 | | Crafton Hills/Zanja Peak - Yucaipa Trailhead - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 | | |
| | | | Crafton Hills/Zanja Peak - Yucaipa - San Bernardino County
From the L.A., Riverside, and Orange County areas, take the 10 East and exit Yucaipa Blvd. Go North (left) on Yucaipa Blvd for app. 2 miles to 14th/Sand Canyon St. Turn left and go up the road. Turn right into Crafton Hills College and follow the road around until you see the tennis courts. Park. There is a service road that runs along side the tennis courts, through the golf course, and heads up towards the giant satellite dish atop the mountain. Follow this road up, and you will see the fire road. This fire road travels through the entire Crafton Hills area. The trail is approximately 6 miles long from end to end. There are so many various routes that can be taken, that it is too difficult to enter them all here on this site. Riding along the fire road itself is an excellant beginner ride. Very scenic, very easy. The highest point that you will see is Zanja Peak. There are several roads leading up to it. Many are definite "hike-a-bikes". However, around the back there is a ridable one. Not only will this lead you to the peak, but just below the summit you will see a single track section that seems to just keep going forever. This is an excellant single track. It has some excellant technical sections. Taking the single track route all the way down will lead you into Yucaipa Regional Park. I absolutely love riding in the Crafton Hills area as I can ride leisurely, or if I want I can challenge myself on the many technicals and steeps. If you would like more information, Please feel free to e-mail me and I will give you any info you desire. Have fun, ride safe, and I'll see you on the Single-track. Sean Stodelle- SStody@webtv.net Thomas Guide page 649 C2
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#33
Trail is Regularly Maintained - The trail is in good condition with minimal ruts and a couple of different tracks to explore. My favorite way to go on this trail is to start at the mid point trail off of Oak Glenn Rd by the soccer complex. Its a pretty steep trail, once you reach Zanja Peak you can either loop around through Yucaipa Regional Park or go down the other side and head over to crafton hills College. I like to go back down the way i came because it offers some good technical single track. Still havent gone down the Crafton Hills College side but im sure it offers more single track.
itillen a 28 year old Weekend Warrior riding a 09 Santa Cruz Heckler from Beaumont, Ca
Posted on 10/23/11 
#32
A couple new single tracks constructed off Chapman Heights Road leading up into the hills. Very good riding. Up one, short traverse and down second trail is about 2-1/2 miles.
Tiger40c a 52 year old Cross-Country Rider
Posted on 10/03/11
#31
Ruts Suck! - The trail was awesome. We took a friend up to introduce him to the trail and he loved it. The trail was hard packed with a few spots of bigger loose rocks. On the way down, my wife lead us down the single tracks. One of the downhills, we all started to walk the bikes because the ruts and rocks were bad juju. Being the adventurer that I am, I picked a good line and started down on my bike. I would of made it if I hadn't startled my wife when I passed her. I ended up going over and attempted to go through my bike as I landed on a nice fluffy pile of sharp edged rocks. I did finish the ride on my own but stuck to the main road. My wife has wrapped me up with bandages and ice packs and is insisting that I go to the hospital. She thinks I broke my shoulder. I'll let you know who was right later. I still love this trail but the ruts suck!
commandermungo a 41 year old Weekend Warrior
Posted on 03/15/09
#30
It's been awhile!!!! - I was talking to a neighbor of mine about MTB riding and got on the subject of local trials. He's been wanting to get some miles in doing the lower portion of SART from OC to the beach. I told him that a really good local trail I used to ride a bunch is not far from us being in Beaumont, and that beats having to head all the way down to OC,"fuel prices and all". While im basically new to Beaumont(6 mo.), originally from Redlands and since i haven't been able to find the same quality of trail out here. Zenja Pk in Crafton Hills is by far the best local trail with-in a fifteen minute drive. Althought Loma Linda would also be a good choice but is just a little bit to far for a last minute late in the afternoon choice for me. Although I haven't been out there in at least a year i was wondering if the conditions have changed? Last time i was out there I was approached by a campus officer who told me that my trusty companion "Wilson" my beagle was not allowed on the campus. In fact that's probably why I stopped riding there. Well, I'm getting the itch to get back and even If I cant take my four legged friend I am looking forward to all the awesome single track. I'll probably head-up this weekend and will post a follow up update later.
