Believe it or not, there is a decent amount of riding fairly close by for mountain bikers that reside in the Bay Area. The drawback to the stuff in near proximity to the population centers, is that much of it is overrun with park users. (said population) Its a situation ripe for user conflict. There are only so many bike friendly green spaces close by, and millions of people that all want to use them. But hey, at least there is riding, right?
Because of this, I haven’t been as excited to get back to a few of the parks to ride the trails. I first rode the Rockville Park years ago, and haven’t been back since. However, a few friends pointed out that due to the abundance of rock, the trails drain extremely well, making it a great destination for the wet parts of the year. It turns out that it is an extremely photogenic area as well.
The fog makes for calendar like scenery.
Having spent a considerable amount of time designing, building and riding trails in the last few years, I have a new eye for terrain I never had before. With this comes a new perspective and appreciation for trails. While the Rockville park occupies a geographically small area, its well laid out for the small amount of space and utilizes it well. There aren’t any jumps or jump-like features to speak of, (highly desirable for me personally) but many of the trails feature good old school flow. There are also some nice rock gardens in the area that are quite fun to negotiate, and are good for riders that wish to advance their skill levels or test their suspension by riding more difficult terrain. Because the area is relatively small with interconnecting loops, it’s a good destination for large groups & group rides, especially for groups with varying skill levels.
This section of trail was pretty sweet; by far my favorite on the hill.
The drawback to riding all the stacked loops is that you never feel like you’ve gone any where. Still, it is a fun destination, and a great asset to have for riders that live close by. As its about 40minutes away, it probably won’t become a regular spot for me, but during the wet season, it makes for a good go-to spot.
There is some weirdness going on though; cattle and sheep are used to keep the grass down and you’ll want to keep an eye out for cow pies. The barbed wire used to limit the cattle is everywhere, and is rather unsightly. The prominent powerlines are lame too.
Yays:
- Signage is good. (supposedly bad in the past)
- Decent parking spot
- Easy to find
- Great resource for the locals.
- Some great scenery
- Fun on flat pedals
- Some really fun sections of trail
- Some good tech spots
Nays
- $3.00 a person to ride
- Some really lousy scenery
- Cow pies
- Circles and circles again
- No contemporary trail features like grade dips, rollers, or jumps
For more info on the park, click here.
