Skeggs and the Demo

Posted by PeterD Tue, 13 Jun 2006 01:36:00 GMT

We often get questions in the shop related to trail conditions. One thing that seems to be coming out from this is that there are some misconceptions about what is open at El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve (often knows as “Skeggs Point” or “ECdM”) and Soquel Demonstration State Forest (“the Demo”).

Last week, Charles and some others hit ECdM for a ride, and today we went to the Demo. So here’s the scoop…

ECdM

ECdM has had a lot of trails closed over the winter in order to keep the trails from being to damaged, and to prevent soil from the trails from entering the streams (where steelhead trout, an endangered species, breed). These trail closures all ended a few weeks back, so at this time ALL trails in ECdM are open at this time (even though the land owner’s web site still has the seasonal closure map online – which refer to last winter’s closures).

But, all trails being open won’t last for long, as there are plans to close 2 trails this summer so they can be realigned (which will hopefully allow them to be left open in future winters, though I suspect they will have to be closed again for this upcoming winter so the trails can settle). The two trails are El Corte de Madera Creek Trail and Giant Salamander Trail. It is not clear when these trail closures will occur, but the last word I heard was either starting in June or July, so if you want to ride these two trails, do it soon. Even after they are closed, there will still be plenty of good trails open for riding.

The Demo

With the Demo, the problem is not trail closure, but the ability to get to the trails. This past wet winter caused a set of slides to block Highland Way, the main road for access to the preserve. People could still get to the park by biking up from Aptos through Nisene Marks State Park, but that is ~25 miles round trip.

Good news – the slides have been cleared, and the roads are drivable. But, there still seems to be a lot of water (on one slide in particular), so it is always possible that the road will get blocked again if the soil decides to move again.

(Click picture to see larger version of one the slides. Picture was posted by Francois on MTBR – I am “borrowing” it because I failed to take any pictures of the slide when I was down there today…)