Red Hills Report
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 Map courtesy of Steve Wolf |
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Red Hills Recreation Management Area (quite a name) is a 7,100 acre "park" located near Chinese Camp in the California foothills. This area is administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Chinese Camp used to be a mining town and is now home to a sawmill. The nearest real town is Sonora. To get to Red Hills from Sonora, take State Highway 49 south 15 miles to Chinese Camp, then drive south on Red Hills Road for 1/2 mile. From the Bay Area, follow Highway 120 toward Yosemite to Chinese Camp (follow the large road signs).
The park is located on a set of hills formed out of serpentine. As a result, the vegitation is pretty sparse. Instead, there are plenty of rocks. In many places, the trail is like riding along a creek bed, but this adds challenge and a good bit of fun to the ride.
There is a single main parking area on Red Hills Road. You won't miss it. There is a large loop here for parking horse trailers. There are several trailheads that terminate here. There is a map in a display case, but there are no handouts and I haven't been able to find too many on-line (one of the few is linked above).
I like to start on the trail to the southwest of the parking area on Old Sage (I think I have also seen this labelled as Old Stage, but I could be wrong). This is a good start as it is rocky and loose as it climbs up a short hill. This gets you into the mood quickly. After you get going, it smoothes out a bit and begins traversing two hillsides. I then took Soaproot Ridge. As the name suggests, this is going to go along a ridge, which means there will be some climbing to get there. Of course, it has to be rocky and brushy as well, making it a good test of your endurance and technical handling skills.
Once you get to Six Bit Trail you have reached the far point of the loop. I returned Old Sage to Soaproot Ridge. This time, don't go back up the large hill, just the small one back toward the parking area. If you are still energetic, you can add in a climb up Overlook Loop. There are a few big boulders to traverse just before you get back to the parking area.
I have also ridden Verbena Loop. This has some more ascents and descent on a "creekbed" trail, but I thought it was less fun that the loop described above.
This area can be very hot in the summer as there is very little shade and it is very dry. It can be cold in the winter, but I have ridden here in December a few times and it has been pretty fun. However, the temperture drops very quickly as the sun goes down, so plan appropriately. I haven't seen too many other people on these trails (actually just a single horse rider in the parking area a few times), so plan on being self-sufficient.