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| Slaughter House   | 
| Location: California, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 33.55141°N / 117.27098°W Trail Type: Downhill, Mountain County: Riverisde Technical Difficulty: Medium Aerobic Difficulty: Hard Layout: Point to Point Elevation Gain: 525 ft / 160 m Length: 1.8 Mi / 2.9 Km
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| Page By: Woodzy Created/Edited: Dec 22, 2008 / Dec 23, 2008 Object ID: 269118 Hits: 1252 Loading... Page Score: 88.72% - 9 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
OverviewSlaughter House is a classic Southern California mountain bike ride. Ask even a non-mountain biker, and many will have heard of the name before. Its reputation is not overdone; this is an amazing ride and one that all mountain bikers should have a chance to ride.
The trail follows Slaughter House Creek, which runs parallel and just west of Clinton Keith Road. The trail starts at the end of Via Entrada (a street) and follows the creek down to the base of the mountain around the top of the community of Bear Creek. It ends it that generally area. Some like to ride it from the bottom up, but, most prefer to ride top to bottom.
The trail is also just NW of the Santa Rosa Ecological Reserve. Because of the close proximity and because many people ride at the Plateau and then ride the Slaughter House Trail, I attached it to the Santa Rosa Plateau Page.Trail Description The trail, as mentioned above, starts at the end of Via Entrada and then goes down the hill into the valley. The end of Via Entrada has a culd de sac. At the end of the street, the trail head is off to the right. It then begins to drop down into the canyon and Slaughter House Creek will begin to form (You will have to cross this same creek multiple times). Right away, the trail becomes a little overgrown (there really isn't anybody that maintains the trail except for the mountain bikers). Depending upon when you ride, the trail could be cleared of the overgrowth or still overgrown. Because of this, its a good idea to bring clothes to protect your arms, legs and eyes from stray twigs and from poison oak. Watch for low lying branches!
Unlike the neighboring Wiashal Trail, Slaughter House is entirely shaded with trees, which is very nice. However, with the shade come wet conditions during winter and spring. The trail crosses the creek many times and, if there is a lot of water in the creek, it may be harder to cross. If there is water in the creek, you are pretty much guaranteed for a muddy ride- even in the parts away from the creek. Also, because of erosion, the parts where the trail crosses the creek are big drops, so be careful of that. Otherwise, you will end up doing and burying your front tire in the mud and end up doing an indo.
At different points of the trail, different side trails shoot up towards Clinton Keith Road. You can take those trails to get in or out of Slaughter House. However, towards the end of the trail, there is one trail that comes up from the bottom and ends up just below the fire station. This is where the trail ends. However, this doesn't have to be the ending point. You can cross the creek again (there is a big log in the way though) follow a faint trail that doesn't see much use on down towards Beer Creek. We end our rides just below the fire station as mentioned above because the continuation further down is pretty overgrown. After you reach Clinton Keith again, you can either ride this back up the hill on the paved asphalt or take the Slaughter House Trail back up.Getting There  The beginning of the trail
If your heading South on the 15 freeway, take a right onto Clinton Keith Road and if your head North, take a left on to Clinton Keith Road. Follow this road west up into the mountains. Once you past the fire station, Slaughter House Creek and Slaughter House Trail will be along the right side of the road. Follow Clinton Keith Road up to Avenida La Cresta and take a right. Follow this road. (its confusing because Avenida La Cresta makes a sharp right turn, making you think that road keeps going straight. However, the road that you would think is Avenida La Cresta is actually The Trails Circle- don't go on this street). After that part, take a right on Via Entrada. Follow this road all the way to end and you will reach a culd de sac. Park here and the trail is at the right side of the culd de sac.
When to BikeThis trail can be ridden year round. However, the temperature in summer months can reach well over 100+ degrees. That would not make for a fun ride.
Also, after long periods of rainy weather or just after a rain, the trail becomes very muddy and the creek may present you with another obstacle due to high water.
Because of this, fall may be the best month, however, in fall, the trail can be a little dusty.
However, really anytime of year works, it just depends on what your personal preference is at what you want to deal with.
Misc If you have any other additional information/photos for this page, please contact me or post the item(s). Thanks! Images |
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Santa Rosa Plateau
