The Backbone Trail spans 65 miles and offers a variety of types of terrain for hiking, biking and horseback riding. When riding the Backbone Trail you don't need to worry about doing the whole thing at once since it crosses many roads allowing you to do it in sections and pick out your favorite parts. Some sections go on for quite a bit while others are really short. Then again you can do multiple sections in one day if you choose to do so. You just need to make sure the section you are riding on allows bikes and how crowded it gets when it comes to other people so you can plan accordingly.

Backbone Trail to Will Rogers, Filmed and Rated by

Review Date: 7/1/2013
Trail Ratings
 Fun Factor:
3 Star Rating: Recommended
 Technical: 2 Star Recommended
The section of Backbone from Topanga State Park to Will Rogers State Park is about 7 miles in length and is mostly downhill with a few small climbs here and there but nothing too strenuous. Of course you will have to find your way to the start of Backbone before you can go down and that can be done with a fairly easy 3+ mile fire road ride.

The ride is mostly singletrack and smooth except for a few sections where it is a little rutty or rocky but nothing you can't handle. The views are pretty nice as well except for the people you will run into as you get near the end of the ride.

Backbone Trail to Will Rogers Video

Backbone Trail to Will Rogers Review

This section of Backbone can be done as a up and down ride or as a partial loop where you park one car at the start of the fire road (Temescal Ridge Trail) and one at the end of Backbone at Will Rogers State Park. It may be a little too much road riding if you tried to do the loop without 2 cars.

For the most part it's a pretty fun trail that offers some fast downhill singletrack runs as well as a couple of rocky technical areas. The downhills are not too steep but you can still get some pretty good speed on them. There is even a section that has some whoops where you can catch a little air with the right amount of speed. There is nothing too technical about the ride so anyone should be able to do it and simply adjust their speed accordingly. There may be one or two sections where a beginner may have to walk their bike. And even though this section of Backbone is 7 miles long it seems to be over before you know it.

If you take the Temescal Ridge Trail up to the start it's not too steep so it can be done without stopping for most people. If it's really hot outside then that may be a different story. You won't see too many hikers on the trail at the beginning since they would have to do some climbing to get up that far but once you get closer to the bottom you will be hitting your brakes way more than you want to so be ready for that. Will Rogers State Park can get very crowded on nice days and people like to hike up the trail. You may want to do this ride on a weekday or super early. It would also make a good night ride if you like doing those.

There are better parts of Backbone Trail to ride but if you live close to this section you should definitely give it a try. Even if you don't it's still worth checking out to see for yourself. Just keep in mind that if it's on a weekend it gets pretty crowded on the trial as well as the streets.

Backbone Trail to Will Rogers Pictures

Directions to the Backbone Trail


View Backbone Trail to Will Rogers in a larger map

It's pretty easy to find this part of the Backbone Trail since it's at a popular park and it's the end of the trail itself. If you plan on going up and down the trail or parking a car at the end simply find your way to Will Rogers State Park in Malibu and the trail is pretty easy to find. You can actually access it from 2 different locations in the park to the left of the polo field or behind the other large grass area.

There are several ways to get to Will Rogers State Park from PCH depending on where you are coming from but you can always just take W Channel Rd/Chautauqua Blvd, turn right on W Sunset Blvd and then left on to Will Rogers State Park Rd. There will be a $12 parking fee per car but you can park outside the park on the street if you can find a space and ride up from there or ride down from there if doing a shuttle. Many of the streets have no parking during the weekend.

If you are doing the 2 car thing then you can start on the Temescal Ridge Trail fire road which is located off of Michael Ln and is about 7 miles from Will Rogers State Park. There you can park on the street and the fire road starts after riding up a short paved section between the street and the trail.

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