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If you have been mountain biking in the Southern California area for a while then you most likely have ridden or at least heard of the Backbone Trail. After all it spans 67 miles in the Santa Monica Mountains from Will Rogers State Historic Park to Pacific Palisades and is used by all kinds of outdoor types such as mountain bikers, hikers and horses. There are many ways to access the Backbone Trail since it crosses many roads giving you an opportunity to explore various sections without having to back track to where you started if you do a two car ride or ride the road back. One of the more popular starting points is from Kanan Rd where there is a paved parking lot to park your car at. During peak riding season and even non-peak riding season it will get pretty crowded so come early since the lot is not that big. Much of the Backbone Trail in this area is similar in terrain but still offers a variety of climbing "fun" and downhill singletrack fun. |
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Backbone Trail Video
Backbone Trail Review
This review is of the Backbone Trail from Kanan Rd to Zuma Ridge Mtwy and it's a 5 mile round trip which makes for a perfect quickie ride if you are short on time or just want to get some quick exercise. This ride, like many parts of the Backbone Trail is an up and down type of ride so you will get some climbing followed by some downhill fun over and over the whole way. It's pretty even when it comes to up vs. down on the way there and the way back but we feel the way back is a little more fun. It may even be worth doing twice if you still have the energy after getting back the first time.
Overall this trail is a pretty smooth with a few rocky sections along the way but nothing too technical. A beginner should not have any problems doing the ride for the most part. There are a lot of shaded areas which help in the summer time because it can get hot in this area. The scenery is pretty nice too with some views of the mountains and when it's still green it looks even better. This section of Backbone is definitely one you should do going both ways to get the variety of downhill singletrack fun that you get in both directions. The ride itself is not too technical or challenging but it's definitely fun on the downhill parts so more advanced riders will have a good time as well. The uphill riding is not that hard and the downhill is nothing to worry about so you can go pretty fast. There are some nice turns along the way which help add some excitement to the downhill.
Backbone Trail Pictures
Directions to Backbone Trail - Kanan Rd to Zuma Ridge Mtwy
View Backbone Trail - Kanan Rd to Zuma Ridge Mtwy in a larger map
To get to the Backbone trailhead at the Kanan parking lot take the 101 freeway to the Kanan Rd exit and then head west towards the beach for about 8 miles and the parking lot will be on the right. The entrance to this part of the trail is to the right of the kiosk and it's hard to miss and there is even a sign saying it goes to Zuma Ridge and you have 2.5 miles of riding to do. When you get to Zuma Ridge it will look like a fire road and there will be another sign there so that's another way to tell you made it. From there you can just turn around, keep going on Backbone or take the fire road to Encinal Canyon Rd. and ride back that way. But who would want to do that?
