7.6 hr
Overview
The ride begins through a fairly flat rock garden creek, a bumpy and twisty 1.7-mile section with intermittent tree cover, but nothing extremely technical. The trail is mostly doubletrack, but narrows to singletrack in various spots along the rock garden.<br><br>At the end of the rock garden, the doubletrack takes a sharp right turn to begin a 6.2-mile climb. The climb is not extremely difficult, but it is steady with a very small number of flat areas and short descents along the way. A majority of the ride does not contain any tree cover.<br><br>At 3.3 miles, there is a plateau with amazing views of the San Gabriel Valley and south towards Orange County. This is a popular rest point before the climb gets a bit steeper.<br><br>From the rest point, the trail continues to climb as it winds along various sides of the mountains, providing great scenery. The trail ends at a turn-around point with a gate that leads to a dirt parking lot, adjacent to Glendora Mountain Road. If you want to skip the climb workout, you can shuttle to this parking lot and downhill the trail all day long.<br><br>Making a 180\u00b0 turn at the gate will send you right back down the way you came up, but at a MUCH faster pace. The ride down Lower Monroe Truck Trail can be compared to a downhill park without the crazy jumps and super sharp turns. It is a fast-paced. twisty ride, negotiating a trail that is rocky and rutted in many places with trail-hugging vegetation.<br><br>The downhill seems to last forever and is guaranteed to put a constant smile on your face. On the lower area of the descent, you may encounter a few pedestrians, so a cowbell will serve your downhill well. <br><br>Also full-finger length gloves are highly recommended during dry summer months, to protect yourself against those handlebar-level thorny plants. Since you'll be exposed to the sun for the majority of the trail, a good supply of water is also recommended.
Trail Stats
25.9 km
706 m
1047 m
365 m
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Photos
Spectacular views of the San Gabriel Mtns from here.
Spectacular views of the San Gabriel Mtns from here.
Fun, winding creekbed trail through the trees.
Fun, winding creekbed trail through the trees.
Mystic Canyon
Mystic Canyon
GMR viewed from Mystic Canyon
GMR viewed from Mystic Canyon
Climbing up, about a mile north of Mystic Cyn.
Climbing up, about a mile north of Mystic Cyn.