After 40 Years, New Changes are Coming to California's Mount Tamalpais Trails

For the first time in four decades, mountain bikes will be able to legally used at Mount Tamalpais in California.

Daniella Heminghaus | Bucks County Courier Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Bikers in the Bay Area received some great news this week. 

The Marin Municipal Water District announced that a new pilot program will begin next month to allow mountain bikers to use specific trails in the Mount Tamalpais watershed. 

Mount Tamalpais is the highest peak in the Marin Hills, which are part of the Northern California Coast Ranges in the middle of the state. The highest elevation is 2,579 feet.

The decision will remove a 40-year ban on mountain bikes in the watershed as they will open nearly 7 miles of trails to cyclists. The decision was unanimous among voters on the board. 

Advocacy groups such as Marin County Bicycle Coalition have been fighting for fair access to the trails for a decade.

The “Trail Sharing Pilot Program” will initially be limited to nine different trails across the watershed and will begin on October 3rd, 2024. It will reportedly be in effect for two years before being reassessed. 

The trails that will allow biking are:

Pumpkin Ridge Trail, Sunnyside Trail, Madrone Trail, Concrete Pipe Fire Road, Upper Fish Gulch Trail, Arturo Trail, Mountain Top Trail, Grassyslope Fire Road, and Lakeview Trail.

The county has also approved a one-year Pilot Program for E-Bikes in the area. Once the program begins, an additional spot on Grassy Slope Road and the Pine Mountain area will also be available for E-bikes.  

Most are excited by the news that mountain bikes, which have been banned on Mount Tamalpais trails since 1984, are getting access to trails, but they don’t intend to stop there. 

“We’ve been working toward this for many years. This is not the finish line, but it’s a good start.” In a recent statement following the decision on the Marcin County Bicycle Coalition website. “While this is certainly not everything we’re asking for, it is a huge step in the right direction.”

Not everyone is excited about the news that bikes will be allowed on the trails. A local woman told the Marin Independent Journal that bikers have already been using the trails and that they aren’t wide enough to support the traffic. The woman stated that she has been riding her horses on Mount Tamalpais for over 50 years and believes an accident due to the increased traffic with hikers is inevitable. 

The opening of the trails will immediately impact the community as Marin has multiple high school mountain bike teams that have had limited trails in the surrounding area to practice on.