La Honda Route

The course starts and finishes in Palo Alto at the parking lot near the intersection of Page Mill Rd and Hwy 280. You climb up to Skyline Blvd four times. The uphill is mostly on dirt while the downhill is on pavement. The total distance is over 200 km and you will climb around 3000 m (10,000 feet).

From the start you take Arastradero Rd and make a loop through Arastradero Preserve. The you continue on Alpine Rd, first on pavement and later on dirt. At the top you cross Skyline and the Bay Area Ridge Trail and Skyilne Blvd to Bear Gulch Rd.

Then you cross El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space on dirt trails to Star Hill Rd. The you take Tunitas Creek Rd down towards the ocean. Via Lobitas Creek Rd, Verde Rd and Purisima Creek Rd you get to Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space and take Purisima Creek Trail back to Skyline.

Coast near Tunitas Creek Rd

Old La Honda Rd - West of Skyline

Now you take Skyline South to Old La Honda Rd which you take down in Western direction, continue on La Honda Rd and onto Pescadero Rd. Now you take fire roads to the Portola Redwood State Park and climb back to Skyline via Pescadero State Park Rd and Alpine Rd.

Now you cross Skyline and continue on Page Mill Rd. Then get on the dirt section of Montebello Rd which follows the ridge and then continue on the pavements until you reach Stevens Canyon Rd at the reservoir. Take Stevens Canyon Rd until you reach the gate, and continue on Canyon Trail all the way back to Page Mill Rd.

Now you almost done: take Page Mill Rd down hill. 2/3 down, continue straight into Moody Rd and climb back to Page Mill Rd via Altamont. After this final hill you can roll down to the finish.

View from Alpine Rd at the intersection with Pescadero State Park Rd

View over Silicon Valley from the top of Montebello Rd

The course is roughly 2/3 pavement and 1/3 dirt. Unlike the Pacifica Route, this route doesn't feature major run-up. However, there are a few stretches where you need to get off the bike (determined by conditions and gearing).