If god came down out of the clouds and laid down a ribbon of single track in the high mountain desert, it would probably look a lot like the trails you can find at Hurkey Creek/Idyllwild. Located in the San Jacinto mountains about two hours north-east of San Diego, the area is a mecca for mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing, and horseback riding.
Sometimes it’s hard to justify driving 4 hours for a day of biking–something I don’t do too often–but in the case of Hurkey Creek, I’ve always felt like it was worth it. It’s about the best way to take a “mental health day” that I know of. 24 miles of single track and 5+ hours of riding later, and your head feels a lot clearer.
I recently made the drive with two friends, Christian and Dennis, thinking we’d get out of the coastal fog that’s been so thick in San Diego this week. No such luck, as it took until a little after noon for the fog to burn off even this far inland. The good news is that it kept things cool, with morning temps just a little over 50 degrees. It was in the mid 70s by the time we finished in all the glorious southern California sunshine.
Christian and Dennis start the ride through the fog, like two gorillas in the mist:
While I was huffing and puffing in my granny gear on the first climbs of the morning, Christian did the entire ride on a single speed. The guy has a diesel engine!
While Hurkey Creek is mostly buff, flowy single track, there are a number of fun rock features you need to ride up, over, and squeeze through:
The rocks are fun, but it’s the flow at Hurkey that keeps me coming back:
And the scenery isn’t too bad either!
The final section of single track awaits, “rage through the sage,” before we return to the campground located in the pine trees below:
Here’s a map of the day’s route:
The full photo set can be viewed here.