commandermungo  a 41 year old Weekend Warrior riding a M-80 Hardtail from Beaumont E-mail:this user
Posted on 03/15/09
#29
Where to park - Just an FYI to everyone. If you are parking at Crafton College...go to lot D and buy a one day parking pass. It only costs $1 and it allows you to park in any of the lots. It is much less than the $20 fine for not having one! Oh ya....and be sure to bring a spare tube, it might not seem like a real back country trip but running your bike out sucks no matter where you are! Happy Riding
rbrook
Posted on 11/27/08
#28
Mountain Lions! - Was on the trail today with my wife and trusty dog Wilson when we crossed paths with another rider that happened to be descending as we were ascending. This guy told us to be on the lookout for mountain lions because he had seen one earlier. Turns out that the local rangers are also aware of the lion or lions they believe it's because there's deer in the area this time of year. The guy we ran into said that when he happened upon this predator he startled it the lion then growled and ran away.
commandermungo a 39 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Raleigh M80/ Specialized Hardrock from Redlands E-mail:this user
Posted on 04/14/07
#27
Great Workout! - I rode this trail last weekend right after we got some rain in the area and have to agree with one of the other posters that the trail is fairly firm and grippy right after it rains. I usually ride with with my beagle Wilson running right beside me and we both loved it. Rode up the fire road to the peak at just about 4 miles in about forty minutes, pretty good workout. Turned around and enjoyed the return trip in just 10 minutes with some decent down hill speeds. I would recommend this trail to just about any level of rider since it seems theres plenty of single track to explore just off the main fire road. The weather was great since i think it helped to keep the rattle snakes off the trail.
commandermungo a 39 year old Weekend Warrior riding a 05' Raleigh M80 from Redlands E-mail:this user
Posted on 04/13/07
#26
Great Trail - I rode this trail yesterday with a friend. We rode from Redlands up through the college then on to the fire road to it's hightest point. We continued on the fire road until it came to three seperate trail options, we chose the single track on the far left. Well it was a great descent although a little rutted, some pretty steep and technical trail with loose rocks and other parts that were steep but fairly smooth and fast. This fairly long section of single track was a ton of fun. At the end it dumped us out on Hyw 38 and we rode home from there for a 15 mile round trip.
johnu a 46 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Stumpjumper from Redlands, CA
Posted on 02/28/07
#25
still searching - The last couple of posts led me to believe that I might see wild snakes or nakedness while on this trail. No such luck. The weather was nice though.
jomomma a 34 year old Racer riding a heckler from yucaipa
Posted on 10/01/06
#24
rode this trail this morning around 11:15. climbed to the peak and came down. normally i split off to reg. park or grape street but it was just too hot today. sadly, i didnt see this topless hottie thats been spotted. maybe tomarrow. keep your eye out for LARGE angry snakes!!!
fyrfytrryn a 21 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a cannondale from yucaipa E-mail:this user
Posted on 09/01/06
#23
topless? - Rode up the crafton fireroad and down the ridge singletrack yesterday. One word: speed. Another word: topless. On the climb up I passed a topless hottie jogging down. She was shyly covering herself up, but from what I could tell the rack looked really healthy. Let's hope that's a trend that continues.
mrscary a 32 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a santa cruz from redlands
Posted on 07/31/06
#22
The relatively late spring has spring big time on this route. There is some foliage on the climb itself, but all is very rideable. Plenty of mustard weed and large shrubs with showy purple/blue flowers. Air kind of hazy this evening and the weather has turned warm, but this is still an evening favorite of mine. The green grasses and flowers won't last long in this heat. Soon it will all be brown and the thermometer will rise. Still, this is a go-to ride for me any time.
