4.1 miles
Distance
147 ft
Climb
-947 ft
Descent
00:34:53
Avg time

Guardians Trail Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • E-Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    Upper Bidwell Park
    Chico, California
  • Difficulty Rating
    Black Diamond rate
  • Voted Difficulty
    Black Diamond (1 vote)
  • Hiking SAC Scale
    T2 Mountain Hiking
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    DH, AM, XC
  • Direction
    Both Directions
    Popular direction shown
  • Climb Difficulty
    Black Diamond
  • Physical Rating
    Hard
  • Trail Visibility
    Always easy to follow
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    Yes up to Class 1
  • TTFs on Trail
    Drop, Jump, Rock Face, Rock Garden, Roller Coaster
  • Global Ranking
    #41278 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #33018 in E-Biking
    • #26602 in Trail Running
    • #42677 in Hiking
  • Local Popularity
    65 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 50 in E-Biking
    • 80 in Trail Running
    • 45 in Hiking

Guardians Trail is probably fun for those who enjoy the thrill of cheating death. Bikes are allowed but it was never built for them and it has had little to no maintenance. There are brutal rock gardens, sharp lava rock, off camber corners, washed out sections with 20 foot cliff drops, and much much more.
EDIT: Guardians is one of the most popular and most famous trails in Chico. It is one of most people's favorite trail in the park and includes a little bit of everything. The upper section is open and mostly flat with some large rock faces that can be cause for a hike-a-bike. The middle follows along the base of the cliffs of south rim and is tree covered. This is a fun rollercoaster section with some tricky rock features such as the toilet bowl, short punchy climbs, and fast flowy singletrack. The lower section includes more tricky rock sections and flowy sections. Many sections of Guardians are very exposed.

Local Trail Association
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Guardians Trail multi-use trail trail
  • Altitude change
    -801 ft
  • Altitude min
    583 ft
  • Altitude max
    1,385 ft
  • Altitude start
    1,385 ft
  • Altitude end
    584 ft
  • Grade
    -3.7%
  • Grade max
    -35.7%
  • Grade min
    12.8%
  • Distance climb
    3,963 ft
  • Distance down
    3 miles
  • Distance flat
    4,206 ft
  • Avg time
    00:34:53
  • Avg reverse time
    01:07:48
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Jan 30, 2024
Wet
Avg: 4.06 (9 votes)
Your vote: 0

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Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Partial
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
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  • > 90%
  • > 80%
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  • Both Directions
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  • One Direction
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  • mountain biking recent
  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
Activity Recordings
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  • Downhill Ski
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      Guardians Trail Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Jan 30, 2024 @ 7:49pm
      Jan 30, 2024
      		 Water on most of the trail. You will get diiirty. Slippery rocks. Use caution. Big rain tomorrow
      May 3, 2023 @ 11:19am
      May 3, 2023
      		 Big tree across the trail a little after the start of the trail. Significant exposure off the side of the trail at the downed tree location too.
      Apr 29, 2020 @ 12:27pm
      Apr 29, 2020
      Mar 28, 2020 @ 6:46pm
      Mar 28, 2020
      		 Friday 3/27/20. Very open, despite Park website, and sign at the top. Had to walk a narrow cliff-hugging 20 ft technical section. Clear visible...
      Nov 9, 2019 @ 9:06pm
      Nov 9, 2019
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 0 rides
      •  
      6 Months
      • 1 rides
      • 9 miles avg distance
      All
      • 59 rides
      • Last: Jan 12, 2025

      Technical Trail Features (TTF)

      Photos

      more »
      100 |
      Apr 23, 2020 @ 12:29pm
      Apr 23, 2020
      151 |
      Apr 29, 2019 @ 9:42am
      Apr 29, 2019
      261 |
      Apr 28, 2018 @ 11:52pm
      Apr 28, 2018
      331 |
      Dec 28, 2017 @ 5:03pm
      Dec 28, 2017

      Routes with this trail

      more »
      titledistance
      Bidwell Park Perimeter Trail16 miles
      Bidwell Bump XC race course race14 miles
      South Rim DH race4 miles
      Bidwell Bump Super-D race6 miles

      1 Review & Comments


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      Videos

      more »
      youtuber South Bidwell Epic - Bidwell Park - Chico, Ca...
      16:55 | 621 | Jan 22, 2018 , Chico
      youtuber Guardians Trail & Hacksaw Ridge Trails...
      26:33 | 753 | Oct 6, 2019 , Chico
      Bidwell Park - Guardian Trail - Part 3 of 3
      8:53 | 230 | May 12, 2021 , Chico
      Bidwell Park - Guardian Trail - Part 2 of 3
      4:17 | 224 | May 12, 2021 , Chico

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