Best mountain biking trails and e-MTB routes in San Francisco

Marvellous Marin, the stunning Santa Cruz mountains and an awesome hidden gem in Oakland. San Francisco mountain biking and e-MTB trails might be the best anywhere in the world. To fire up your stoke, we’ve got a list of recommendations that cover everyone from beginner to black diamond.  

San Francisco (and the Bay Area more generally) is located close to one of the two places in the world with a claim to being the birthplace of mountain biking: Marin County. While Colorado also makes some strong arguments in this regard, we don’t want to upset either side of the debate and we’re keeping quiet on which one is the real OG! 

Instead, we want to share with you some of the incredible bicycle trails San Francisco has to offer, with a mix of trails located both north of the city in the iconic Marin, and south along the Santa Cruz mountains. Oh, and we throw in a real beauty located in Oakland to the east as well.  

One of the great things about the off-road cycling routes in San Francisco and the wider Bay Area is that they are normally maintained by passionate groups of trail-building advocates. These volunteers do amazing work giving back to the off-road community, and it means San Francisco and its environs are unusually blessed with high-quality, well maintained and imaginative trails to explore.  

Let’s jump into our selection of the best e-MTB and mountain biking trails San Francisco has to offer cyclists from beginner level up to advanced. For each recommendation you’ll find a link to a route that is representative of the location, although as your confidence and stamina grows you may find yourself exploring beyond these. In every case, there’s a huge amount to unpack – so don’t be afraid to do your own route-making.  

It’s also worth noting that for the sake of consistency we’ve measured all the driving distances from the same point in the Mission District, central San Francisco. If you live north, south or east of there, your driving times may be significantly longer or shorter. If you feel like exploring further afield in northern California, we have some amazing bike rides in South Lake Tahoe to recommend. If you have more of a SoCal vibe, there’s also our list of bike rides for all abilities in Orange County. 

The route at a glance: 

• Level: beginner 
• Path condition: good 
• Starting point: north-eastern end of Point San Pedro road 
• Highlights: Dreamy beginner single-track throughout, magnificent views of the San Pedro Bay Wildlife Area.  
• Length of the route: 11.2 miles (18 km) 
• Altitude difference: 1,017 ft (310 m) 
• Travel time: 40 minutes driving 

The gorgeous China Camp State Park offers a variety of trails suitable for beginners with scenic views of the San Pablo Bay. We’ve chosen to focus on the beginner loop, because it mixes a steep climb with some awesome vistas. This also a super-accessible trail, given that it’s just 40 minutes from the centre of San Francisco.

The route at a glance: 

• Level: intermediate 
• Path condition: good, double track fire road 
• Starting point: Marinwood 
• Highlights: A steady climb up the Big Rock Ridge, followed by a joyful, ripping descent back to your starting point. Stunning views over Marin County.  
• Length of the route: 9.3 miles (15 km) 
• Altitude difference: 1,322 ft (403 m) 
• Travel time: 35 minutes driving 

Follow the Queenstone Fire Road out of Marinwood and climb up to the Big Rock Ridge. You’re gonna be descending back down the same way you came, so climb for as long as you like, without feeling the pressure to get all the way to the top. You can extend the ride further if you’re feeling fresh and ride all the way to Big Rock itself, making the full out-and-back route about 20 miles (32km).

The route at a glance: 

• Level: beginner-to-intermediate 
• Path condition: good, singletrack 
• Starting point: Fairfax 
• Highlights: The perfect intro to a whole world of trails around Fairfax. Gorgeous redwood trees. Some sweet boardwalks. 
• Length of the route: 11.2 miles (18 km) 
• Altitude difference: 1,411 ft (430 m) 
• Travel time: 40 minutes driving 

Located just north-west of Fairfax, this trail loop offers well-maintained singletrack suitable for beginners. It’s actually managed by the Boy Scouts of Marin County, and while this loop is accessible to all, there are a bunch of amazing trails in this area that you can begin to explore as you build your confidence and techy skills. The standout highlight is undoubtedly riding through northern California’s emblematic redwoods. 

The route at a glance: 

• Level: beginner-to-intermediate 
• Path condition: mixed-to-good, some muddy run-off spots 
• Starting point: Skeggs Point parking lot, off Skyline Boulevard 
• Highlights: The El Corte de Madera Creek section is an absolute stormer, but there’s endless variety to be found. North Leaf is a more technical trail, but super rewarding if you have the skill to tame it.  
• Length of the route: 44km 
• Altitude difference: 1,250m 
• Travel time: 50 minutes driving 

Located in the El Corte de Madera Open Space Preserve, this trail offers a mix of beginner and intermediate sections. We’ve selected a route that comprises a few different loops, any one of which would make a gorgeous ride on its own merits. Combining them all makes for one incredible epic ride. Don’t be alarmed by the big distance and climbing numbers… while the route we’ve picked covers 44km, most MTB riders do about half that per ride.  

The route at a glance: 

• Level: beginner to advanced 
• Path condition: well-maintained singletrack and doubletrack 
• Starting point: Soquel Demo forest trail head, Highland Way, north of Santa Cruz 
• Highlights: Added to the network in 2015, the Flow Trail drops about 400m over 5.5km and is super fun for all abilities. Hundreds of turns to rail, nice smooth surface. 
• Length of the route: 13.7 miles (22 km) 
• Altitude difference: 1,969 ft (600 m) 
• Travel time: 1hr 20m driving 

Situated near Santa Cruz, this trail system has beginner-friendly routes, as well as options for more advanced riders. It’s important to note that trails in Demonstration State Forest are not open to e-bikes and will only accessible on weekends until the end of 2024. With those caveats in mind, you should know that ‘Demo State’ is an awesome network of super well-maintained trails in the southern Bay Area. There’s a short segment at the beginning on the open road, but this soon gives way to the trails. There is an option to extend and take on the black diamond-rated Ridge Trail from Tractor to SawPit for those of a more advanced level. 

The route at a glance: 

• Level: beginner 
• Path condition: very good 
• Starting point: Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland 
• Highlights: The Cinderella Trail at JMP is a real beauty, with just enough techy stuff to keep you switched on and having fun. The Sequoia Bayview trail is a great linking trail that unlocks plenty of other fun sections.  
• Length of the route: 7.5 miles (12 km) 
• Altitude difference: 984 ft (300 m) 
• Travel time: 20 minutes driving 

A perfect example of why the Bay Area is so incredible for mountain bikers, this trail network in Oakland is perhaps the most accessible of all our selections, both in terms of the type of riding, and the time it takes to drive there. If you are building confidence on your new Canyon mountain bike, this is the place to come. 

The huge variety of riding on offer near San Francisco makes the Spectral a superb choice. This aggressive, trail-ripping bike was built to put a huge smile on your face as you attack obstacles and shred descents. It’s particularly well-suited to flow trails and singletrack, loads of which you’ll find in our recommendations above. If you like the sound of that, plus a little extra gas in the tank, the Spectral:ON e-MTB could be the solution to help you tackle those tough Californian climbs. 

For those riders just getting started and seeking to build their skill base, we recommend our Grand Canyon hardtail MTB. It boasts 100-120mm of travel at the front, to smooth out plenty of obstacles, while the versatile nature of the bike makes it great for ticking off the recommendations above. Like the Spectral, it also comes in an electric version, the Grand Canyon:ON. 

For those who feel a little more adventurous, we present the Neuron. Like the Spectral it’s a full-sus rig, capable of taking on the techier parts of the MTB trails near San Francisco, but it’s a little more relaxed, with a comfortable geometry and a focus on longer, all-day rides. There’s also the Neuron:ON full-suspension electric mountain bike version.