- Ride Details
- Distance: 4 miles
- Summit Elevation: 506′
- Total Ascent: 213′
- Time: 0.5 hours
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Que Sheet: Download
Carbon Canyon Regional Park is part of OC Parks which encompasses 60,000 acres of wilderness and historical areas, as well as coastal areas, in the County of Orange in California. The park consists of 60 acres with grassy areas for picnics, sports facilities, playgrounds, a four acre lake, a redwood grove and native gardens.
Riding around the park is always a pleasure and it’s a great route for a beginner, but we generally use this route as a gateway for longer rides through the adjacent Chino Hills State Park. You can start the ride anywhere in the park, but we start in a residential neighborhood in Brea. We used to park on near Vesuvius and Rose until my truck window was smashed when bad guys thought my wallet might be easy pickings (they didn’t get it) so we park around the corner on a little cul de sac where the locals can keep an eye on our vehicles.
You’ll ride out on Vesuvius and across Rose at the light. Continue straight onto the gravel road and then the road that leads up onto the dam. The large gate there is usually closed but there’s a smaller pedestrian gate that requires you to stop and lift your bike over a low barrier. Riding up onto the dam is a great warmup and the hardest part of this little route.
When you reach the top of the dam, turn right on the first dirt road that drops down into the area below the dam. You’ll ride for a bit parallel to the dam itself until you reach the redwood grove that’s tucked into a little hollow in the hills. This is the only redwood grove that I’ve seen in Southern California. Somehow they’ve kept it watered and green through years of drought. It’s a wonderful little place.
Ride up and around the redwoods and then continue on the trail towards the park itself. The trail will curve to the right and then turn left and after a little climb, you’ll emerge near the native garden at the end of the park. Continue to the parking area.
You are now on the east end of Carbon Canyon Regional Park near Chino Hills State Park (CHSP). If you are heading into CHSP for a longer ride, head to the back of the parking lot and you’ll find an access trail that runs into the parking lot for the Discovery Center.
If you are just doing this route (or when you return from CHSP), you’ll turn head of of the parking lot and up the road towards the center of the park. On your left, you’ll pass tennis courts, bathrooms, the lake, play structures and picnic areas that make this such a popular park.
After you’ve passed the main entrance, you’ll reach the end of the road where you’ll make a slight right and then a sharp left to start up a paved trail that will take you back to the dam. Head back towards the entrance road and enjoy the ride down the hill where you started (be aware you’ll have to stop and lift your bike back through the gate). Cross at the light back onto Vesuvius, find your car, and you are done.