Suicide Trail in Oak Park is a technical, rocky downhill trail that will challenge your skills as well as your guts because it offers steep, rocky declines as well as custom made jumps and drops that can be a good time or be your worst nightmare. For the most part the trail is all natural and in many parts is solid rough rock. Most of the jumps have been made by riders of the trail but there are some natural rock jumps as well. Its a pretty short ride but worth the climb if you are up to the challenge. You may want to watch some YouTube videos to get a better idea of what the trail is like. |
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The top starts out really rocky and gets smoother as you head down the trail. Most of the jumps are around the middle to lower sections of the trail and the trail gets faster as you get towards the end. If you start from the very top of the trail it's about a 2 mile decent to the bottom.
Suicide Trail Video
Suicide Trail Review
If you are into technical rocky riding then Suicide Trail is the trail for you. For a novice rider it can be very intimidating since riding over the uneven surfaces can be difficult if you don't have that much experience on a mountain bike. If you just let the bike carry you over the rocks at speed rather than trying to creep over them then you will be much better off. You may want to hike up the trail with your bike the first time to see what you are in for even though you may annoy some of the riders coming down when they have to stop for you. There are other ways to get to the top which we will explain in the directions section.
The jumps are one of the best features of the trail. They are not too big and have been placed in locations that work with the flow of the trail. There are also some areas that offer nice drop offs but the landings can be a little uneven so make sure to scope it out first. If you are really brave there is a gap jump\drop that takes you into a nice double jump but if you come up short on the initial jump\drop then you are going to be in for some pain.
Once you start the trail and get the feel of it you will notice that it's not as difficult as it looks on the way up. But one thing you will also notice is that if you watch YouTube videos from this trail it looks easier than it really is so the best way to find out is to actually ride the trail. If you are a decent rider then you will have some fun and if you are a really good rider then you will really have fun.
Suicide Trail Pictures
Directions to Suicide Trail
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There are several ways to get to Suicide Trail and it will vary depending on how you want to get to the top. Most people park their car at Oak Canyon Community Park and then ride over to King James Ct. and take the Dead Cow Trail to the top of Suicide Trail.
To get to Oak Canyon Community Park take the 101 Freeway to Lindero Canyon Rd and head east until you get to Kanan Rd. Then make a right and when you get to Holly Tree Dr. make a left. The park entrance will be on your left and drive into the park and then park at the second parking lot. Then you can take paved trail over to Lindero Canyon and then King James Ct rather than ride the streets. But if you decide to go up Suicide Trail itself then you are right there and can start your hike.
Another way to get there is to take the Albertson Fire Road through China Flats all the way up to the top of Suicide Trail but this would require making it a 2 card ride unless you planned on going back up the way you came down and taking Albertson back to where you started. Either way you will be doing some uphill riding or hiking before you get to have your fun.