The Best Mountain Biking Trails in California

The Uptown to Downtown loop is one of the easiest and most accessible trail rides in Mammoth Lakes. This mellow loop departs directly from downtown and then rolls along the base of the resort....

While Redding offers plenty of beginner- and intermediate-friendly mountain bike trails to choose from, the Princess Ditch Trail is regarded not only as the best beginner trail in the region, but one of the best mountain bike trails, bar none....

Stretching approximately 3.5 miles from the city of San Luis Obispo to Avila Beach, the Bob Jones Bike Trail follows a former railway corridor, providing a flat and easily accessible route....

Redwood Regional Park serves as a popular escape from the concrete of the city for both hikers and bikers. Unfortunately, in keeping with the East Bay’s pervasive anti-mountain bike sentiment, the mountain bike loop through Redwood Regional Park takes place entirely on doubletrack and fire roads....

Besides the "Bumps & Bends" zone "6%" is one of the best trails on the mountain to practice your jumping and turning on berms. In order to access, you must ride "Easy Rider" or "Mineshaft" first and you will see the trail head about halfway down "Village Run" which is a hike-only trail....

"Tryumph" doubles as a fire/access road for the bike park so it's wide enough for maintenance vehicles to drive on. When you start, be aware that "Livewire" crosses just over "Tryumph" about 200 feet from the beginning of the trail....

1) Fibreboard free is unique in that it is a xc loop that starts at the Northstar Bike Park but you can actually ride it to the top of Brockway Summit (Highway 267) and down into the Lake Basin ending up in Carnelian Bay....

"Crossover" is a great trail for xc riders to enjoy on the upper mountain or DH riders to warm up their legs on before tackling the gravity trails. "Crossover" starts. If accessed by the "Tahoe Zephyr Express" side, you will start with a mellow climb, then even out to a level fire road ride then end with an easy descent back down into the top of the "Vista Express" zone....

"Tryumph" doubles as a fire/access road for the bike park do it's wide enough for maintenance vehicles to drive on. When you start, be sure to aware that "Livewire" crosses just over "Tryumph" about 200 feet from the beginning of the trail....

Most people ride Downtown during pedal-driven loops, such as the [Uptown -> Downtown Loop](https://fatmap.com/routeid/367011/Uptown_-%3E_Downtown_Loop). That said, since this directional and mostly downhill trail runs along the base of the resort, it often serves as a useful conduit to move downhillers around the mountain....

“Discover how fun mountain biking can be on this easy beginner trail,” writes [Mammoth Mountain](https://www.mammothmountain.com/summer/bike-park-overview/mammoth-bike-park/mammoth-bike-park). "Smooth trail surfaces and limited terrain features make this the ideal trail for the first timer to expand on the skills learned on the Pioneer Practice Loop....

Gopher Trail is a beginner-rated two-way singletrack trail near the base of Mammoth Mountain. For pedal-driven trail riding, riders often climb Gopher Trail to reach the top of Big Ring, then descend Big Ring back to the base for an easy beginner ride....

China Camp is one of only two significant mountain bike-legal trail systems remaining in Marin County, the purported birthplace of mountain biking. As such, this trail network is worthy of a place in most mountain bikers’ lexicons, even if it doesn’t stand up to nearby Camp Tamarancho....

Tennessee Valley Trail is a very popular hiking and biking path in Marin Headlands. The trail lead through a glen of rolling green, and it culminates at a dark-sand beach between golden cliffs....

The Luge is a renowned SoCal singletrack descent that looks like… well, a luge track. With banked berms on every corner, the swoop and flow of this classic trail is nearly unbeatable! Over the years, the Luge has taken a beating from trail traffic due its immense popularity....

The Mountain View trail "boasts 5.5 miles of singletrack that winds its way between Minaret Vista and the Earthquake Fault and can be ridden either direction, though the downhill option is more popular,” according to [MammothTrails....

Paper Route is the main two-way singletrack trail traversing the flanks of Mammoth Mountain on the Juniper Springs Resort side. While some downhill riders use this trail to connect across the mountain, Paper Route is best-utilized for pedal-driven trail riding beginning in the heart of downtown Mammoth Lakes....

If the other shuttle runs in the Lost Sierra are too tough and technical for you, get behind the wheel and drive an hour or so north to Mt. Hough. In sharp contrast to Mills Peak just down the road, Mt Hough is fast and smooth and completely intermediate-friendly! Aside from one optional tech feature at the very top of the mountain, the entirety of Mt....

The Swasey trails form what is hands-down the most popular mountain bike trail system in Redding, California. While this complex network of trails offers many possible route variants, this loop around Mule Mountain and down the Snail Trail is one of the highest-regarded routes in the region....

"Skeggs Point (El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve) is one of the top candidates for the 'best mountain biking location' award in the Bay Area, and might just be my personal number one,” writes BayAreaRides....