Open in App
Get this trail on your phone instantly.
more stats
3.1 miles
Distance
1,067 ft
Climb
-10 ft
Descent
00:45:27
Avg time
1,058 ft
Altitude change
1,850 ft
Altitude min
2,909 ft
Altitude max
1,850 ft
Altitude start
2,907 ft
Altitude end
6.5%
Grade
-7.9%
Grade max
38.2%
Grade min
3 miles
Distance climb
610 ft
Distance down
1,066 ft
Distance flat
00:45:27
Avg time
John Nicholas Details
-
Activities
- Mountain Bike
- E-Bike
- Gravel Bike
- Hike
- Trail Running
-
Riding AreaSanborn County Park
Saratoga, California -
Difficulty Rating
-
Voted DifficultyBlue (4 votes)
-
Local Popularity100 in Mountain Biking [+]
- 100 in E-Biking
- 90 in Trail Running
- 75 in Hiking
- 100 in Gravel Biking
-
Global Ranking#6375 in Mountain Biking [+]
- #1693 in E-Biking
- #62933 in Trail Running
- #86984 in Hiking
- #7 in Gravel Biking
-
State Ranking#167 in Mountain Biking · California [+]
- #19 in E-Biking
- #3,068 in Trail Running
- #4,962 in Hiking
- #2 in Gravel Biking
-
Trail TypeSingletrack
-
Bike TypeXC, Gravel
-
Climb DifficultyBlue
-
Physical RatingModerate
-
Trail VisibilityAlways easy to follow
-
Dogs AllowedYes
-
eBike AllowedYes up to Class 3
-
Ride in RainYes
-
Year Opened2014
-
Land Owner
From Black Road to the reservoir this is a dirt road, but from the reservoir up to Skyline this is one of the premiere maintained singletrack rides in the Bay Area. Purpose built by Santa Clara County as a bicycle connector trail - also used by hikers. Surface is smooth enough and often used by CX bikes, and even the more adventurous road biker. The gradient is only steep in one or two short sections.
Trail Supporters
- Sponsor
Local Trail Association
-
-
Please consider joining or donating to the local trail association to supportDonate to earn trail karma!
trail development & maintenance.
Recent Activity on Trail
Past Week
- 7 rides
- 11 miles average
6 Months
- 166 rides
- 13 miles avg distance
All
- 1,280 rides
- Last: Oct 29, 2026
| c1 | c2 | c3 | c4 |
|---|---|---|---|
January | February | March | April |
May | June | July | August |
September | October | November | December |
John Nicholas Trail Reports
more »
close
3D
Trail Conditions
- Unknown
- Snow Groomed
- Snow Packed
- Snow Covered
- Snow Cover Partial
- Freeze/thaw Cycle
- Icy
- Prevalent Mud
- Wet
- Variable
- Ideal
- Dry
- Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users activity logs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of users are riding a trail in its intended direction.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of users are riding a trail in its intended direction.
- > 96%
- > 90%
- > 80%
- > 70%
- > 50%
- < 50%
- bi-directional trail
- no data
Trail Last Used
Trailforks scans activity logs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
- < 2 days
- < 1 week
- < 2 weeks
- < 1 month
- < 6 months
- > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
- Downhill Only
- Downhill Primary
- Both Directions
- Uphill Primary
- Uphill Only
- One Direction
Contribute Details
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
- Description
- Photos
- Description & Photos
- Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans activity logs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months.
Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades.
Think of this as a heatmap, more activities = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
- most popular
- popular
- less popular
- not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches
US Cell Coverage
Legend
Radar Time
Activity Recordings
Trailforks uses anonymized public activity data.
?
Activity Recordings
Trailforks uses anonymized public activity data.
?
Winter Trails
Warning
A routing network for winter maps does not exist. Selecting trails using the winter trails layer has been disabled.
Missing Trails
Most Popular
Least Popular
Trails are colored based on popularity. The more popular a trail is, the more red. Less popular trails trend towards green.
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where users jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
BC Backroad Status
![map legend]()
Service Road Atlas is a free to use, community-driven service for viewing and creating reports on the numerous back-country service roads around B.C. and Alberta.
Slope Aspect
Direction the slope faces
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
Only show trails with no bike usage.
Suggested Layers
Based on selected activity type
Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.
Save
Directions to john-nicholas trailhead
(37.220440, -122.054990)
Photos
81 more »
Videos
5 more »
mtb
7:53 |
289 |
Jan 7, 2025 , Saratoga
mtb
14:36 |
714 |
May 20, 2023 , Saratoga
mtb
2:00 |
386 |
Jun 11, 2021 , Saratoga
mtb
12:59 |
1003 |
Oct 17, 2020 , Saratoga
Routes with this trail
24 miles • 3,950 ft • 11 • Point to Point •
A hard, long route (or race) to get to Castle Rock State Park for the endurance-minded among us. Starting...
10 miles • 2,426 ft • 3 • Point to Point •
HKJJKNSAKNJASDKNJKJNDKJNASDKJDASKJNKJNSDJKNDSKJNSADKJNDSKJNASDKJN
16 Reviews & Comments
Ag3R10
E-bikes are allowed on the full trail not only the bottom path to the reservoir
JohnsWWjlg
JNT between Summit and Reservoir have been open. Despite rain, trail is in decent shape. One tree down today at bottom between the bridges, but passable. Black Road and Sanborn Rd access open today, but pending forest work so call ranger station to check. This has been a great go-to trail this Winter as it drains well and has some good caretakers.
Kyleponga
Still marked as closed on weekdays. Looks like they are doing some maintenance. Open on weekends no problems. Unsure when it will be done.
We hope you've been enjoying Trailforks!
Create a FREE account to view all trail reviews and much more.
Nearby Trails
- Lake Ranch Singletrack 781 ft
- Nicholas Connector 1,768 ft
- Lake Ranch Trail 2,700 ft
- Skyline Trail 4,442 ft
- John Nicholas Trail 1 mile
Sanborn County Park
- By jpravetz SCMTS Reporter & contributors
- #68712 - 19,244 views
- Follow/Subscribe
- login to download gpx or kml files.
Hit the Trail
Download Trail
Save to wishlist, Garmin & download.
Find Related Routes
Find routes and users activities that include this trail.
You must enter a description before submitting.