Finch Trail Details
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Activities
- Mountain Bike
- E-Bike
- Hike
- Trail Running
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Riding AreaWaterdog Lake & Open Space
Belmont, California -
AKAThe Switchbacks
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Difficulty Rating
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Voted DifficultyBlack Diamond (2 votes)
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Trail TypeSingletrack
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Bike TypeXC
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DirectionBoth DirectionsPopular direction shown
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Climb DifficultyBlue
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Physical RatingHard
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Trail VisibilityAlways easy to follow
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SeasonJan-Dec
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Dogs AllowedYes
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eBike AllowedYes up to Class 1
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Global Ranking
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Local Popularity100 in Mountain Biking [+]
- 100 in E-Biking
- 90 in Trail Running
- 90 in Hiking
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Land Owner
One of the quintessential climbs in Waterdog, Finch Trail features 18 (depending on how you count them) switchbacks of varying width and tightness. The trail can become rutted after rains, and changes a bit from year-to-year, adding to the challenge of clearing all of them. When ridden as a climb, it leads to a confluence of trails, meeting up with Rambler Trail and Ohlone Trail at the uphill end.
Use caution when descending—while fun, it is a popular trail and several of the corners are blind.
Local Trail Association
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trail development & maintenance.
More Stats for Finch Trail multi-use trail trail
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Altitude change177 ft
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Altitude min492 ft
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Altitude max714 ft
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Altitude start510 ft
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Altitude end689 ft
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Grade5.3%
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Grade max-12.2%
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Grade min25.5%
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Distance climb2,162 ft
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Distance down735 ft
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Distance flat410 ft
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Avg time00:09:24
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Avg reverse time00:10:54
- view trail stats
- Unknown
- Snow Groomed
- Snow Packed
- Snow Covered
- Snow Cover Partial
- Freeze/thaw Cycle
- Icy
- Prevalent Mud
- Wet
- Variable
- Ideal
- Dry
- Very Dry
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
- > 96%
- > 90%
- > 80%
- > 70%
- > 50%
- < 50%
- bi-directional trail
- no data
- < 2 days
- < 1 week
- < 2 weeks
- < 1 month
- < 6 months
- > 6 months
- Downhill Only
- Downhill Primary
- Both Directions
- Uphill Primary
- Uphill Only
- One Direction
- Description
- Photos
- Description & Photos
- Videos
- most popular
- popular
- less popular
- not popular
- mountain biking recent
- mountain biking (>6 month)
- hiking (1 year)
- moto (1 year)
- Downhill Ski
- Backcountry Ski
- Nordic Ski
- Snowmobile
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SaveFinch Trail Trail Reports
Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail
- 10 rides
- 8 miles avg distance
- 180 rides
- 9 miles avg distance
- 1,532 rides
- Last: Jul 12, 2025
Routes with this trail
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Nearby Trails
- Hastings Connector 0 ft
- Lower Finch 1,220 ft
- Hastings Access 1,821 ft
- Jack & Coke 2,241 ft
- Ohlone Cut 2,933 ft
Waterdog Lake & Open Space
- By b0bg
& contributors
- #54151 - 2,619 views
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