Santa Barbara has some nice mountain bike trails and quite a few of them are downhill trails. If you are into technical downhill trails then the Cold Spring trail is for you. This trail has a lot of rock gardens to ride down and some of them are pretty rough so make sure you have the right bike for the job. You don't need to have an extreme downhill bike for this trail but the more suspension the better if you want to be able to smooth out the ride since it will definitely be a rough one!

Cold Spring Trail, Filmed and Rated by Preston Mason Review Date: 11/23/2013 Trail Ratings  Fun Factor:  Technical:

You should also be sure to wear some pads and a full face helmet in case you take a fall because those rocks will do some damage to your body if you fall on them. Not all of the trail is this way though and there are some smoother faster parts allowing you to pick up the pace and give your hands and arms a rest. You get a nice mix of sun and shade on the 4.5 mile ride down and as you get closer to the bottom you will most likely run into more hikers and won't see too many people near the top. You will get some nice views from up top so you may want to take a minute to soak it in before you need to focus on staying on your bike going down the trail. This ride is best done as a shuttle run since riding up the trail will not be an easy task.

Cold Spring Trail Video

Cold Spring Trail Review

The Cold Spring Trail is a very fun trail if you like technical riding. It's one of those trails that will get more fun the more you do it since you will be able to learn how it flows and how far you can push yourself without hurting yourself. The rocky sections are very rocky and if you don't keep your speed up then it will be a rougher ride as you try to keep your momentum. Then again it's not one of those trails you can fly at top speed on either. There are some faster smoother sections in between the rocky areas that do allow for some faster speeds. The beginning of the trail starts out smooth and then gets rocky for quite some time. It doesn't really smooth out until you get closer to the bottom. It's still rocky but not nearly as much as it is higher up.

You should look at the trail on a map before riding it since there are a few ways you can go when you get closer to the bottom and there are also some ways that are restricted but there are no trespassing signs warning you. As mentioned before there will be more hikers as you get closer to the bottom of the trail so you can't just blast through there as fast as you like. If you can do the ride on a weekday then that is your best bet for the most amount of fun.

If you are a novice rider than this trail will not be for you thanks to the rock gardens unless you want to walk your bike that is. If you don't have a full suspension bike then you will be in for a rough ride. This trail is better ridden on a downhill or freeride style bike not because it's too steep but because of the terrain. You should really have some experience on rocky trails before giving this one a shot otherwise you may not have too much fun.

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Cold Spring Trail Pictures

Directions to the Cold Spring Trail

To get to the Cold Spring Trail head out on the 101 Freeway towards Santa Barbara\Montecito and exit on at Olive Mill Rd. Take Olive Mill Rd until and it will become Hot Springs Rd. Then make a left on E Mountain Dr and go up about a mile and there will be a small parking lot on the right which is where you will park the car at the bottom of the run.

To get to the top for a shuttle continue up E Mountain Dr and take the first left onto Cold Springs Rd. From there make a right onto Sycamore Canyon Rd and then turn right onto Foothill Rd/Stanwood Dr. Next you will make a right onto El Cielito Rd and then a right on Gibralter Rd. Finally you will turn right on E Camino Cielo (which may not be clearly marked) and drive about 3.5 miles to the trailhead which will be on the right and have a dirt parking lot where you can park. There is also a big cement structure above the parking lot making it easy to find. You should check out our map of the trail to see the beginning and ending points to get an idea of where you need to go.

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