13 LOS ROBLES TRAIL

KEY AT-A-GLANCE INFORMATION

Length: 7.14 miles

Configuration: Out-and-back

Technical difficulty: 4

Aerobic difficulty: 3

Scenery: Santa Monica Mountains, Thousand Oaks, Simi Peak, Sandstone Peak, Las Posas Hills

Exposure: 70% exposed to sunshine

Trail traffic: Heavy on weekdays and weekends

Trail surface: Hard-packed, dry with embedded and loose rocks—90% singletrack

Riding time: 1–2 hours

Access: Sunrise–sunset, 7 days a week

Maps: USGS 7.5-minute quad: Newbury Park

Special comments: Watch for heavy trail traffic around blind turns.

GPS TRAILHEAD COORDINATES (WGS84)

UTM Zone 11S

Easting 326545

Northing 3782811

Latitude N 34.10′19″

Longitude W 118.52′54″

DIRECTIONS

From Los Angeles, take US 101 north to Thousand Oaks; exit at Moorpark Road, and turn left. Follow Moorpark Road until it ends after 0.5 miles. Park in the small dirt parking lot on the right, at the corner of Moorpark Road and Green Meadow Avenue. The trailhead is located in the northwestern end of this lot.

In Brief

You may want to move to Thousand Oaks after riding here because Los Robles is the quintessential Santa Monica Mountains singletrack and just one of many riding options to be found in this area. Unlike the San Gabriel Mountains, the air is usually pretty clean in the Santa Monicas, and the trail traffic can be lighter, although Los Robles is pretty popular. This trail gives the rider a healthy dose of technical challenges, switchbacks, some minor rock gardens, and enough ruts and embedded rocks to keep the rider on his or her toes.

Description

The trailhead is easy to find at the northwestern end of this small parking lot. To start the ride, step over the 1-foot-high steel bar at the entrance; I’ve seen the disastrous results of a collision with this bar at high speed, so don’t forget about if it gets dark! A large tabletop jump will quickly appear on your right as you roll the first 0.4 miles of fire road before the start of Los Robles Trail. To avoid ride-ending injuries, resist the urge to jump until the conclusion of the route and just keep spinning. There are two possible navigational mishaps in the first half mile—a right turn that you will not make down the Oak Creek Canyon Loop at 0.3 miles, and a fork where you’ll turn right on Los Robles Trail West. Both junctions are clearly marked with signs.

The first 2 miles involve nearly 700 feet of elevation gain, but don’t let that modest number fool you. This is a technical climb, so you will expend a lot of extra energy negotiating switchbacks and rocky sections that will require acceleration and finesse—unlike on a fire-road climb, where you can slump back in your saddle and nearly fall asleep. Full suspension is a plus on this climb because of the embedded rocks all over the place that block your path. The author has found this climb to be much easier on a 32-pound twin-shocker than on a 22-pound XC hardtail because of the added control and forgiveness that suspension provides.

Proper summer attire on Los Robles Trail

A major plus of Los Robles is the fact that the hardest part of the climb stays shaded most of the way in an otherwise blazingly hot portion of real estate. Mountain bike traffic is heavy both ways, and there are plenty of runners and dog walkers too. A forgotten relic of mountain bike evolution is quite common here—the handlebar-mounted bell—because of the busyness and numerous blind corners. If you still have one in your toolbox, dust it off and use it for this ride, although it may look out of place on your modern front end.

After the 2-mile mark, the trail starts to flatten and straighten, and there are even a few short descents before a three-way junction at just over 3 miles from the start. Avoid the downhill left turn, and continue ascending for another quarter mile until you reach the summit and a picnic table. Just before the picnic table, you’ll see the entrance to Rosewood Trail, which you can schedule for another day because today is all about the famed switchbacks of Los Robles.]

The view from the picnic table is spectacular, especially after dark when the city lights glow in the valley below. At any time of day, the views of the northernmost Santa Monica Mountains, Las Posas Hills, and Simi Peak are breathtaking and well deserving of a snapshot or two. After telling stories and enjoying some nourishment, remount and head back down the same route you just covered.

The ride down Los Robles Trail is so much fun that you may want to lobby the park authorities to close this trail for a downhill race. Unfortunately, you cannot open up the throttle and hit peak velocity because there are other trail users around every corner—even after dark. If you have the audacity to go all out, please ride off the trail to avoid a collision with them and ensure you sustain the full brunt of physical injuries resulting from your silliness.

At the end of the ride, reward your restraint and abstinence from speed with a tweaked aerial over the large tabletop at the bottom, provided park-service officials haven’t bulldozed this piece of utilitarian architecture by the time this guide is in print. Now you know why some people make the 1-hour commute to LA from Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park every morning. See a local realtor if you’d rather reserve long commutes for your professional life rather than for great mountain bike destinations like Los Robles Trail.

After the Ride

Since you just worked hard and burned many calories, you deserve a gluttonous visit to Islands Restaurant at 29271 Agoura Road in Agoura Hills; (818) 879-9933. Yes, it’s a major franchise ran by a large corporation, but the burgers are world-class, and there’s Newcastle Nut Brown Ale on tap.