Coyote Creek, Morgan Hill, CA
I did this ride on Sunday afternoon, September 8, 2924, in 102 degrees. No joke. Must explain why it wasn’t very busy. I started at Anderson Lake County Park in Morgan Hill and went to Tully Road, just past the golf course south of downtown San Jose, and then turned around and returned to the park—40 miles, 1,190 feet elevation gain. Well maintained, all paved, relatively flat, and interesting trail with SO many squirrels and chipmunks dashing across the trail. Probably just playing with the bikers. Saw a flock of young turkeys on the trail. A hawk zipped close by me and tried to grab a rodent (missed). Lots of waterfowl in the ponds along the way. Vegetation became greener the further north I went from Morgan Hill, and more water in Coyote Creek. Saw coyote scat on the trail but no animals (too hot for them). There are several homeless campsites near the golf course, and even a rooster and cats and dogs. Overall, a great trail to see the arid landscape of the Santa Clara Valley (I live in the Pacific Northwest). Will plan to do it again in the springtime when it’s greener and not so hot, when I visit relatives again.
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Love Toby Except For University Crossing
I’m finally learning how to navigate the seemingly confusing mess of greenways that exist in this area. Toby Creek, Mallard Creek, and Clarks Greenways can all be ridden in one shot from the Kirk Farm parking lot (or any really, you would just have to double back).
Toby Creek is a beautiful path that winds south through the UNCC campus for a bit before coming to a large intersection that must be crossed before it continues to the right and keeps going south. To keep this concise, I will just say this - that intersection can be dangerous. We were confronted by a deranged man screaming expletives while holding a machete menacingly. He seemed to wait in the woods for us to return after having seen us cross the first time. I did alert police to his presence but also know that I was on hold when I called 911 for almost 10 minutes. Be alert and carry something for self protection if you ride this section.
All said however, we got over 21 miles connecting all three greenways.
Toby Creek is a beautiful path that winds south through the UNCC campus for a bit before coming to a large intersection that must be crossed before it continues to the right and keeps going south. To keep this concise, I will just say this - that intersection can be dangerous. We were confronted by a deranged man screaming expletives while holding a machete menacingly. He seemed to wait in the woods for us to return after having seen us cross the first time. I did alert police to his presence but also know that I was on hold when I called 911 for almost 10 minutes. Be alert and carry something for self protection if you ride this section.
All said however, we got over 21 miles connecting all three greenways.
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Ferry County Rail Trail interrupted
We rode this trail on a hot July weekend. We rode the section from the Herron Creek trailhead to where it ended in rough unrideable ballast at the north end of Curlew Lake. There are resorts along the lake where one can get water and snacks. There was even a little shade! The next morning we found where the trail crossed Highway 21 north of Curlew Lake. According to the map on the sign board at the Ferry Creek Road trailhead, there is a section that is closed, from north of Curlew Lake to Karamin, where it crosses Highway 21. This was the first sign board that had a map, as the others were blank. There is also a washout farther up the trail, so we were not able to ride to Danville. Apart from the closed and construction parts of the trail, the surface is compacted fine gravel, and there are lovely scenic views. The trail from Ferry Creek to the washout was nice and shady, and followed the Kettle River. And there is a tunnel! I would have liked to bike the entire trail, but I enjoyed the parts I was able to access.
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Beautiful but….
When cyclists are reviewing this trail I think it would be extremely helpful to state if they did their routes with an e-bike or a non-assist regular pedaling bike. We rode from Hill City to Mystic and found it difficult with the 8 mile steady uphill grade from Hill City to Red Fern, using non-assist bikes. Nearly everyone cycling at the same time, same distance as us, was using an E-bike and sailing right along. We spoke with several cyclists using E-bikes and they said they found it easy. We based our route today on reviews we read on this site. So if E-bikes are used, it would give other cyclists looking at trail reviews on this site, to know that fact so they can better plan their choice of sections to ride. As some have mentioned, the reverse route after a long 8-mile climb is an 8-mile downhill return (out and back riders). The grade was so steep we had to use our brakes to avoid spinning out on the gravel trail. Beautiful….yes. But we were not expecting the many miles of unrelenting uphill grade using our regular pedal bikes. We average 4,000 miles cycling every year, so we are well-seasoned cyclists.
