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16 Comments

  1. Best description of this trail I’ve found, thank you! Was just there for my first time a week ago and wondering if Sulphur Spring could possibly be the typical way to get back to the top… Sounds like it is! 🙂 Will be adding a second lap next time, if my legs can handle it.

  2. Is this open now in early April 2023 with all the rain? used to live there and have ridden it close to 100 times. I need my fix and want to do a road trip. thanks for any help.

  3. If you take the long climb up and ride the flow trail (it is very fun to ride the ridge trail) however it is a 17 mile ride (per Strava) and longer than we expected after reading this article. There is also about a 4 mile climb out that we didn’t know about and had finished all of our water before getting to it so we were a bit bummed but the climb isn’t bad, not too steep but long and pretty much all uphill. Be prepared for a 17 mile ride though if doing the long climb up and just the flow trail.

    1. Thanks a lot Becky for the detailed description of what to expect. It was the only way I could do it on my own. I was there on Wednesday (9/28/22) and followed the route in
      Option#1.

      Below are a couple of observations:
      1. A single loop around the flow-trail was indeed 17 miles with Option-1.
      2. I missed the Aptos Creek Rd turnout from Buzzard Lagoon Rd. There are no signs as you mentioned. I took the next turnout to the right from Buzzard Lagoon Road past the “Better Place Forest” entrance which led me to Cusack’s Trail (singletrack, which was quite fun) that ended up connecting to Aptos Creek Road. For a while I thought I was lost.
      3. The Ridge Trail is great to warm up before taking the Flow Trail which was an absolute blast!!
      4. The ride back to the parking lot after the Flow Trail is brutal. Well its a gentle uphill, but I was totally spent and 4 miles felt like an eternity. I should have carried more water and snacks with me.
      5. Demo forest is REMOTE. I rode solo on a Wednesday afternoon, and only saw a total of 3 bikers. Some company is highly recommended.

      1. Thanks for your observations! I plan on updating this post soon, so I’ll stress a few details like the (dreaded) 4-mile pedal back to the car and bringing lots of water.

        As far as the distance goes, I’m wondering if the remoteness of Demo forest skews GPS tracking. I’ve done the flow trail three times and each time the single lap has been around 15 miles. I just checked ride logs in TrailForks and Strava and everyone there who’s done single laps records 14-16 miles. There’s definitely some discrepancy. Since it’s mapped out as 15 miles and I’ve recorded it as 15 miles, that’s what I’m going to stick with.

        Thanks again for your debrief!

  4. Thanks for the detailed description. I am planning to take my teenage kids there this weekend and this gives me a good idea on what to expect. Cheers and ride on!!

    1. If you plan on doing Braille I would go for an enduro/bigger travel bike. If you just want to do the Flow Trail a short travel bike would be great (and also easier to pedal up ;).

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