Posted on 05/11/06
#21
Rode Crafton on Saturday morning, after a light rain overnight -- in my opinion, the best time to hit this trail. There had been just enough rain to make the surface hard and grippy. The views northeast to the snow-covered mountains above Redlands and Yucaipa were inspiring, especially the small squalls of rain we saw coming our way. However, we received only a few raindrops, a few of which MIGHT have been snowflakes. The single track going down to the regional park was in okay condition. Some of the switchback turns are moderately eroded. Good idea to keep your eyes open for water runoff trenches that have been carved in this section. They pose no problem, you can ride right over them.
barton a 46 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Salsa Juan Solo from Loma Linda, CA
Posted on 02/19/06
#20
crafton trail - rode the trail for the first time today in years.. rode to the peak and ascended to the trail markers.. i took the east orange one until it hit the first hard right switchback. turned around and came back up because i didnt know where it went. i climbed back the the peak and headed back to the start point. about 2 miles up from the start, theres a track that shoots left up to the ridge. this trail goes to the top of the ridge, them splits off left towards the highschool. the right goes down, then up, then back down to the fire road. in that dip between the hills, theres a SHARP left that single tracks into the canyon, it appears to go to the new chapman heights road behind the skatepark.. has anyone ridden this, or even know what im talking about? also, at the trail markers, theres a trail thats to the left of the east trail that climbs, at that the peak you can clearly see a resivour.. how long has that been there, and whats it for? if i keep goin down the main fireroad, where do i end up? im extremely interested in learning about and riding all of the trails off the crafton fire road,please email me with any info about them, let me know if you want to ride aswell.
fyrfytrryn a 21 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a cannondale jekyll from yucaipa! E-mail:this user
Posted on 02/13/06
#19
Catamount! - Saw a mountain lion right smack dab on the Crafton fireroad on my way up to Yikes! yesterday evening. It was probably a female, not too large maybe 75 - 100 lbs. Still though, be careful up there, especially the solo riders.
sweno a 31 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a cannondale from redlands
Posted on 06/10/05
#18
Winter rides - I have ridden the Crafton Hills fire road several times this winter,
including once after a freak storm dumped a bunch of snow in Yuciapa.
That was SWEET!!! The heavy rains in January did do some damages to
the road, but it was all rideable. Watch for a washout on the left about
a mile from the gate at Crafton Hills College. There are a few minor
mud and/or rock slices along the way, all could be easily ridden
around. A day after the last storm, the morning view of Yucaipa ridge/
SB Mountains and the upper Yucaipa valley reminded me of a view of
the Swiss Alps. I'm getting all I can of this trail before the weather
heats up. This is absolutely the best time to ride it!
Tiger a Cross-Country Rider riding a Salsa Juan Solo from Loma Linda, CA
Posted on 02/01/05
#17
Re: Judy's Jump off (Rutzilla)? - You refer to Judy's trail. I remember the local Mentone riders use a trail called Judy's Jump Off. This leads to either the Grape Street trail or all the way around the base of the hill back into Mentone. We always called it Rutzilla ever since we downhilled on our modded (geared) BMX cruisers (late '70s-early '80s). This tail does not begin at the end of the Crafton Fire Road. If you take the fireroad all the way, it dumps you at the gate behind the Regional Parks. Judy's is a little past the summit of Crafton Fireroad. On the outside of a turn (North) is a area the narrows into a trail that seems to dive right off of the edge of the cliff. Closer inspection reveals some of the choicest, hairiest downhill. All I have to say is, for the weak at heart, drop your seat and drag both feet. LOL Have fun. There is a singletrack that has only been there for about 10 years now (part of the new trails at the bottom of Judy's) that is a little more riding but quite a bit safer. I don't know if this is called Judy's trail or not but this is a bit closer to the gate than the Jumpoff.
Ride rating: Expert
Sean Baldwin a 36 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Old Triple Butted Cro-Mo frame from Redlands, CA
Posted on 05/02/04
#16
Re: Judy's Jump off (Rutzilla)? - You refer to Judy's trail. I remember the local Mentone riders use a trail called Judy's Jump Off. This leads to either the Grape Street trail or all the way around the base of the hill back into Mentone. We always called it Rutzilla ever since we downhilled on our modded (geared) BMX cruisers (late '70s-early '80s). This tail does not begin at the end of the Crafton Fire Road. If you take the fireroad all the way, it dumps you at the gate behind the Regional Parks. Judy's is a little past the summit of Crafton Fireroad. On the outside of a turn (North) is a area the narrows into a trail that seems to dive right off of the edge of the cliff. Closer inspection reveals some of the choicest, hairiest downhill. All I have to say is, for the weak at heart, drop your seat and drag both feet. LOL Have fun. There is a singletrack that has only been there for about 10 years now (part of the new trails at the bottom of Judy's) that is a little more riding but quite a bit safer. I don't know if this is called Judy's trail or not but this is a bit closer to the gate than the Jumpoff.