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Missing a kinds of trails
They don’t list 80% of the actual trails that are in Alberta and BC
A perfect day on the Vine Trail
My husband and I rode the 12.5 mile section or the Napa Valley Vine Trail from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Park to Yountville and back, today. We are old but it was easy and flat. Plus we had our trusty e-bikes. It was a total joy ride! How could we miss? It was a beautiful spring day with California Poppies all along the path like bread crumbs leading us toward Yountville. There was a section of georgeous wetlands before we passed Napa proper. Then we transitioned from the Napa River Trail to the Napa Vine trail. As did the Railroad track that it replaced, the trail passed through the gritty industrial area of Napa, going through the graffiti-covered, concrete buildings. But then it broke out into the Napa Wine Country beside a line of perfectly spaced scrub oak trees on the left and hills and vineyards all around us. We had lunch at a French Restaurant’s sidewalk cafe with a fabulous bakery in Yountville, and then we headed back and retraced the 12.5 miles to JFK Memorial Park. It was a glorious ride. And it was our first taste of this 47 mile trail. We will be back to do the other sections.
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Day 1-Northeast Texas Trail!
We hiked the first five miles of Chaparral Trail from Merit to Farmersville on Thursday. I know, we were going backward, but we wanted to end up at a place with good eats, and Merit doesn’t list any eating places. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the trail was well maintained. We met a couple of friendly dogs and several other friendly hikers/bikers. When we finished, we ate at Smoke & Time, but there are lots of other options if you are not in the mood for delicious BBQ! My plan is to complete the whole trail in segments. It looks like distances between towns are doable if you want a more laid back hike. Looks to be plenty of lodging and food along the way. My only complaint is there doesn’t seem to be any of that in Merit, including clear designated parking.
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Good but confusing
The app is good but confusing with the non-profit. I have been giving money thinking I would have full access but apparently what I thought I was paying to use the app was only a donation to the organization and didn’t give me the unlimited access. Today I tried to upgrade with the “unlimited access” button to pay through the app…the button didn’t work! I had to search and get to the website, login to my account, pay there…and then delete my current version of the “All Trails” app. It was a bit of a bumpy ride, on an unmarked trail but interesting persevered and was successful! I was able to search for the trail where we’ll be camping and download to have available when the cell signal is weak. Good app, confusing upgrade.
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Trail map
These trail maps are great keep up the good work
Coolavin Park
I visited this trail in mid-December 2023. I gave this review 3 stars because I felt like that was closest to an “okay” response. The true trail is very short. I didn’t find any signage that indicated it was apart of the Rail-To-Trail network or spoke on the history of the path. With that being said, the path is nicely maintained and paved flat to allow for various levels of mobility & inclusion. On the evening of my visit, many people were walking, biking, and cycling.
I wouldn’t view this trail as a reason for a stand alone trip. Instead, I would encourage folks to use this area as a compliment to other activities in the neighborhood such as grabbing a beer at West Sixth Brewing Company, enjoying dinner at the local restaurant of Smithtown Seafood, or playing in the Coolavin Park.
I believe this connects to other recreational paths such as the Legacy Trail and The Hope Center Trail, but again, I didn’t find any signage in the area itself to indicate the connection.
I wouldn’t view this trail as a reason for a stand alone trip. Instead, I would encourage folks to use this area as a compliment to other activities in the neighborhood such as grabbing a beer at West Sixth Brewing Company, enjoying dinner at the local restaurant of Smithtown Seafood, or playing in the Coolavin Park.
I believe this connects to other recreational paths such as the Legacy Trail and The Hope Center Trail, but again, I didn’t find any signage in the area itself to indicate the connection.
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