The majority of this loop is on singletrack, with a few sections of wide fire roads (mainly on the flats and climbs) thrown in for good measure. The trail is not terribly technical, but is reasonably difficult for the Bay Area. Most of the trail is pretty fast and smooth, but watch your speed becaues both Santa Clara County Parks and the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District impose a 15mph speed limit, which they enforce via Rangers with radar guns. Speeding tickets are pricey.
Bathrooms, in the form of outhouses, and good quality maps are available at the parking area for Saratoga Gap Open Space Preserve. Maps are also available as you exit Long Ridge Open Space Preserve. If you do the ride in the afternoon on a spring or summer weekend, you may also find a hot dog stand at the Saratoga Gap parking area.
The fun begins immediately as you negotiate the most technical part of the trail in the first few hundred yards of downhill. Watch out for a sharp left-hand switchback just after a drop-off off a rock. After that, the trail rolls up and down (but overall downhill) for the next 1.3 miles of fast, fun, wooded singletrack. Just be on the lookout for hikers and bikers headed the other way, as this section of trail is heavily used. After a while, you'll emerge onto an intersection with a fire road (Charcoal Road...you'll come back up this road from the right later on). For now, continue straight across the road on the singletrack as Saragota Gap trail continues for another 0.3 miles of mostly downhill fun, fast singletrack. After a quick climb, you'll emerge onto Highway 35.
Cross the highway and start up the singletrack Hickory Oaks trail, which quickly turns into a fire road. After a hundred yards or so of climbing, turn right at the T-intersection and continue uphill on Hickory Oaks trail. After 0.2 miles, take the singletrack splitting off to the left into the open grass. This trail contours around the West side of a hill, and on a clear day you can stop and take in the spectacular views West to the Pacific Ocean. After enjoying the sights, continue on as the trail starts heading slightly downhill. After less than 0.1 miles, you will be spit out back onto the fireroad you just left...make a sharp left-hand u-turn onto the road when you get there, and then continue downhill (now back on Hickory Oaks trail). You should pick up some speed in this wide downhill, as the trail will shortly climb steeply for a moment (although your middle ring should be sufficient to climb it). The trail then drops quite a bit, with a few short climbs, as it crosses open ridges.
After 0.5 miles, turn right on the singletrack that looks like it climbs slowly around the West side of the hill. You will quickly come to a bench with more great views of the Pacific. Continue straight for 0.2 miles, at which point you will emerge onto Long Ridge Road, which follows the ridge line. After another 0.1 miles, you will see a singletrack dropping off to the right.
Alternate Route: This trail (Peters Creek trail) switchbacks down to the bottom of the small canyon to follow Peters Creek toward the Long Ridge parking area. This is a good alternate route if you want to change the loop slightly or if Long Ridge trail is closed due to wet weather. In general though, I think Long Ridge is more fun.
Continue straight on Long Ridge road for another 0.5 rolling miles until you reach singletrack Long Ridge trail taking off slightly to the right. Note that this trail is closed during wet conditions to prevent damage. Respect the closure! Mountain bikers have a bad enough name as it is...
Long Ridge trail starts off rolling through the trees, but soon begins descending in earnest. A series of tight switchbacks that you can barely see coming will be upon you quickly. The first is a sharp switchback to the left that you'll miss if you don't keep your eyes open. After the switchbacks, you'll have a fairly long straightaway that emerges into an opening with several trails splitting off. This will be about 0.8 miles from the start of Long Ridge trail.
Alternate Route: If you really want more singletrack, you could continue straight ahead on Long Ridge trail, which climbs around a nob before descending steeply to Peters Creek trail (total distance is about 0.7 miles). However, I've found that the descent is not really worth the admittedly short climb, and I personally find the longer but slightly less steep route described below more fun.
After emerging into the clearing, make a sharp switchback to the right (180 degrees) and head downhill on the old, narrow fire road (really more like a wide doubletrack) toward Peters Creek trail. This trail drops smoothly and steadily for 0.4 miles to Peters Creek trail. Be careful to control your speed, but have fun on this easy, fast section. When you hit Peters Creek trail, make a sharp (180 degree) switchback to your left and head North on Peters Creek trail, still heading downhill, and alternating between single and doubletrack.
After some smooth descending for about 0.4 miles, you'll encounter a fun drop-off off a tree root followed immediately by a turn to the left (always interesting when you're already in the air when you realize the turn is right in front of you), and then you will see a singletrack heading steeply uphill to the left (this is the end of Long Ridge trail if you took the alternate route above) or slightly downhill to the right. Take the split to the right. Cross the wooden bridge and pedal few hundred feet to another junction. The singletrack to the left continues North to Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve. Instead, take the split to the right, which climbs for 0.4 miles to Highway 35.
Cross Highway 35 to the dirt parking area, and enter what is now Upper Stevens Creek County Park. From here, Grizzly Flat trail (a wide fire road) drops for 1.9 miles (according to the map...2.1 according to my bike and legs) to Stevens Creek. It's a fun, fast, smooth descent, but make sure to control your speed in case of rangers or the poor bikers who are climing UP the hill. There are a few places where side roads split off...just stay to the left and you should be fine. Just before you hit the creek, a somewhat hidden singletrack splits off to the left. Follow this trail as it drops to the creek, crosses it, and begins switchbacking up the other side of the canyon. After about 0.2 miles of climbing, you'll reach wide Canyon trail (an old fire road). Head to the right (South) on Canyon trail as it continues dropping for another 0.4 miles or so. Soon, the trail splits. Take the split to the right onto singletrack Table Mountain trail.
Table Mountain trail drops for a few hundred more feet, then crosses Stevens Creek and immediately starts climbing. This trail is open to bicycle traffic heading uphill only. This is the beginning of the big grinder climb of the loop. You will climb, steeply for much of the time, up on alterately smooth and heavily rutted singletrack through beautiful forested areas for a grueling mile, at which point you'll emerge onto a road (Charcoal road). At this point you've already climbed about 500 feet since leaving Canyon trail. Take a break to refuel, then continue to the right (South) on Charcoal road.
Charcoal road begins innocently enough, with some flat/slightly downhill fire road that invites you to hit the big ring and cruise, and I'd highly recommend doing so. Unfortunately, after a short distance, the road turns nasty and starts climbing steeply uphill. Stay to the right at the junctions. Unless you're in good shape, you'll probably be in your small ring...in fact in granny gear...most of the way up the hill. Fortunately, the road does level off for short periods and occasionally even lets you coast for a few hundred feet before going back into steep climbing. If it's hot, get ready to bake as much of the road is in the sun. Also be on the lookout for the occasional car heading downhill way too fast (apparently this is somebody's driveway...) After about 1.8 miles of this torturous, boring-ass climbing, just when you think you can't take it anymore, you finally reach the top, and can coast for 0.3 miles back to the intersection with Saratoga Gap trail.
You now simply take a left onto Saratoga Gap trail and retrace your steps for 1.7 miles back to the parking area. Oddly, although when you started the ride it probably felt like this section of trail was mostly downhill, it actually feels pretty evenly divided between climbs and downhills heading this direction as well, so the "climb" is not nearly as bad as you'd think, except right at the end. Once you emerge onto Highway 9, cross the highway back to the parking area. If you're lucky and your timing is right, you may even be able to grab a hot dog...not a bad way to end it!
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