Cuyamaca's New Downhill?

CRSP, April Ride Report

A few months back, I rode up to Oakzanita Peak for the first time in a couple years and was reminded that I love the feeling of riding on what feels like a remote, backcountry trail. While doing so, I noticed down along the fire road on the climb up that the no-bike sign was gone from the exit point, if you were to ride down from up top. Before getting to the peak, you pass by a trail intersection and there, a no-bike sign was not posted either.

Hmm?

The next time I went up to Oakzanita Peak, I did so on snowshoes. From the fire road up to the peak on the trail, there was no sign of any no-bike signs.

Hmm?

The other week, I decided to ride down from Oakzanita Peak to the fire road on a trail I had never ridden. Did I poach it? Nope. No signs anywhere. Did the park remove the signs? I don’t know.

What I do know is that you get about a 1000 feet of vertical descent in under 3 miles, making for an absolute blast of a downhill. A few switchbacks are kind of tight but most of the ride down is rollable, as you might say.

The viewscape is spectacular. The smiles come easy. The sound of spring time rushing water is music to the ears. The few tech sections closer to the bottom are a rock hound’s delight.

If you were to park at the bottom along the paved road and make this your end point after riding north through the state park and then connecting to Lucky 5 and onto the Sunrise Highway, then connecting across to Champagne Pass and down it and then on up to Oakzanita Peak via the backside of the park, you have, hands down, one of the best long-distance rides in southern California that has a perfect ending.

Get out there and ride!