Dead Cow - #DeadCow

Socal - Ventura County - Agoura Hills NickNames: #DeadCow

Take the 101 Freeway and exit at Lindero Canyon. Go North about 3-3.5 miles, past Kanan, until you see King James Ct. on your left. At the end of that culdasac is a gate which is the bottom of the trail. The top of the trail can be reached by climbing it up from King James or coming from Palo Comado fire road through China Flat and up to Simi Peak.

11 Review(s)2 Photo(s)Login

• Trail UpdateDead Cow/Bell Canyon/Gas Pipe-Did one of my favorite loops that I havnt done in a couple years.Dead Cow/Chute/Bell Canyon/Gas Pipe/Dead Cow.Dead Cow takes some very good line choosing and strong legs but can be had dab free(not by me right now).The Chute was a little ruff but not bad.Bell Canyon is overgrown,ruff and has some HAB sections mostly over rain ditches,some tricky river stone sections and some short steep climbs.The fire road to Gas Pipe is ruff and rutted out daring you to go fast but ready to make you bleed.Gas Pipe is still mostly the same with the last steep section very hard to climb,especially in dry conditions.Still a great loop but Bell Canyon could use some traffif to get the lines worked back in.Did some bleeding due to slow speed falls due to not being able to clip out while going sloww climbing rock sections and stone sections.I always enjoy an inmaintained trail and this one still rocks.
  Jmomma a 47 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a Heckler from Thousand Oaks

  Posted:03/13/2009

• Trail UpdateTrail Condition-12-30-06 Did the loop from Simi, from the top of Wood Ranch to T.O., up Albertson Fire Road to China Flats, down Dead Cow (King James Ct), back to Lang Ranch and home to Simi. Trail in good shape, Dead Cow was in good shape, still some drops my XC heart shudders at and I hike-a-bike those sections, but the trail is open and tons of fun.
  Jerry Ventura BOMB a 53 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Gary Fisher Team Race from Simi Valley

  Posted:12/31/2006

• Trail UpdateThe trail that parallels dead cow (china flat trail) has had bobby traps before.
  smut a Cross-Country Rider riding a 3-D from agoura,ca

  Posted:03/28/2003

• Trail UpdateChina Flat Trail-Been riding up/dn the China Flat trail (King James Ct) for over six years and have never seen a booby trap. On certain days, you will see a lot of hikers and need to consider this when going down.

  The Dead Cow (Poacher, Bones) trail, which parallels Palo Comado Canyon fire road for about 1.25 miles from the look-out point just off the fire road on Palo CC as you head over to Shepherd's Flat, has taken a beating over the last few years due to rain damage, but is still a fun ride (and no booby traps that I have ever heard of).

  For the most part, trail users in this area get along well, and let's keep it that way.

  PS - how do you like your Bullit for general trail riding - that is - I am assuming you have it built up light for all-around riding vs downhill given your post.

  
  John Boy a Die-hard Enthusiast from Agoura HIlls

  Posted:03/27/2003

• Trail UpdateDead Cow #1 And #2-There are two trails commonly referred to as "Dead Cow" in Cheeseboro. Both are legal trails (old ranch roads), neither have been reported as booby trapped. As Upchuck1 noted, rain can produce unexpected ruts, but unexpected hikers can show up anytime. Riding out of control is asking for restrictions on mountain bikes, so don't over-speed your stopping distance.
  ScottR1

  Posted:03/26/2003

• Trail UpdateNone That I Know Of...-FYI, I haven't seen or heard of Dead Cow being booby-trapped. It is a legal trail, but sees a lot of foot traffic so descend with caution.

  Another FYI: rain has a way of changing this trail from a fairly technical descent/ascent into a very technical trail. I went down on a night ride years ago and broke my wrist in 3 places, sprained my knee, and suffered a mild concussion. I knew the trail like the back of my hand. However, El Nino washed a section out and created a 15 foot gap with about a 12 foot drop. I didn't see the gap in time.
  Ride rating: Intermediate
  Ride distance: 1.7 miles Elevation change:
  Singletrack=80% Dirt Road=20%
  Upchuck1 from TO

  Posted:03/26/2003

• Trail UpdateWhat About Booby Traps?-I've never ridden Dead Cow. Is it legal? I've heard some horror stories about booby traps - were they on this trail? When was that?
  A concerned rider a 34 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Santa Cruz Bullit from Agoura Hills, CA .com

  Posted:03/25/2003

• Trail UpdatePaging SocalTrailboss-In most cases I would agree. However, this was not merely a review of an illegal trail. The post was a warning that someone is placing booby-traps on a well known, often used trail. Whether it is illegal or not is less important than getting the word out that someone could get hurt if they are not aware of the dangers. This, of course, is IMHO.

  
  Upchuck1 riding a 2003 Stank Primo

  Posted:12/11/2002

• Trail UpdateAttention:-Any updates containing references to illegal trails will be deleted. Thank you.
  SocalTrailboss

  Posted:12/11/2002

• Trail UpdateDead Cow, Lang Ranch-Vern, there is a trailhead that you can take back towards Lang Ranch if you come down Dead Cow and get onto Lindero Canyon. If you take Lindero Canyon to Kanan Road and go West a short ways you'll come to a street named Falling Star. Go to the end of the street and you'll see the trailhead. This route has some singletrack (fairly technical in spots) but mostly fireroad until you reach the trail that leads down to Lang Ranch a little West of the Chumash center. This is a nice way to do a loop if you park at the trail head at the end of Lang Ranch street which is maybe a half mile farther to the east of the one closer to the Chumash center. Enjoy.
  Ride rating: Advanced
  Ride distance: 10-12miles Elevation change: 1500-2000'
  Singletrack=35% Dirt Road=65%
  Dan a Weekend Warrior from Thousand Oaks

  Posted:10/17/2000

• Trail Updateaccess to lang ranch and long caynon trails now possible as gate at north end of china flat and gate on albertson roadway are now open :). great loop can be made by including the prudential open space trail (if you can find the trailhead west of the dead cow trailhead), the lang ranch and long canyon trails and dead cow. I prefer taking this in a clockwise direction as d-cow is way more fun on the way down than on the way up.
  Ride rating: Advanced
  Singletrack=40% Dirt Road=60%
  vern a 37 year old Weekend Warrior from simi valley

  Posted:05/30/2000