Happy Trails--to Some Users : Accommodation Key as Mountain Bicyclists Ride Onto Already Crowded Hiking, Equestrian Paths

While places such as Marin County in Northern California are closing some trails to mountain bicyclists, efforts by Orange County mountain bike riders to keep trails open to them here are paying off.

Earlier this year, the county adopted a multiuse policy that opens all county hiking and equestrian trails on county land to mountain bicyclists.

Despite the county’s agreeing to open the trails to mountain bike riders, some are still skeptical that all users can coexist on the trails.

“There are just some areas that aren’t appropriate for mountain bike use,” said Larry Frelich, associate representative in Southern California for the Sierra Club. “We oppose them in wilderness areas and will continue to do so, but when it comes to regional planning, it’s really on a case-by-case basis.”

The issue of mountain bike access has come up in the past five years as the sport has taken off in the county. At parks like Whiting Ranch Regional Park near Lake Forest and Crystal Cove State Park, north of Laguna Beach, mountain bicyclists account for 80% of park users.

Existing park trails range from dirt paths through oak woodland to steep single-track trails up seaside hills. At least three new county trails will open within the next six months as a result of the county’s responding to lobbying efforts of mountain bicyclists and other trail users.

“This was a big deal for us,” said Jim Meyer, past president of Share the Trails, a local mountain bicyclists’ organization. “We worked with the county and got wording in the master plan of trails that says all new trails are multiuse trails. I think that was a remarkable coup.”

Park rangers admit concern about the wear and tear of high use of the parks by mountain bike riders and their ability to coexist with hikers and equestrians.

Michael Eaton, ranger at Crystal Cove State Park, where Moro Canyon is a favorite spot among mountain bicyclists, said he is concerned about the toll the recreational use will have on the parks.

“Crystal Cove State Park was set up as open space to preserve habitat, not as a recreational destination,” Eaton said. “We’re looking to make sure there is responsible use of the park; as long as that happens the park will remain open to mountain bikes.”

Sarah Meigs, spokeswoman for the International Mountain Bicycling Assn. in Los Angeles, said only a fraction of the estimated 20 million mountain bike owners nationwide use trails on a regular basis, with most sticking to paved bike routes or dirt roads. But she added that many areas still try to ban the cyclists based on the assumption that a bike does more trail damage than a horse or hiker.

“In fact, there are studies that show a bike tire doesn’t do any more damage than a hiking boot,” Meigs said. “It’s just that suddenly when mountain bikes arrive, there seems to be more damage. But that’s because there are now more trail users.”

It is widely agreed that only a small number of mountain bicyclists are not willing to follow trail rules or compromise thrills for the safety and consideration of others.

Most local cyclists say the rude or destructive riders are just a small percentage of all mountain bicyclists.

“We want everyone to know most mountain bikers are responsible riders,” said Pat Henry, a mountain bicyclist and activist. “It’s just those few boneheads out there that don’t show any respect for other trail users that give us all a bad name.”

Bonehead is the term reserved by mountain bicyclists for those who break all the rules. They speed along trails, startling hikers and horseback riders. They often ignore signs to stay on trails, preferring instead to cut across native vegetation. It is these riders that create fears for the environment.

Usually that means trying to ban mountain bicyclists from single track trails but opening up fire roads as an alternative, he added.

But such restrictions anger most mountain bicyclists, who covet the use of such trails for the level of technical expertise needed, among other reasons.

“Hikers and equestrians ride those trails because of their beauty,” Meyer said. “Fire roads are just not as picturesque as a wooded trail. We, like everyone else, are taxpayers who have a right to use the resources we support.”

But Frelich of the Sierra Club said that argument could as easily apply to motorcycle riders.

“Would you want to share the trail with a motorcycle? We need to have a sensible approach where we can balance our conflicts,” Frelich said.

For the most part, park rangers say multiuse of the trails works fine when cyclists use trail etiquette--especially, yielding to horses and hikers.

The biggest complaint among trail users in Orange County is that there are not enough trails. Only about one-third of the total 335 miles of trails indicated on the county master plan are open. Currently, there are about 100 miles of trails, mostly in county parks.

The result is overuse of the existing trails, which leads to trail erosion. Holes from hoofs and ruts from bike tires can render a trail both unpleasant and dangerous.

Understanding that local government was doing the best it could with limited resources, the trail users got together to form the Orange County Recreational Trails Committee, which aids the county in trail upkeep.

For its part, the county approved development of a new master plan of hiking and riding trails in February, with the intention of implementing the plan as soon as possible, according to Ken Winter, manager of special products with the county’s Harbors, Beaches and Parks Department, which oversees the trail system.

“We looked at access carefully and decided not to close any trails to any user unless it is deemed necessary,” Winter said.

In addition, three new multiuse trails will open in the next six months, Winter said: Peters Canyon Regional Trail, which will run from Irvine to Upper Newport Bay; Live Oak Canyon Trail, connecting Aliso Creek to O’Neill Regional Park, and Serrano Creek Trail, connecting Trabuco Road to Whiting Ranch Regional Park.

Some existing trails in county wilderness areas are off-limits to cyclists and equestrians, such as designated nature trails in some of the parks. But Winter said the county’s goal is to have as many trails as possible open to all users.

“That’s great,” Meigs said. “It’s becoming a bit more common, but I’d say there are just as many areas that don’t allow us (bicyclists) as that do.”

Environmental impacts aside, some people just do not want to share the trails with bicycles. At Marin County’s Mt. Tamalpais recreational area, where mountain biking was invented, hikers balked in 1991 when officials considered opening the trails as well as fire roads to mountain bikes. The cyclists lost.

To keep trails here open to mountain bikes, groups such as Share the Trails have been taking an active role in promoting trail courtesy and safety among cyclists. Its members also work with other trail-user groups to organize maintenance schedules.

“The county can keep fire roads level with bulldozers, but you can’t do that on the single track trails,” Meyer said. “For that you’ve got to get in there with picks and shovels.”

So far, there have been no reports of tension between equestrians, hikers and mountain cyclists. Lauren Ficaro, a longtime equestrian and member of the trails committee, said there are no real problems with multiuse trails.

“Mountain bikers just need to be aware that horses are easily spooked,” Ficaro said. “At least 50 yards back they should give a shout that they’re coming up.”

It all comes down to common courtesy, according to Meyer.

“If everyone on the trails is a polite user, hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers, there will be no problems.”