The second most heavily used area of Fort Ord Public Lands. It sees lots of short duration use such as folks exercising before work, at lunch or after work and having an hour or so to make use of the trails. Most of the users are mountain bicycle riders but a large number of runners are also using the ridge trails.
Engineer Canyon Road: A gravel road ascending gently from Reservation road at an altitude of 80 feet, cresting the ridge at 350 feet and crossing a number of trails before ending down on Jacks Road at an elevation of 220 feet. It is used as an access road to the trails on the ridge that Engineer Canyon crosses. Bicycle speeds on descent exceed 20 mph and average 12 mph on ascent.
Length 1.54 miles Green Square Multiuse road. Bi-directional use: Bicycle>Foot>Horse
Jacks Road ( see sector 8 ) Green Square Multiuse road. Bi-directional use: Road Bicycle>Mountain Bicycle>Foot>Horse
Trail 05 - "Manzanita": Sand road running from Jacks road down the ridge and generally north east to the Merrill Property where it dead ends. Fairly flat gradient along length of trail.. Most segments only have short sections of soft sand and the road is otherwise firm sand. It has been covered with straw and is becoming a single track trail. Most of the use occurs from Jacks Road to Trail 39 and little use is seen below Trail 35. Bicycle speeds average 15 mph.
Length 1.80 miles Green Square Multiuse road. Bi-directional use: Bicycle>Foot>Horse
Trail 35: Challenging either descending or ascending. Most riders will probably get off bike in a spot or two. "Unofficial split to left on ascent is a better trail bed. "Official" trail has lots of soft sand. Difficult for cyclists and horses. Horses may do better on the official trail to avoid colliding with descending bicycles tend to come down pretty fast. Cyclists use this trail primarily as a descent from Trail 05 to Engineer Canyon Rd and they come down the "unofficial" trail. Bicycles descend the "unofficial" segment and onto the main trail at 15 to 20 mph. Ascending speeds average 6 mph.
Length 0.17 miles Black Diamond Multiuse trail. Bi-directional use: Bicycle>Foot>Horse
Trail 36 Ridge road ascending from Engineer Canyon Rd at an elevation of 350 feet, passing through some soft sand before emerging on rutted firm sand road and climbing to 480 feet then dropping slightly to join onto Jacks Road. Descending cyclists often exceed 20 mph and clatter across Engineer Canyon Rd and up on to Trail 03 at a fair clip. Ascending speeds average 10 mph. This trail is used as a connector from Trail 03 to Jacks Rd for folks continuing on to Trail 10.
Length 0.56 miles Blue Circle Multiuse road. Bi-directional use: Bicycle>Foot>Horse
Trail 37 Fun trail through forest. Narrow passage as brush encroaches may make it problematic for horses. Most frequently run from 38 uphill to 39 but bi-directional use. This trail is somewhat an end to itself as cyclists enjoy the forest trail as they connect from 38/39 on up to 39 as they make their way to 05 and out toward Jacks Rd. This trail is also used in the reverse direction as some folks do their loop which includes 37 "backwards." Bicycles average over 15 mph for this section in descent and 10 mph in ascent.
Length 0.07 miles Blue Circle Multiuse trail Bi-directional use: Bicycle>Foot>Horse
Trail 38: Challenging single track which is a rutted technical trail with significant "steps" at rubber water bars and deep channels make it hard to pedal through. Poison Oak and brush encroaching on trail. For cyclists it is best done as a descent because of drop-offs at the rubber "water bars". "Unofficial" split occurs 0.17 miles from top of trail. If ascending, left fork is "official" trail. Bicycle speeds on descent are slow due to the gullies and soft sand but can peak at over 15 mph. Ascending speeds are not much above walking velocity since that is what most cyclists will be doing.
Length 0.63 miles Double Black Diamond Multiuse trail. Bi-directional use: Bicycle>Foot>Horse
Trail 39 - "IMBA": Single track on mostly firm sand except for a soft pocket at the trail base. Most frequently traversed from Engineer Canyon Rd to Trail 05 but use is bi-directional. It affords a nice view of the ridge crested by Trail 36 as it comes up on the shoulder of the ridge crested by Trail 05. The lower segment of 39 does not receive as much use as the 38/37 segments but then the traffic from 38/37 joins onto 39 midway along its course. Descending speeds will exceed 15 mph and ascending speeds will be around 6 mph.
Length 0.4 miles Blue Circle Multiuse trail. Bi-directional use: Bicycle>Foot>Horse
Trail 55 - ECRD: Mostly firm sand road loops northwest onto a sandstone mesa from Trail 05 to a spur looking into Pilarcitos Canyon and then back to 05. Little elevation change. Passes a nice overlook of Pilarcitos Canyon near the Merrill / BLM Property line. Good view of the sandstone mesa traversed by trails 08 and 09. Keep your eyes open for this large buck which I saw at the "overlook.". Little use of this trail to this point. The segment which connects the "Pilarcitos Canyon Overlook" with the lower segment of Trail 05 is not well developed but a route is beginning to be established as more cyclists traverse the area. Bicycle speeds average 15 mph.
Length 1.27 miles Green Square Multiuse trail. Bi-directional use: Bicycle>Foot>Horse
Trail 56 - ECRD: Gentle sand road running along lip of sandstone mesa adjacent to the cliff overlooking Pilarcitos Canyon & Jacks Road This road has been covered by straw and is evolving into a single track. This trail parallels 05 and is a gentler and more scenic alternative. Bicycle speeds average 15 mph.
Length 0.57 miles Green Square Multiuse road. Bi-directional use: Bicycle>Foot>Horse
Trail 75 - "The Ridge" & "Rock Garden": A single track which parallels Trail 05 as a more athletic alternative. It joins 05 for a while and crosses 05 once as 56 veers north along canyon rim and then ends on Jacks Road just uphill from 05's trail head. Usually run ascending from Trail 05 and ending on Jacks Road. Trail 75's technical aspects limit speed to some extent but some folks push things a bit. When descending onto Jacks Road be careful of your speed because the transition from Trail 75 to Jacks Road is very abrupt and can pop the tire of the unprepared. Bicycle speeds average 12 mph.
Length 0.65 miles Blue Circle Multiuse trail. Bi-directional use: Bicycle>Foot>Horse
© Nick Mackenzie 2001-2002
Updated 10/30/06 12:16:18
