Santa Clarita Spin

Placerita Loop Bike Ride

04.28.2015

Santa Clarita is the bike-friendly host city for stage 5 of this year's Tour of California. The pros will cross the finish line here, but you'll get to see more on a 22.5-mile loop that includes scenic roads used in past tours, along with nicely paved bike trails that the pros don't get to enjoy. The Placerita Loop is a city-to-country ride that begins with 9.5 miles on paved bike paths. Even during the urban portion of this ride, you'll catch sight of the mountains that frame the Santa Clarita Valley. The scenery becomes more country style as you turn up Sand Canyon Road, pedaling past horse ranches in the foothills of the San Gabriels. The green ridges of the mountains rise straight ahead. You might expect the ascent to be over as you swing onto Placerita Canyon Road, but the ride throws one final climb in your path before you can basically cruise back down to Santa Clarita. But don't whiz by too fast! You'll miss your chance to see the Marshall Homestead Ruins in Golden Valley Ranch Open Space as well as Placerita Canyon. Great Santa Clarita!

TIP: Follow a map of the Placerita Loop provided by Bike Santa Clarita, but switch the starting point to Newhall Park (near mile marker 21), which is just before the start of the bike path and has easy parking and plenty of grass to stretch out on after your ride.

From Newhall Park (24923 Newhall Ave. in Santa Clarita), bike north past the end of Newhall Ave. and turn right onto South Fork River Trail. Pass below Magic Mountain Pkwy. and turn onto Chuck Pontius Commuter Trail, which makes its way east, crossing the river to Santa Clara River Trail. Ten miles in, when the bike path ends, turn left below CA-14, and make a right turn on Soledad Canyon Rd. Right turns on Sand Canyon Rd. and Placerita Canyon Rd. take you into the mountains and back to Santa Clarita. Go through an odd pedestrian gate at the bottom of Placerita Canyon Rd. and make your way back to Newhall Park.

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Napa Valley Paddle kayaker and paddle boarder on the Napa Valley river

    Napa's Wild Side

    It’s wine country’s Amazon. The gentle Napa River is an ecological—and recreational—delight. And Napa Valley Paddle sets you up for maximum enjoyment of this experience.

    View

  2. Been There, Dome That

    Surrounded by granite domes, craggy peaks, and miles of hiking trails, the High Sierra landscape of Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park is famous for good reason. For a truly grand view, take a short hike to bold—and bald (except for snow at times)—Lembert Dome.

    View

  3. Wapama Wows

    Hetch Hetchy can be overlooked in Yosemite National Park because of its more remote location and limited facilities. But this is where you’ll also find one of the best day hikes in the park: Wapama Falls.

    View
  4. Hike Mount Tamalpais into Muir Woods

    Muir Woods Through the Backdoor

    A backdoor entrance into Muir Woods? Hike a tranquil trail that starts in Mount Tamalpais State Park and quietly leads into Muir Woods, letting you avoid the busyness of the main parking area.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories

  1. Inn-spiration Point!

    For more than a century, people have been hiking or mountain biking to West Point Inn for good reason. Perched at 1,785 feet on the southern slope of Mount Tamalpais, the historic inn has sweeping views from the Marin Headlands to the San Francisco skyline.

    View

  2. A Thousand Steps to Paradise

    A picture is worth a thousand words, but is a gorgeous beach in Laguna worth a thousand steps? The answer is yes, though the question is moot, because it’s only 223 steep steps down to the 400-yard stretch of sand known as 1000 Steps Beach.

    View
  3. Sponsored

    Take the Exit to the Best of the San Francisco Peninsula

    The San Francisco Peninsula is proof that some of Northern California’s greatest surprises are hiding just off Highway 101. All you have to do is take the exit.

    View
  4. Hike to the Sierra Buttes Fire Lookout in the Lakes Basin

    Lookout for This View!

    Sierra Buttes Lookout, at a lofty 8,591 feet, is a memory maker for its pucker-worthy stairway to the tower’s balcony. It's a 5-mile (round-trip) hike to reach it. And the reward? Epic!

    View