Ride rating: Expert
Sean Baldwin a 36 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Old Triple Butted Cro-Mo frame from Redlands, CA
Posted on 05/02/04
#15
Re: Judy's Jump off (Rutzilla)? - You refer to Judy's trail. I remember the local Mentone riders use a trail called Judy's Jump Off. This leads to either the Grape Street trail or all the way around the base of the hill back into Mentone. We always called it Rutzilla ever since we downhilled on our modded (geared) BMX cruisers (late '70s-early '80s). This tail does not begin at the end of the Crafton Fire Road. If you take the fireroad all the way, it dumps you at the gate behind the Regional Parks. Judy's is a little past the summit of Crafton Fireroad. On the outside of a turn (North) is a area the narrows into a trail that seems to dive right off of the edge of the cliff. Closer inspection reveals some of the choicest, hairiest downhill. All I have to say is, for the weak at heart, drop your seat and drag both feet. LOL Have fun. There is a singletrack that has only been there for about 10 years now (part of the new trails at the bottom of Judy's) that is a little more riding but quite a bit safer. I don't know if this is called Judy's trail or not but this is a bit closer to the gate than the Jumpoff.
Ride rating: Expert
Sean Baldwin a 36 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Old Triple Butted Cro-Mo frame from Redlands, CA
Posted on 05/02/04
#14
Re: Judy's Jump off (Rutzilla)? - You refer to Judy's trail. I remember the local Mentone riders use a trail called Judy's Jump Off. This leads to either the Grape Street trail or all the way around the base of the hill back into Mentone. We always called it Rutzilla ever since we downhilled on our modded (geared) BMX cruisers (late '70s-early '80s). This tail does not begin at the end of the Crafton Fire Road. If you take the fireroad all the way, it dumps you at the gate behind the Regional Parks. Judy's is a little past the summit of Crafton Fireroad. On the outside of a turn (North) is a area the narrows into a trail that seems to dive right off of the edge of the cliff. Closer inspection reveals some of the choicest, hairiest downhill. All I have to say is, for the weak at heart, drop your seat and drag both feet. LOL Have fun. There is a singletrack that has only been there for about 10 years now (part of the new trails at the bottom of Judy's) that is a little more riding but quite a bit safer. I don't know if this is called Judy's trail or not but this is a bit closer to the gate than the Jumpoff.
Ride rating: Expert
Sean Baldwin a 36 year old Weekend Warrior riding a Old Triple Butted Cro-Mo frame from Redlands, CA
Posted on 05/02/04
#13
crafton - judys trail is all the way at end of crafton / road crafton again today another gruling ride from redlands to wash trail via crafton.
fred a 40 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a santa cruz light from redlands
Posted on 11/30/03
#12
Hey Fred, Where to you catch the turn off to Judy's trail....Thanks
Milehigh a 45 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Giant VT1 from Calimesa
Posted on 09/28/03
#11
road from redlands via orange groves up through the college and all the way down through to yikes trail, crazy craiger miss turn out and rode down judys jump on his enduro. came down the mentone single track, very hot day to ride when you start at 8am
Ride distance: 19miles Elevation change:
fred a 40 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a santa cruz lite from redlands
Posted on 09/28/03
#10
Crafton Ridge - Hey you crazy Wed night riders who hoot and holler when you fly down the hill.. When I get my light I will join you. See you on the singletrack.
Ride rating: Intermediate
Mentone resident a 30 year old Cross-Country Rider riding a Giant NSR from Mentone
Posted on 09/25/03
#9
zanga peak via judys - road from yucaipa through grape st trail and climbed JUDYS then up to the peak came down the zig zag(laceration trail) very over grown good work out for a night ride
Ride rating: Advanced
Ride distance: 12miles Elevation change:
fred a 40 year old Die-hard Enthusiast riding a santa cruz from redlands
Posted on 09/13/03
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