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North End Trail @ Lake Berryessa, 12.12.17

6K views 26 replies 10 participants last post by  Octane 
#1 · (Edited)
Headed out to the lake.
Rode the North End Trail along the shore of Lake Berryessa.
This trail has many handmade bridges.
I took the time to photograph all of them.



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#23 ·
Hi all, Thank you for your kind words about the trail. FYI. This is part of an amazing vision of an 127 mile trail around the lake. This project has been approved by the land manager and promises to be a major legacy experience for the region. That is, if we can organize a more professional second stage effort...

FTA Partnered initially with a local Conservation Organization to develop this 127 mile project. For the first 7 miles we provided the lowest bid for a public grant and also contributed an additional $400,000 of added value including the stone arched bridges which were not part of the original proposal.
I will say unfortunately, this first effort was not managed well and our partner, Tuleyome did not own up to its promiss to raise funds, promote the project and enroll volunteers as promised. In the two years it took us to build this amazing trail, they did not come by the project once or acknowledge the hard work our staff and volunteers were making. To add to the insult, by mismanaging the public funds, Tuleyome took 6 months to pay for the first years work and are still short $130,000 for the second year and are unwilling now to pay even though the public funds alocated for our contract are available.

FTA continues to raise funds for public trail projects like this one as well as the amazing Dans Wild Ride Trail we completed that now connects Angwin to Hennesy Lake on an amazing 14mile downhill. A great example of collaborative success with $50,000 of private money raised to match our $30,000 to build this trail. Sam the Eagle, Dry Foot Trail, Old Mans Beard and Connector are a few other trails we developed with Napa County and we will be developing new partnerships with Angwins PUC to increase connectivity, our big vision goal. California Trails Connected.

So Join our efforts by becoming a member or volunteer of the Napa Trails Stewardship or one of our exciting trail projects!
 
#11 ·
Yeah.
A few places are a little bumpy from lack of use, but I wouldn't let that stop you.
Varying soil types along this ride. I would let it dry out after a rain.
Found some shady, north facing sections to be a tad sticky with mud.
Later in the year, when the sun creeps higher in the sky, I would imagine this won't be as much of an issue.
 
#13 ·
Thanks again to Jibmaster for a great new place to ride!

I rode it last Wednesday and will ride it again and again. The trail itself is buff single track fresh from the trail machine (1 year old) and will only improve with age. It has no large climbs or descents and no techy stuff at all. I would highly recommend this trail for spouses or friends new to mountain biking but I would also recommend this trail to all bikers for a fast flowy ride.

I compare this trail to the Salmon Falls trail (Darrington trail) minus the first mile and the other rocky tech sections. However, Lake Berryessa is an incredible scenic lake from the trail and the views beat salmon falls hands down. It is in a narrow valley with high ridges on all sides.

Jibmaster got the bridges right. They are all fantastic works of masonry art. I think that this trail will ultimately become known for its bridges as much as the trail. The trail is short at about 5 miles one way but there are short cuts that cut off some of the rides around peninsulas on the shore. I added a few miles by riding the cutoffs on the way back and looping them on the shore - I was not ready to be done with this trail yet!

On Friday, my wife and I walked most of the trail with the border/lab crosses. It's also a great hike with golden eagles, balds, and lots of other wildlife including a coyote that the blasted dogs disappeared after. They finished the hike on leash after disappearing across the highway for 15 minutes.

Some warnings however: Much of the trail is in a geologic formation called "glue mud" and you do not want to ride here when the trail is wet. It is perfect right now. Also, the inner coast range is an incredibly hot place in the late spring, summer, and you don't want to be riding there when it is hot.

I would recommend this trail to all riders to try. It is a gem and will only disappoint red bull wannabes - they may even like it as a mellow alternative to chunk.

There's a trail map here:

http://tuleyome.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/north-end-trail-map.pdf

And, thanks again to our explorer Jibmaster who has turned me on to Moore Creek Park, the Valentine Vista trail, the Knoxville wildlife area trails, and to others with his great write ups and videos.

And, his posts on the Telemark Tips forum led me to drive within a mile of the Northgate trailhead on the north side of Mt. Shasta and to ski up the treed ramp, through the narrow chute, and onto the wide snowfields above tree line and below the edifice of this great volcano. It was one of the best ski days of the last decade on super spring corn snow. I hope snow comes soon.
 
#14 ·
And, thanks again to our explorer Jibmaster who has turned me on to Moore Creek Park, the Valentine Vista trail, the Knoxville wildlife area trails, and to others with his great write ups and videos.
Be sure to thank Forest Trails Alliance (FTA), as well as the many volunteers, donors, and stewards of the trail for proposing, funding, building and maintaining these new trails, plus all the other new ones in Moore Creek, Los Posadas, Skyline (Napa), and other areas throughout Napa and neighboring Counties.

The rate of new mountain bike trails in Napa County is amazing. It takes a lot of hard work.
 
#16 ·
Yes.
The FTA built Dan's Wild Ride, connecting Moore Creek Park to Angwin.
The North End Trail is just the beginning to the entire circumnavigation of Lake Berryessa.
Just got back from riding some stuff farther in...

Backcountry riding at it's finest.
Brought the bear spray, 'cause I've seen bears out there before.

Saw only deer on my ride today.

Loading some stuff now...
Mr. Jib, You took us on a ride up in Angwin from the airport several years ago.
I'm interested on this type of ride area. How long was this outing you did today? What about stats on the Dans/Moore/Angwin route?

Thanks in advance-Jmac
 
#20 ·
Rode this today with my son while my wife, daughter, and her friend hiked one way. We did the out and back with lake loops on way up from bridge and bypasses on the way back. A hair under 10 miles.

This was a fantastic ride and one I would highly recommend for an "Introduce a friend to MTB" Trail. The bridges were beautiful and the trail was immaculate. Enough varied terrain to keep it interesting and sneaks in over 1K of climbing over the course. Most easy trails are fire roads or double tracks but this is beautiful single track overlooking the lake the majority of the way.

Hats off to FTA for yet another fantastic addition. These guys are frickin amazing!
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#27 ·
The trail crew didn't get completely paid by the organization that contracted their work on the trail (I believe this is still pending as of May 2019).

From what I understand more trails are planned in the area, but I do not know of the timeline.
 
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