Camp Tamarancho - Fairfax CA

[OGRipper]

One of my favorite trail rides in Marin, Camp Tamarancho has a sweet network of trails on land owned by the Boy Scouts. It has an incredible variety of terrain for a relatively short loop. It is classic technical singletrack, not much in the way of jumps or other man-made stuff but super fun. I was out there Saturday on a solo ride, so I decided to bring my camera and play around with it. (I am a total novice photog, so give me a break eh?)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p1e1847d62593797480167e569a0e8a14/e969fad7.jpg

Local mtb/trail organizations worked closely with the Boy Scouts to develop this network with the intent that, unlike much of Marin, bikes would be allowed on the tight singletrack. In a land where bikes are usually kept off the singletrack, the irony of this sign is not lost:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/pb0d642087c98c91150fa5d56158f53e4/e969fa67.jpg

The network is basically a large loop with a few different ways to connect in and out. The route most people do starts with a road climb out of Fairfax, then you hit the Alchemist trailhead and continue climbing through a series of tight switchbacks until you reach the main loop. Once there you can go in either direction. On saturday I had plenty of time so I did the loop one way, then turned around and did it the other way before heading back down Alchemist and back to Fairfax. When we do this as a night ride, we go about 3/4 of the way around before heading up to some clandestine singletrack that eventually dumps out at the bottom of the Repack trail.

Heading up, just off the road:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p559f97238e56a41967cf8afe18b9730b/e96a039a.jpg

After climbing/rolling under tree cover for a while the trail opens onto an exposed area. It's usually pretty hot and dry out there - although it's only May, the grass that was bright green a month ago is already brown:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p079f49fcbccd526f76145ae0d7f47000/e96a0214.jpg

After that you shoot down a fun, loose descent back into the canyon, then climb back out. At this point the trail gets a bit rocky:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p714a442f86720c3468a0f547734b6f7f/e96a005c.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p846e949c40a6e397d909a686c030dc67/e96a0162.jpg

Next, the trail turns back to hardpack and climbs up the flanks of White's Hill. If today was your lucky day, I would have climbed up to the top of White's Hill and taken some pictures of the great views up there. Today is not your lucky day, so you get this view instead:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/pf73a6714df7bb89982c8b2f6aaaea523/e969ffa9.jpg

After White's, the loop turns into buff wooded singetrack, punctuated by lots of steep switchbacks and overhanging trees, together with a gorgeous section in and out of some fern-lined redwoods. Then there is another climb (more switchbacks) before you get a super tasty descent back down to the road. It is very tight and super fun to rail this stuff, many great opportunities to drift and practice turns. Here is just one of the switchbacks on one of the descents:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p3b656d4905b18e8679fd95ae27cb9b4f/e969fd7c.jpg

And lastly, a couple of shots heading towards the redwoods:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p2894d755bad9966aeb13a1798bf6d7c0/e969fba6.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p845e70cae37b5814d38f429ad3037fec/e969fc9d.jpg

[pixelninja]

Looks like some beautiful singletrack!

[Total Heckler]

Beautiful looking ride. Thanks for the report. =]

[benjaminj]

That switchback towards the end looks buff...

Nice looking trails, why didn't you post this in the winter so I could have ridden it then!?

[OGRipper]

Haha, well Ben I just got a camera...any time you want to hit some stuff in these parts just drop me a line. Of course, now that summer has arrived I'll probably be up your way a lot more, starting this weekend with some South Yuba stuff and possibly a D-ville run or two...

[SkaredShtles]

Nice pics OG! :thumb:

[BurlyShirley]

Sweet!

[Skookum]

Probably the best looking trail report i've seen from Cali yet...

The variation from buff to choppy trail, to the variation in rolling hill, to assorted forest...

i dig it.

[splat]

Nice pics! nice trails

Is that a gravity dropper lever I see ?

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p714a442f86720c3468a0f547734b6f7f/e96a005c.jpg

[greenhood]

I made a road trip down to San Fran. a few months ago and did this ride. It was one of best rides I have been on in 17 years of riding.

[OGRipper]

Probably the best looking trail report i've seen from Cali yet...

The variation from buff to choppy trail, to the variation in rolling hill, to assorted forest...

i dig it.

Skookum, coming from the undisputed King of Ride Reports, that is a huge compliment. I recently got a better and smaller digi so I hope to get more pics that will eventually make it into reports here. And yeah, the variation is one of the reasons I love that ride. Each part is really sweet but the combination is amazing.

Splat - Yes, that's a GD, good eye. I've posted about them before, I think they are fantastic. A lot of our trails are constantly going up and down and it's a great thing to be able to change saddle height. I generally avoid gadgets but these things are for real. I hate trail riding without one now.

[Borneo]

I wish I could get motivated to do ride reports more often.

My in-laws used to live just north of Fairfax on Sir Francis Drake and I could do this and other nearby trails when I was down there. Definately as good as it looks. Fun stuff. Thanks for bringing back the memories. (The in-laws have moved in down ther street now so no more bay area...)

[MMcG]

That trail looks like it has hardtail or even rigid bike riding written all over it! Vroooom! Looks fasssssssssssssssst!

[MikeD]

Just rode Tamarancho today. Su-perb conditions.

MMcG...the ride has some super-fast buff parts, but spends some time being nice and rocky, as well. It's a great mix. You can ride anything from a HT (I opted not to go full rigid there, myself...stuck with the F/S) to a heavy freeride bike (If you gotta, like my bud who came into town on his way to whistler) and still have a blast.

[gurp]

There actually are some drops near Wagon Wheel if you know where to look. Right when you hit the last clearing on your right during the climb up to Whites Hill fireroad look up to your left. You'll see the line. Not big, but fast.

[MikeD]

Probably the best looking trail report i've seen from Cali yet...

The variation from buff to choppy trail, to the variation in rolling hill, to assorted forest...

i dig it.

Skooks, you must make a south-bound road trip someday. Hit some Bay Area stuff, Santa Cruz, and on down to Santa Barbara to LA to San Diego.

LA-Mt. Wilson

San Diego-Noble Canyon

These have what you crave. Even more than Tamarancho. Both cross several distinct zones/ecologies/whathave you. Noble goes from desert to chapparal to live oak forest streambed to pine forest, from super-buff and amazingly fast to enormous-pointy-boulder-studded stretches of broken rock with no dirt at all. Wilson's similar, but even bigger and without quite the same variety of terrain...but close...

[Biscuit]

OG - you ever done the 16cent tour? (paradime, etc).

Pretty much every tim I've been through tamarancho it's on the way to other trails.
Tamarancho, up shotgun, to Solstice is pretty damn tiring too.

[gurp]

Biscuit, please don't mention trails like Paradigm and Solstice, there's been alot of trail conflict lately and you don't want these trails advertised. The recent booby traps on Split Rock by MMWD are a prime example.