Mountain Bike

There are many well designed websites offering detailed maps of MTB trails. They are a wonderful place to start but I often find they lack details on how kid-friendly trails are. How steep are the hill climbs? Can you expected advanced folks bombing past you? How short are the shortest loops? As a result I have created this page.

Bedwell/Bayfront

Located off 101 at the Marshroad exit, the park offers a very nice variety of trails. Some short hillclimbs will challenge parents and kids alike. The long trail on the preiphery of the park is very beginner friendly. Bonus points for riding to the park following the BayTrail paths

Los Gatos Creek Trail

Located by Hwy 17 and Hwy 85, this is a super begineer friendly network of trails around Los Gatos Creek

Arastradero-Pearson Preserve

Calero / San Vicente

Fire roads and the likes can be risky and in fact turned my kids off pretty quick to MTBg. Calero is mostly fire road like and while the grades are pretty geriatric (not derogatory) and are reasonable to climb or descend, you cant see the ends and it can be mentally tough for them.

Emma McCrary Trail, Santa Cruz

Lake Cunningham Sports Park

Located in East San Jose, looks super nice, will plan a visit and report back Ssan Jose Parks Lake Cunningham

From MTB

MTB Kid Friendly Great question, and one I'm tackling too. I'm in the process of dragging my 5 year old around trails after years of "co-pilot" status via front seats and home-build Mac-Ride setups. He just got a new 24" geared (way too nice) bike for Christmas and is catching some stoke! After 2 years on a 16" singlespeed he's keen to go harder.

Neela's point about elevation is the real key here. Here's how I mentally break down the options:

Kid-Powered: Flat - kid can ride any bike and their own pace. Super Gradual - kid can ride any bike, but will struggle occasionally Gradual - kids can ride a geared bike (may still struggle)

Adult-Assisted (TowHee): Anything they can handle technically / with confidence.

I strongly recommend getting a TowHee and learning to coordinate riding. It does require some patience and tenacity, but it's worth it for the options it opens up. Note you can use this for both pulling up hill and holding back downhill, which is useful for timid and nervous riders.

I prefer to use it sparingly and as needed, allowing my kid to ride interesting loops and then not feel stuck if he runs out of gears or guts. Any rides recommended below are "light" assist, meaning the kid will still ride much of it up and almost all of it down solo. You're just there to help them in the tricky parts or with endurance.

Trails that are well suited to assistance have sustained climbs and descents. Managing the on/off of the rope when it levels out, or switching from climb-assist to descend-assist can get tedious. Rolling trails are less fun to TowHee for that reason.

Here's what we've ridden and ride.

• Flat Trails - Bayshore / Bayfront Between Embarcadero & San Antonio, there's a little singletrack that's super fun for groms. My kid loves just goofing off on the "bumpies" along the sides. (You can play on the little kickers too, so it's not too boring.) You can also play in the "jump" pit halfway around, but it's definitely not where I'd teach pumping / jumping.

Wilder Ranch Cliff Trails As already mentioned these are nice, easy, and scenic. You can drop down to sand for a break and lunch. That said, they're windy and not very "fun" so it's not always worth the drive over the hill.

• Super Gradual - Big Basin - Waddell Creek to Berry Falls This is a great longer ride for rookie littles. The incline is super gradual for miles and miles, my kid did 90% of it solo on his 16" one-speed. In the redwoods along a creek with nice loamy dirt. It's mostly wide but occasionally narrows to singletrack. It's an out & back so the gradual up turns into a long smooth descent that encourages the kid to pedal as fast as they are comfortable, a nice payout. The falls are super pretty too.

• Gradual - MROSD South Skyline Region Many of the trails on top of Skyline are slopey enough that a determined kid with decent gearing can pull it off with minimal hike-a-bike (or towing).

Russian Ridge

• Ancient Oaks (loops to Charquin which is a bit steep)
• Ridge trail

Skyline Ridge & Long Ridge

• Chestnut Trail (connector hill at tree farm is steep but short)
• Peters Creek
• Long Ridge trail (minus the Wall which is not kid friendly)

Fremont Older

• Seven Spring loop (sometimes with assist)

• Assisted - Montebello

• Bella Vista (long up but not too steep, my kid loves to descend this)

• Canyon Trail (managing the river area can be tricky, the rest fine)

Skeggs

• Oljon Trail
• Tafoni (upper)
• Steam Donkey (lower / new)
• Sierra Morena (fine but not preferred, too rolling)
• South Leaf (when mom's not looking, hah!)