zone because we all paused for pictures on the Golden Gate Bridge at one point in time and may do so once again.

Miko pauses for a picture at the south tower on the West Side