Wilder Ranch Big Ride

The Strava route below can be copied into navigation tools such as BikeGPS. https://www.strava.com/routes/24763871

Wilder Ranch  – The Big Ride Turn by Turn:

1. Begin at the Wilder Ranch parking area.  Alternative start is to park along Mission St Extended in Santa Cruz and catch the County Bike Trail that runs along California State Route 1 (Coast Rd.) directly to Wilder Ranch.  This adds 2.5 miles of paved bike trail to the ride each way (total of 5 miles added) but makes for a nice warm up. 
2. Ride down the hill from the parking lot to, then walk your bike through, the historic Wilder Ranch building area and through the tunnel under State Route 1. 0.4 mile
3. Take the fire road past the corral and veer right onto Engelsman’s Loop, 0.2 mile, fire road, flat
4. After crossing a bridge there is a fork.  Both sides are Engelsman’s Loop.  Take the left side.  1.9 mi, single track, climb
5. Left on Wild Boar Trail, 0.1 mile, single track, 0.5 mile, climb
6. Left on Old Cabin Trail, 0.8 mile, single track, descent then climb.
7. Right on Eucalyptus Loop trail, 1.2 mile, fire road, climb
8. Continue straight on Eucalyptus Loop trail, 1.2 mile, fire road, descent
9. Left on Eucalyptus Loop Trail, 0.2 mile descent.  
10. Left on Bobcat Trail (signage may call this the Twin Oaks Cutoff Trail), 0.2 mile descent.
11. Left on Twin Oaks Trail.  0.7 mile, single track, decent.
12. Left on Wilder Ridge Loop, 0.7 mile, fire road, descent. 
13. Hard Right on Wilder Ridge Loop, former known as Dairy Trail, towards Zane Gray Cutoff. 1.0 mile, single track, rolling. 
14. Right on Zane Gray Cutoff, 0.8 mile, single track, climb
15. Left. on Wilder Ridge Loop, 0.6, fire road, climb
16. There is a confusing place where Wilder Ridge Loop, Enchanted Loop, and Twin Oaks Trails all come together with some extra short unmarked single tracks in the mix.  Find your way to the Enchanted Loop Trail.  1.5 mile, trail follows a fire road for 0.5 miles along the top of a ridge, then drops down into a canyon on the North side of the ridge on an extremely challenging single track, then climbs out of the canyon on narrow path. 
17. Right to stay on Enchanted Loop Trail.  This eventually joins the fire road portion of the Enchanted Loop Trailalready ridden, which will need to be ridden again to reach the Baldwin Loop Trail.  0.6, fire road, climb
18. Instead of turning down the canyon on the Enchanted Loop Trail, go left onto the Baldwin Loop Trail.  0.8 mile, single track, descent. 
19. Left onto Eagle Cut Off, 0.2 single track climb
20. Right onto Baldwin Loop Trail, 0.6 mile, fire road, descent
21. Cross State Route 1 at the farmhouse, ride around the farm house and cross the field on tractor roads to the bluff.  0.6 mile, dirt road, flat
22. Left. on the Ohlone Bluff Trail.  4.6 mile to the parking lot, single track, flat.  The Ohlone Bluff Trail follows the bluff and returns to the railroad tracks at coastal inlets twice. On the second time, turn left on the paved road to take you back to the park parking lot.   If you parked on Mission St. Extension, continue through Wilder Ranch to rejoin the county bike path.  

Mountain biking is a dangerous sport that could lead to injury or death. Always wear a helmet. Stay on trails, carry an official park map, food and water. Trail conditions can change rapidly. This web site may not contain accurate trail conditions. SFbayareamountainbiking.com and its authors are not responsible for any injuries sustained while bicycling the trails described on this web site.