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Big Laguna Meadows/Noble Canyon (Big Laguna Trail, Laguna Meadows, Noble Canyon, Noble Downhill, Noble Shuttle)

Mountain Biking Trail

Extreme
20.99 mi
2,124 ft
The Big Laguna/Noble Canyon ride combines excellent mountain meadow riding with a world class downhill run for one of the best variety rides in the world.

The Laguna Mountains above San Diego, California are home to a marvelous diversity of terrain and ecosystems, and this ride takes advantage of the concentration of trail diversity available there. This ride is really two rides in one, both being of top quality for the type of experience they offer. The first part is world class cross country cruising through gorgeous alpine meadows, and then it connects to part two, the all-out mad bomber of a descent down a rugged canyon. The first part is all beginner friendly, and for those not wanting to risk life and limb dive bombing the technical canyon, it’s easy to loop back to the beginning and have a superb little outing in the woods on mostly uncrowded, excellent singletrack. For those who want to cut to the chase, it’s possible to take a more direct route from the start to the canyon, thus minimizing cross country time before hitting the downhill. For those wanting to earn their turns or unable to arrange a shuttle, it’s a fairly straightforward climb up a combination of parallel singletrack and Pine Creek road to get to the start of the Noble Canyon downhill. In addition to the diversity here in terms of the style of riding offered, the route as presented offers an impressive variety of environments. The start in the Laguna Meadows area is classic mountain pine forest, but with extra big pine trees and occasional pine cones on the ground almost the size of footballs. At the center of the meadow you'll spot a beautiful mountain lake circumnavigated by singletrack, and offering some pleasant picnic spots. Upon departing the meadows and hitting the Noble Canyon Trail, the smooth dirt gives way to some jumbled rock, before then plummeting into a sometimes lush, riparian canyon. The canyon walls are steep and rise sharply on the south side of the creek, keeping out most of the sun’s hot, drying rays, making for a good environment for a variety of deciduous trees and bushes. As you get close to the bottom of the canyon, things open up. You’ve lost both elevation and the mountain cover, and the surrounding area converts rather quickly to desert, with inhospitable cactus displacing the leafy trees and bushes of the canyon. The top is a pleasant meander and the bottom, a rather rugged emergence with a last kick-in-the-gut climb to get back to the lower trailhead. But it’s the middle, the Noble Canyon proper, that is the real highlight of the ride. This section of trasil is fast, sometimes flowy and sometimes demanding, and has a couple of real highlights for the technical rider: the “Stairway to Hell,” and extended rock garden on a continuously steep grade, and “Widowmaker,” a shorter, but more intense bit o’ gnar that now has a less challenging reroute around it, so you have to look for it. There are also plenty of optional air opportunities along the way. In the end, the Big Laguna/Noble Canyon area offers something for everyone, and everything for some. The options are many, and they are all excellent. No matter what type of rider you are, you’re going to love at least half—if not all—of this ride, and it’s easily customizable to your particular liking. -Written by John Fisch Written by FATMAP Official
Created By
Strava Routes

Route and Elevation

Segments

NameDistanceElev. Diff.Avg. Grade
South Sunset Singletrack1.49 mi-253 ft-1.7%
cyclers delight0.84 mi-240 ft-5.1%
The Climb home0.34 mi95 ft5.3%
Water of the Wood Spur to BLT-70.50 mi102 ft3.1%
Hop and Flow0.36 mi-79 ft-4.0%
Chico the Cat2.32 mi318 ft0.2%
Chico Ravine to first split0.80 mi226 ft5.4%
Chico Ravine to Gatos1.11 mi292 ft5.0%
Gatos Ravine DH1.03 mi-285 ft-5.2%
Los Gatos Sprint Finish0.42 mi-148 ft-6.7%
Little Laguna Lake Bypass1.95 mi157 ft0.4%
BLT Rock N Rolling0.54 mi-46 ft-0.3%
BLT Backdoor0.48 mi108 ft1.7%
Exit Only, Do Not Enter!0.24 mi-98 ft-7.6%
Dam(n) Trail0.28 mi-36 ft-1.6%
Upper Noble to Sunrise Highway DH0.90 mi-151 ft-2.8%
Sunrise DH blast0.55 mi-148 ft-5.1%
penny pines first noble climb0.63 mi128 ft3.5%
Upper Noble DH0.44 mi-144 ft-5.3%
Upper Noble to Laguna Meadow Rd0.75 mi-210 ft-4.9%
Corrected Upper Nobel to Road0.65 mi-203 ft-5.8%
New Upper Noble Canyon DH0.48 mi-92 ft-3.1%
Pine Creek Road Cutoff0.63 mi-240 ft-5.5%
Road Crossing to Widowmaker Singletrack1.24 mi-528 ft-8.0%
Noble Downhill4.32 mi-1,286 ft-5.6%
pavement to parking7.24 mi-1,375 ft-3.6%
Square Dance0.63 mi-302 ft-9.0%
Widow Maker + Anger MGMT DH0.31 mi-194 ft-11.6%
Anger Management0.20 mi-135 ft-12.5%
end of the party0.89 mi-282 ft-6.0%
Lower noble, snaggle tooth, stairway, etc....1.34 mi-213 ft-3.0%
last rock garden0.06 mi30 ft8.9%
the full rock garden0.10 mi-56 ft-10.3%
Stairway_To_Hell0.04 mi-30 ft-11.1%
Left0.23 mi-62 ft-4.6%
Noble Canyon Trail (Last climb)1.45 mi377 ft4.9%
Mini Noble Flow0.16 mi-72 ft-8.4%
Feel the Rush0.19 mi-85 ft-8.4%
(LLL) Lovely Lady Lumps1.01 mi-420 ft-7.5%
Extra Credit Downhill0.86 mi-413 ft-9.1%
Rolling the Credits0.69 mi-341 ft-9.4%