Stone Mountain - Mountain Bike Trail

The Stone Mountain trail is family-friendly and easy, with few technical features that make it ideal for beginner riders and family cycling adventures.

The Stone Mountain trail is a well-maintained singletrack loop worth exploring year-round. It has enough technical features that keep it interesting, hence various users, including hikers, dog-walkers, joggers, horses, and families. The trail stands out with its terrain variety, which is generally easy to navigate. We recommend the trail for all biking skill levels. Beginners would enjoy the trail just as much as experienced riders would. 

Before you go:

Drinking water

Restrooms

Fee required

Lift service

Fat bike grooming

Family Friendly

Night riding

E-bikes allowed

Dogs Allowed

Obstacles

Shuttles

Detailed Trail Description

The Stone Mountain trail begins at the country store in San Diego country estates. From the country store, ride across the Gunn Stage road and go up the trail. Turn left onto the loop’s first section, called the West side trail. This section flows fast and easily through trees. However, you must be keen not to fall on the small wash crossings with deep, soft sand.

You will come by several houses before you get to Watt Road. The ride between the houses crosses Watt way past more homes and begins climbing the North side trail, which parallels the Watt road on the hillside and intersects the Swartz Canyon trail at the end of the climb.

From this point, on your right is a steep, rutted descent that may scare you if you are a beginner. At the end of the descent is a creek bed with trees that offer wonderful, rewarding shade. Continue on the narrow trail that winds through the trees. It advances into its most technical section with sharp climbs and descents over rocks.

Ride on until you pass an old concrete dam and cross a creek bed onto the Southside trail. You will climb some deep sand up the hillside. At this point, the trail parallels the San Vicente road and is wide and fast. You will encounter a short technical rock drop that leads to the Camino Arriba driveway crossing. Get on the hillside and ride back to the loop.

Additional Trail Features

•       Creek crossings.
•       There are four trails; Swarz canyon, North Side Trail, West Side Trail, and Southside Trail.
•       A driveway.

Sights of Interest, landscapes, views

The Stone Mountain trail offers great views of the surroundings. The first section of the trail is beautiful as it is level and runs under many trees that make it serene. Other quieter sections of the trail running under trees also offer unmatched tranquility, which is amazing for anyone looking to escape the city’s noise and immerse themselves in nature.

As for wildlife, the harsh mountain conditions are not ideal for many animal species. Nonetheless, depending on the weather, you may see Deer, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, hawks, turkeys, and snakes.

Recommendations/precautions

•       Be friendly with other trail users like dog walkers, joggers, hikers, and horses.
•        If you are a beginner, you may have to hike a bike on some of the trail's technical sections.
•       The small wash crossings on the first section of the trail have deep, soft sand that could easily throw you off balance.
•       You can turn around and ride the trail back in the other direction to increase your miles and have more fun.
•       Beware of dangerous animals like snakes and foxes.