4
Apr
2009
Henry Coe EPIC Wild Flower Ride
Kelly Cabin Canyon Trail
Park Condition: Perfect! The creeks are flowing, wild flowers are everywhere, and its not too hot.
Riding Condition: The trails are starting to dry up, but right now there’s minimal dust. Watch for loose dirt in areas exposed to lots of sunlight.
Population: Minimal. There were a handful of other bikers at the start of this ride, but once we got half way in we didn’t see another person for 2 hours.
This is the best mountain bike ride I’ve ever been on! Henry Coe offers a ton of challenging single track with excellent views. Kelly Cabin Canyon Trail has just been maintenanced and is practically unridden. The trail consists of very tight single track, about 30 creek crossings, and spectacular natural meadows.
This 4 hour ride starts at the coyote creek entrance to Henry Coe. You can see the route info and all of the ride stats (elevation, duration, maps, etc…) at my garmin connect page. Be sure to click on the terrain view to see the topo version – it’s unbelievable. The Henry Coe Official Website says that trails range from “steep, to very steep, to ridiculously steep” and they mean it. You need to be in good to great shape to really ride here.
On today’s ride we encountered meadows containing a variety of 10 or more wild flowers, sprawling hillsides of Poppy flowers, and even some wild turkeys! The weather was a nice cool 65-70 degrees, and the water was comfortable (some creek crossings came up to my knees).
This is definitely a ride I’ll be doing again and again – an absolute gem that highlights why mountain biking is so awesome. Check out the flash slideshow below.
[svgallery name=”Henry Coe 04-04-2009″]
High praise for a ride. Looks like we should check it out (except perhaps the ridiculous steepness). Loved the ride playback. You need to work on your speed up those hills =) Keep ’em coming. How about a map with the post?
Thanks Jono. I’m working on route maps. That’s coming. 🙂