Alpine Road to Windy Hill

A long loop that strings together a little bit of everything, within easy access from the Peninsula and the South Bay.

Annadel (Suggestion 1)

A full-blown mountain biking playground with a first-class trail network large enough for all-day rides and technical enough for the most serious riders.

Arastradero

A small city park with a reasonable selection of singletrack and fire roads that would be a good place for a beginner due to having no big climbs, as well as a "quickie" option for an experienced rider.

Big Basin

This big and remote park is not a prime destination for mountain biking, but still provides a few opportunities for a forest ramble like this one.

Briones Regional Park

A short fire-road loop over the roller coaster of rolling East Bay hills.

Cañada Road

An easy and nearly flat out-and-back road ride that would make a good candidate for a moderate workout ride if done quickly or a scenic casual ride if you take it slowly.

Cheese Factory Loop

Easily one of the prettiest, most scenic, and most secluded road rides you can do in Marin, and it doesn't even take extraordinary physical shape to pull it off.

Coyote Creek Trail

A long out-and-back ride on a flat-and-easy paved recreational trail. Friendly enough for the whole family and long enough to while away most of the day (at family-riding speeds).

Deer Park and Repack Roads

A ride for experiencing the famous Repack Road while getting there through a course following Fairfax fire roads.

Del Valle

A bit of a hidden gem in the amount of available singletrack with respect to other East Bay parks, though that's only true for this one route. A scenic, non-technical ride, for those who are okay with some steep climbs.

Demo Forest (Corral Trail)

The shortest "full" loop you can make at Demo Forest. It misses some of the best trails, but might fill a need for an easier ride or as a second loop.

El Sereno

This preserve does not provide any good loop options but, as long as you're okay with climbing on fire roads, this is a good and scenic workout option for this vicinity.

Foothill Expressway

A flat, safe, and easy (if a little busy) road ride that is an option that's obvious to all locals, and whose main appeal is as a starting point for longer rides rather than as this brief out-and-back.

Fort Ord (2007 Sea Otter course)

A long and challenging trail ride along what used to be the course of the Sea Otter cross-country race.

Fremont Older

A small park that has some very nice ride possibilities for locals, but does not offer enough to be considered a riding destination.

Grant Ranch

A challenging fire-road ride in typical East Bay scenery and not too much else.

Harvey Bear Ranch

As nice as a fire-road loop can get in the East Bay or South Bay. An easy and short ride with good views.

Henry Coe (Grizzly Gulch)

This short loop mixes some scenery, fire road climbing, fun singletrack, and plenty of creek crossings, to add up to easy fun at this remote park.

Joaquin Miller

A small city park with trails for all skills levels, most of them singletrack.

Lake Chabot

Starts out as an easy and paved lake-shore ride. Continues as a moderate fire-road climb and hill-side stroll.

Lexington Reservoir Loop

An easy, mostly-road loop around a reservoir with plenty of water views and almost no challenge.

Marin Headlands (Marincello, Bobcat, Miwok Trails)

A short fire-road loop in the scenic hills of Marin Headlands that hits two particular short trails, each of which is worth seeing for its own little quirk.

Mission Peak

An undistinguished short ride up a fire road leading to a popular East Bay mountain peak that's worth it just for the views.

Morgan Territory

A ride whose appeal is limited to lovers of nature and the outdoors, and whose climbs are meant for masochists and superhumans.

Mount St. Helena

Simply a straight mountain climb up a smooth fire road with not too much biking interest but some historic curiosity and plenty of stupendously distant vistas.

Mount Tam (Eldridge Grade and Rock Spring Trail)

A long fire-road ride that allows you to experience the northern slopes of Mount Tam from its lowest foothills in the lakes area, all the way to East Peak.

Old Haul Road

Another almost-flat out-and-back ride on a fire road for beginners. But this one is under dense redwood cover and is arguably a true wilderness.

Old La Honda Road

One of the most well-known road climbs of the South Bay, followed by a quick return by a fire road descent.

Pacifica to North Peak

A fire-road climb to a coastal mountain peak, with a small amount of optional singletrack fun added to the mix.

Pine Mountain Loop

A historic ride in Marin's hallowed mountain biking ground with plenty of technical and rocky fire road fun and wide open views.

Point Reyes (Drakes Head)

A remote and extremely scenic mountain bike ride unusual in its setting, fun, and surprising technical challenges.

Redwood Regional Park

Ride virtually all bike-legal fire roads in this East Bay park in one medium-length medium-difficulty ride.

Rockville (Suggestion 1)

A short ride without much climbing in this little park with plenty of singletrack trails. This 7-mile ride feels more like a 10 or 12-miler due to the technical nature of the trails.

Round Valley

A flat meander through a wide open East Bay meadow.

Russian Ridge

A short and relatively easy ride that rewards with some fun singletrack and a big dose of scenery.

Sawyer Camp and San Andreas Trails

A paved recreational trail ride easy enough for all skill levels, yet still providing good lake views and a setting in beautiful nature.

17-Mile Drive

A well-known route, though more as a scenic drive than a bike ride. That doesn't prevent it from being an easy ride that's extremely scenic, however.

Sierra Vista

A mixed ride with great views that allows a sampling of some of this area's rare (and newest) singletrack, if you're okay with lots of climbing, though a shorter and easier version is possible.

Skeggs Point (Suggestion 2)

This is one of the comparatively easy loops possible in this park, while still being technical and fun.

Skeggs Point (Suggestion 4)

Another fun, two-lobed ride route at this mountain biking destination. Do both if you're in good shape, or pick one half and complete just that one.

Skeggs Point (Suggestion 6)

This ride traverses the more remote Lawrence Creek Trail and most of Timberview Trail.

Skyline Ridge Open Space

A ride along ridge tops with one beautiful singletrack and some pretty views and not much more, but that can be easily extended in a million ways.

St. Joseph's Hill

A good ride for the locals with a cluster of trails on a hill top with good views, even including a tiny sampling of tasty singletrack.

Stevens Creek Reservoir Loop

This easy road loop could be used either as an unchallenging beginner ride on its own, or made the basis of much longer road and trail ride options for experienced riders.

Sweeney Ridge

A ride that's short on total distance and on true mountain biking fun, but is worthwhile due to spectacular views and a couple of points of interest.

Tilden Park (southern trails)

A fire-road ride that weaves back and forth across most of the bike-legal trails available in the southern portion of this park. Plenty of climbing and good views, but true mountain biking appeal is slim.

Tiburon Loop

An easy and very scenic coastal road ride that could also present the possibility of post-ride treats in cute downtown Tiburon.

Water Dog (Suggestion 1)

A small city park with an out-of-proportion amount of fun technical singletrack. This ride takes you through a typical route that includes an ascending traversal of the Finch Trail switchbacks.

Whittemore Gulch (without Grabtown Gulch)

Start by descending nearly 2 miles of one of the most beautiful singletracks in the area, then pay your dues with a serious fire road climb.

Wilder Ranch (Enchanted Loop via Horseman's Trail)

A slight variation on my favorite loop in one of my favorite parks to ride in. The variation doesn't add much to the fun of the ride, but it's okay enough to try once for a change.

Wilder Ranch (Eucalyptus Loop and Long Meadow Trail)

This alternate route through this scenic park misses some of the park's highlights, but it's worth a try to see different parts of the park's trail network.

Willow Creek

A hidden gem that's a worthwhile option even for advanced riders if you live within a reasonable distance and can catch a reservation for the orientation session to get the required permit.