Mt. Tam - Old Railroad / Tenderfoot - #Mt.Tam-OldRailroad/Tenderfoot

Norcal - Marin County - Mill Valley NickNames: #Mt.Tam-OldRailroad/Tenderfoot tenderfoot

Mt. Tamalpais is the birthplace of Mountain Biking as we know it. It is littered with fireroads and well-marked insanely technical singletrack, and the sweeping panoramic scenery is beautiful enough to make you cry.

Sadly, Mt. Tam is also the most visible battlefield in the war for MTB access on the planet. It is no secret that MTBrs as a group have been on the losing end of that battle. The MTB-legal singletrack trails can be counted on one hand, and illegal trail riding here will get you a very big ticket - to the tune of $250 or so the last time I checked. It really isn't worth it - if the rangers don't catch you, you will be verbally abused by hikers... and you might even get verbally abused by hikers for riding the legal trails. They really don't like us.

Here's a link to the court case that reduced MTB access on Tam to a trickle:

http://classweb.gmu.edu/jkozlows/marin.htm

And if that pisses you off, here's our local representation:

http://www.btcmarin.org/

If you are a biker and you live in Marin, you should be a BTCM member. Period.

All that said, Mt. Tam is something that we should all experience. Get out there and ride. It's where it all started.

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The Directions:

From the GG bridge, head north on the 101 until you reach the Blithedale exit. Go L (west) on Blithedale, and continue through downtown Mill Valley. Park on W. Blithedale anywhere you like past the park - most people park between Bigelow and Cottage.

Please be courteous to the residents of this area, and clean up after yourselves.

3 Review(s)Login

• Trail UpdateTenderfoot-tenderfoot is desprate for some new dirt to fill some parts of the fallen away trail,I saw three people fall of in the same spot and get hurt just because the trail is falling away.

  Posted:04/19/2007

• Trail UpdateTenderfoot Needs Some New Soil-open syprus, mat davis trail, pipline, and all the other illegal single tracks to bikers. I rode syprus and it is amazing and a tone of fun exept for the loud mouth spioled hikers and the fat ranger

  Posted:04/19/2007

• Trail UpdateOld Railroad - Tenderfoot Loop-This is not meant to be a complete ride - the whole loop will take an intermediate rider 45' from start to finish. However, there are an enormous number of legal options stemming from this basic loop, so it is worth knowing. Also, Tenderfoot is the best legal singletrack on Tam. Other trails to include in longer loops are Hoo Koo E Koo FR and Eldridge Grade.

  As a general note, when the weather is favorable, Mt. Tam recieves insanely heavy usage on weekends. I recommend going mid-week, or at dusk if you want to cut down on the number of people - but even at off-peak times, you will see other people out on the trails.

  Once you get on your bike, and continue up W. Blithedale. Eventually (0.5 miles from where you parked) you will reach the gate to Old Railroad Grade FR on the right side of the road. Turn onto Old Railroad Grade, toss it in the middle ring, and spin up the mountain. You will reach a gate, whereupon the fireroad becones Fern Canyon Rd. Continue on Fern Canyon Rd. past Summit, and all the way up to where the fireroad starts again. Take the fireroad up to the first fork - make a left at this fork, which is Gravity Car.

  Descend Gravity Car past the gate, up the short hill, and onto Panoramic Hwy. On the left will be a restaurant, which is the Mountain Home Inn. On the opposite side of Mountain Home Inn is a road (Edgewood, I think). Take this road, and follow it until you see the trailhead for Tenderfoot on the left.

  Tenderfoot begins with a bang. There is a switchback, followed by a section of off-camber tree roots. Follow Tenderfoot all the way to the bottom - the scenery switches from redwoods to manzanita about halfway down, that the trail surface changes from roots to rutted sandstone. There are several unmarked trails that deviate from Tenderfoot, but as long as you take the obvious well-traveled route, you can't get lost.

  Tenderfoot will intersect with Cascade Rd. at the bottom. Follow Cascade until it intersects with Throckmorton, and jog left then right on Throckmorton. Throckmorton will funnel you through downtown Mill Valley.

  When you reach the grocery store on Throckmorton, make a left on Corte Madera Ave. Follow this to the small park, where there are a few easter eggs to play around on.

  To get back to your car, backtrack on Corte Madera to Gardner, make a left on Gardner, and make a left on W. Blithedale, which should look familiar.

  
  
  Ride rating: Intermediate
  El Santo

  Posted:03/10/2005