6.9 miles
Distance
991 ft
Climb
-988 ft
Descent
785 ft
High Point

Pearson-Arastradero Preserve is one of those city-run small open space preserves that are much more generous in their proportion of bike-legal singletrack in its trail network than many preserves that are much larger in size. All trails in this park are open to mountain bikes. That earns my respect

There are no long climbs at Arastradero. So, it could qualify as a good place to bring a beginner mountain bike rider, especially if you want to include some singletrack in the mix. That doesn't mean that you won't have to pay attention to your route choice, though. While the total amount of climbing is not significant, some short sections (mostly on fire roads) are pretty seriously steep and may present some unnecessary challenge to an out-of-shape new rider. Still, those can always be walked by beginners.

Even for experienced riders, there's quite a bit of fun to be had here. If you could string together a route that traverses all of the trails here without repeating any, you'd end up with something like a 10-mile ride. More likely, though, you'd be riding just your favorite sections of the park, while repeating or reversing some segments of your route. Since there are plenty of short interconnected trails here, it lends itself well to improvization.

Notice that there are at least two spots where you can park along Arastradero Road to enter this park. The one I'm showing as the suggested parking here is a roadside parking area with space for only five or six vehicles. The reason I usually prefer this one is that I usually do weekday morning rides at Arastradero before going to work, and the main parking lot sometimes happens to still have its gate locked at the early morning hour at which I show up. So, if you like, you can first try the main parking lot and only use my suggestion if the main lot happens to be locked.

There isn't a single characteristic route in the park that I can think of. The route represented on this page is, therefore, simply one of many possible suggestions. I can point to a few highlights that are worth checking out, though: "The Bowl" in the westernmost extreme of the park is a huge flat-bottomed excavation in the ground (an old quarry?) that provides opportunities for blasting down one end of it and trying to make it out the other steep end. A nearby "playground" may also enable you to spend a few fun minutes. There are some ramps and "jumps" there, though it's been aging lately. You can string these two together by following Bowl Loop Trail. And, finally, Acorn Trail, Woodland Star Trail, and Woodrat Trail are all nice singletrack trails that are (naturally) more fun in the descending direction, but are almost as enjoyable to climb.

One important thing to watch out for when it comes to biking at Arastradero is that the trail conditions become terrible when it rains. The soil here seems to have high clay content and, even after modest amounts of rainfall, it quickly sticks to your tires and accumulates until progress becomes almost impossible. You've been warned.

source: Arastradero
Detailed Description
Arastradero Looper is a 7 mile popular easy route located near Palo Alto California. This mountain bike only route can be used one direction and has a moderate overall physical rating. This route includes 4 trails. This route climbs 991 ft with a max elevation of 785 ft then descends -988 ft.
Local Trail Association
Local trail association
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (www.openspace.org)
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Trails in Route

Details

  • Riding area
  • Primary Activity
    Mountain Bike
  • Difficulty rating
    Green
  • Route Type
    Loop
  • Bike type
    AM
  • Direction
    One Direction
  • Physical rating
    Moderate
  • Ridelogs
    1
More Stats for Arastradero Looper mountain bike route
  • Avg time
    1 hr 31 min
  • Altitude min
    399 ft
  • Altitude start
    399 ft
  • Altitude end
    404 ft
  • Grade max
    -39%
  • Grade min
    33.2%
  • Distance climb
    3 miles
  • Distance down
    3 miles
  • Distance flat
    3,228 ft
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Arastradero preserve. Bay laurel trail.
Arastradero preserve. Bay laurel trail.
3:00 | 125 | comments: 0 | favs:
Sep 29, 2015
Me riding at a local trail spot. Not the greatest trails but fun for a quickie.
Arastradero preserve. Woodland star trail.
Arastradero preserve. Woodland star trail.
0:35 | 189 | comments: 0 | favs:
Sep 29, 2015
Me riding at a local trail spot. Not the greatest trails but fun for a quickie.

Recent Trail Reports Along Route

statustraildateconditiondescription
Acorn Trail
Jun 3, 2024 @ 5:02pm
Jun 3, 2024
Bay Laurel Trail
Oct 7, 2023 @ 10:24am
Oct 7, 2023
Bowls Connector
Jun 7, 2023 @ 10:12am
Jun 7, 2023
Extremely dry. (Fires might be common)
Woodland Star Trail
May 20, 2023 @ 2:28pm
May 20, 2023
more reports »
  • By timalotTF Pro & contributors
  • #30956 - 743 views