Ride Report: Whiting Ranch Grand Re-opening
This past weekend was the grand re-opening of Whiting Ranch. Having been closed since October 2007 due to fires, mountain bikers and hikers were eager to hit the trail for the opening. I was one of them. Joined by several friends we hit the dirt anxious to see what was left from the fires and changes to the popular trail.
Off the bat, the most evident was the sand. There were sand pits throughout the trail. Not sure if this was part of the restoration process but this was the main obstacle of the park. From the start and all the way to the base of Mustard (climb), every so often you will have to grind through sand pits.
Sections of sand through out the trail.
Unable to ride through, many walked their bikes.
The route to the Cattle Pond was also widened into more than a double track. What was once a sweet singletrack was now groomed and more than less-technical. The climb to the top of Mustard was smooth and all of the rocky sections were now gone. When we reached the top (Four Corners), many bikers/hikers were congregated. Many were either resting from the humidity or sharing past stories of Whiting.
Climbing Mustard Rd.
Onto the fun stuff… the entrance to Cactus was also rerouted. Many sections of the singletrack was sandy. This made the descent slower than expected. As we headed into the meat of the trail, we found that majority of it was changed. There were lots of turns where it was virtually impossible to gain speed. None the less, it was new and exciting. The last part of the trail was still a blast. As we rode through the Oak trees, many of the fun sections where still there mixed in with sand pits.
Despite the sand, we finished the trail with smiles for miles. Whiting Ranch can definitely use rain and in time, the sandy section will become hardpack.
Hi from Brazil and nice blog that you have.
But I have a little question about the second picture, which frame is that?
Thanks.
I noticed that the riders walking through the sand weren’t on 29ers. Coincidence?
uh oh…you just opened a can of worms…
Weyland, the guys on the 29ers were behind the 26ers. Not only do they ride slower, apparently they walk slower too 🙂 j/k
EVERYONE was walking…
That sucks that they changed everything around and covered it with sand. There use to be some sweet single track along the canal by me and the park decided to widen everything, level off the entire trail and then cover it with mulch. I’ve heard rumors that they are going to pave it now! Uhg! I don’t even bother going there anymore.
All in all though it looks like you have some fantastic places to ride.
Sand, schmand. You guys just need to nut up! Sandy Whiting is better than no Whiting. I rode it last night on my 26er and cleaned all but one of the sand pits. It hurt like hell but it was fun trying to do it.
I would have bagged all of them on my 29er.
Hey Weyland. This is WAyland. Met you at the top of Cocktail Rock at San Juan a few months ago. Remember?
Hey Wayland, this is Joe. Bought your Marzocchi AM1 a few months ago 🙂 Saw you at San Juan that day as well. Small world.