Mountain Biking in Marin: The Facts
In the 1970’s, nature-loving, forward-thinking men and women invented mountain biking on the flanks of Mt. Tam and Pine Mountain in Marin. For a short time, mountain bikers peaceably shared all the trails of Marin with other users.
FACT: Mountain bikers are the second largest user group on Marin public lands at roughly 30% of users, when compared to hikers (70%) and equestrians (0.4%).
In the preceding decades, trail use in Marin became a contentious issue with mountain bikes strongly restricted. As a result, access to singletrack trails is disproportionately low for mountain bikers compared to other user groups and compared to access in other parts of California and the U.S..
FACT: Mountain bikes are allowed on just 15% of narrow trail miles compared to 100% for hikers and 67% for equestrians.
Riders find themselves on over-grade, rutted fire roads that are both unsafe for riding and detrimental to the environment compared to singletrack (U.S. Forest Service).
While public dialogue and legislative process have long been informed by misinformation and myths in Marin, land managers are beginning to acknowledge and address the public’s desire for access. It is a slow but positive process.
FACT: There is no substantiated, reasonable cause to prohibit increased mountain bike access to singletrack on public lands.
Numerous peer-reviewed studies show that both safety and environmental impacts from mountain biking are comparable to that of hiking and lower than that of equestrian use. Accidents on trails are also extremely rare (Parks.CA) with the vast majority of all trail users reporting good to great experiences (MMWD, MCOSD).
FACT: Ineffective trail design is the most common source of conflict among trail users, not the users themselves.
Today, A4B and our crew of enthusiastic volunteers are leading the way in trail stewardship and environmental protection to enhance singletrack access in Marin.
You can find even more FACTS in A4B’s Marin County Mountain Biking Fact Book.
