Golden Valley Trail - #GoldenValleyTrail

Socal - Los Angeles County - Canyon Country (Santa Clarit NickNames: #GoldenValleyTrail

To get to the trailhead, take interstate 14 north from the Newhall Pass into Santa Clarita and exit at the Golden Valley offramp. From Antelope Valley, take interstate 14 south to the Golden Valley Rd. exit. Once off the freeway, park in the big park & ride lot near the end of the ramp on the hill side. unload your bikes here and pick up the trail at the base of the hills near the end of the ramp. Thomas Guide page: ?

6 Review(s)Login

• Trail UpdateDon't Bother With This Trail.-This trail is a mess. It appears as if several tons of fill dirt had been placed at begining of trail and about the first 1/2 mile (I turned around at this point). I then went to Towsley which was closed. I then settled for Castaic.
  Burg a 43 year old riding a Turner from Valencia

  Posted:03/19/2005

• Trail UpdateBeautiful...-I rode the trail on March 12, 2005 and it was in decent condition. At the very beginning of the trail there was a big puddle of mud with a bunch of tire ruts, once you're through that it's all packed dirt with some loose dirt spots here and there. In the first 1/4 mile i did notice the occasional rut from water runoff but it's extremely easy to navigate around it. As for scenery, wow. It's almost impossible to think that the last time i rode this trail everything was charred and black and there wasn't a single sign of life around. No bugs, no birds, no snakes, no lizards. Now it's crawling with all of the above and the rolling hills are a vibrant green with plenty of wild flowers all over the place. If it werent for the occasional semi-scorched cactus or tree, you wouldn't think there was ever a fire here. You'll notice on the north east side of the hill they're doing construction now. Not sure what they're in the process of devloping, but there are bulldozers gallore.

  All in all, it was a fun ride and a beautiful day for a ride, temperature was about 70 and sunny.
  Ride rating: Beginner
  Singletrack=100%
  px a 27 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Gary Fischer Tassajara from Burbank, CA

  Posted:03/12/2005

• Trail UpdateSome Rain Damage...-Rode Golden Valley Saturday 02-12-05 12:30pm The small gate at the bottom has been removed so some pickups take this trail up a bit but only for like the first quarter mile. When we rode, the road had two washouts at the beginning and was pretty moist most of the way up. At the second washout, two guys in a pickup got stuck in the mud and after climbing up a ways, we saw another truck that helped to tow them out with a rope. Just goes to show it isn't for motor vehicles. The easy climb up Golden Valley was ok, soft, and sandy. Fire damage isn't too bad. Very green and plenty of wildflowers. After climbing about 2 miles though we hit some mud and had to hike a bike, but our shoes and bikes just kept getting covered with this sticky, pasty mud. Before it got worse we turned back and rode back to the freeway and home on Sierra Hwy. The trail just needs some time to dry up. Very pretty up there, its an easy ride for some good views.

  To the east of Golden Valley some development is going on as a continuation of the Fair Oaks Ranch project so 2 or 3 singletracks are lost.
  Ride rating: Novice
  Ride distance: 2 Elevation change: 800
  Truck Trail=100%
  Steve K a 17 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Mongoose XR-100 from Canyon Country (Santa Clarita), CA

  Posted:02/12/2005

• Trail UpdateFire...-This trail and the area near Placerita Canyon and Bear Divide are being burned by some fires. This trail is sure to be effected and is closed. Highway 14 is also closed.
  Steve K a 17 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Mongoose XR-100 from Canyon Country (Santa Clarita), CA

  Posted:07/18/2004

• Trail UpdateGolden Valley-I rode this trail on 04-05-04 at 6:00 pm. The weather was cool and the trail condition was good enough to provide good traction on the fast descent. I'll have to bring lights next time so I can rider longer and explore.
  This is a good training ride and can be fun if you ride the singletracks into the valley below. It's a good training ride because you can go all out on the climbs then it flattens out before it climbs again. I consider this trail to be for beginners to intermediate riders. If you live in the area, this is a good local ride substitute to the viper trail, but don't go out of your way to ride it. I'll be riding here on the weekdays after work alot because it's close to where I live. Its not going to be a good trail to ride in the hot summer days unless you ride it early in the morning or at night.
  Ride rating: Novice
  Ride distance: endless if includes singletrack Elevation change:
  Singletrack=30% Dirt Road=70%
  a Die-hard Enthusiast riding a Santa Cruz Blur from Canyon Country, CA

  Posted:04/06/2004

• Trail UpdateGolden Valley Trail/ Fire Road-When I first started mountain biking this was my first trail, but it has a little something for everyone, not just beginners. The terrain isn't too technical but there are banks on the turns and some great opportunities for speed. I first chose this trail because of the great views of the Santa Clarita Valley where I live, as well as Placerita Canyon. We got some great pics. The view is incredible on a clear day. Anyways, the trail starts from the edge of the freeway offramp and begins a gradual ascent and continues this way for at least 4 miles until you reach the high point of the hills, but the downhill back is the fun part. You will pick up a lot of speeeeed!!! I first rode this trail on a Superbowl sunday before the big game, and it only took about 2 hours to get to the highest point and back.

  Golden valley is also cool because it links to many singletracks that local riders enjoy. There are singletracks running down to the Fair Oaks Ranch community in Santa Clarita, steep downhills to the Placerita Canyon/Los Pinetos trail area, and the Golden Valley trail essentially becomes a singletrack which connects to a residential district in Sand Canyon (past the high point). Check out these singletracks and explore them all. The singletracks are mainly in chapparrel terrain, and most seem somewhat technical. Try this trail and let me know what you think
  Ride rating: Novice
  Ride distance: about 7 miles Elevation change: 750
  Singletrack=good ones around% Truck Trail=100%
  Steve K. a 16 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Mongoose XR-100 from Canyon Country (Santa Clarita), CA

  Posted:11/06/2003