2.4 miles
Distance
361 ft
Climb
-1,628 ft
Descent
00:21:50
Avg time
Supporters, Builders, Maintainers & Land Managers of Middle Sam Merrill Trail

  • USFS
    Land Manager

Middle Sam Merrill Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    Angeles National Forest
    Altadena, California
  • Difficulty Rating
    Black Diamond rate
  • Voted Difficulty
    Double Black Diamond (1 vote)
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM
  • Direction
    Downhill Primary
    Popular direction shown
  • Physical Rating
    Hard
  • Season
    All Year
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    No
  • Ride in Rain
    Yes
  • Global Ranking
    #3927 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #57290 in Trail Running
    • #5982 in Hiking
  • Local Popularity
    90 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 80 in Trail Running
    • 100 in Hiking

Middle Sam Merrill starts from the Mt Lowe Fire Road at the intersection to Inspiration Point. The single track trail is narrow, exposed and loose. It begins on the shady side of the mountain and wraps around to the sunny side where it gets increasingly loose and dry. This is an advanced trail with exposure, rock drops, etc.

Be aware this is a multi use trail and hikers are commonly found coming up from the Echo Mtn ruins below. Bell use is highly recommended and appreciated by other trail users. This trail commonly causes flats so be prepared with extra tubes, pump, etc. Also a good idea to check your brakes before riding this trail as you will be using them and using them heavily.

Local Trail Association
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Middle Sam Merrill mountain bike trail trail
  • Altitude change
    -1,266 ft
  • Altitude min
    3,215 ft
  • Altitude max
    4,502 ft
  • Altitude start
    4,481 ft
  • Altitude end
    3,215 ft
  • Grade
    -9.984%
  • Grade max
    -49.356%
  • Grade min
    43.825%
  • Distance climb
    2,789 ft
  • Distance down
    2 miles
  • Distance flat
    164 ft
  • Avg time
    00:21:50
  • Avg reverse time
    00:45:51
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Jun 12, 2022
Very Dry
Avg: 4.85 (15 votes)
Your vote: 0

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  • Basemap 
  • Trail Style 
    • ?
  • Activity Type  
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Inadequate
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users ridelogs 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 riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
  • > 96%
  • > 90%
  • > 80%
  • > 70%
  • > 50%
  • < 50%
  • bi-directional trail
  • no data
Trail Last Ridden
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  • < 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 ridelogs 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 rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
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  • popular
  • less popular
  • not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
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Radar Time
x Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
  • mountain biking recent
  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.
  • Downhill Ski
  • Backcountry Ski
  • Nordic Ski
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
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      Directions to middle-sam-merrill trailhead (34.224180, -118.110260)
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      Middle Sam Merrill Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Jun 12, 2022 @ 6:11am
      Jun 12, 2022
      Feb 13, 2022 @ 11:00pm
      Feb 13, 2022
      Jan 1, 2022 @ 5:27pm
      Jan 1, 2022
      		 Merryl it’s in good shape and as fun as always also after the snow
      Jan 1, 2022 @ 6:56am
      Jan 1, 2022
      Jun 12, 2021 @ 12:11am
      Jun 12, 2021
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 4 rides
      • 16 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 155 rides
      • 15 miles avg distance
      All
      • 1,742 rides
      •  

      Photos

      more »
      52 |
      Nov 7, 2021 @ 8:44am
      Nov 7, 2021
      55 |
      Nov 7, 2021 @ 8:44am
      Nov 7, 2021
      39 |
      Nov 7, 2021 @ 8:44am
      Nov 7, 2021
      36 |
      Nov 7, 2021 @ 8:44am
      Nov 7, 2021

      Routes with this trail

      more »
      titledistance
      Mt Lowe, Sam Merril, sunset, EP13 miles
      Eaton Saddle Shuttle8 miles
      Mt. Wilson Mega25 miles
      Mt. Wilson shuttle14 miles

      1 Review & Comments

      • + 1
      Bmoore200 (Oct 11, 2018 at 15:23)
       This section is awesome. Nice amount of technical but can be ridden fast and flowy once you get the feel for it. Some tight rocky steep sections, small drops. Gets even better with some rain.
      [Reply]





      Videos

      more »
      youtuber Los Angeles pt1 : Brought San Francisco...
      9:52 | 54 | Nov 3, 2021 , Altadena
      Mt. Wilson/Eaton Saddle Shuttle Downhill
      1:5:09 | 66 | Jul 27, 2021 , Altadena
      MT. WILSON Altadena - Old Mt. Lowe Railroad...
      6:16 | 51 | Jul 25, 2021 , Altadena
      Mt Wilson on E-Bikes (Will-E) - Part 1 Middle...
      10:10 | 96 | Apr 19, 2021 , Altadena

      Nearby Trails

      Angeles National Forest

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