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Lake Calavera Tour

RECOMMENDED ROUTE
Intermediate Intermediate
 4.0 (31)
  1. Areas
  2. CA
  3. …Southern California
  4. …Carlsbad
  5. Lake Calavera Preserve
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“A great route through Calavera Preserve on some curvy singletrack with fun downhills. ”

Gregg Brotman
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Map Key

5.0

Miles

8.0

KM

50%

Singletrack

380' 116 m

High

221' 67 m

Low

392' 119 m

Up

389' 119 m

Down

3%

Avg Grade (2°)

19%

Max Grade (11°)

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Unknown

Stay on designated trails and be ready to yield to other trail users.

Overview

This ride follows a series of fun loops and short connector trails. The terrain is sandy chaparral, with curvy singletrack and some fun downhill sections. You'll find a mostly hard-packed tread on all the trails.

Need to Know

This is closed at the south end near Sage High School to bikes. There are signs everywhere that they put up in January 2018.

Description

Park along Tamarack Ave when you see the gate and dam down the hill. Enter the preserve by going around the gate, and then head straight down across the dam. Follow the full track using the MTB Project mobile app for the best continuous loop, but you can shortcut back and eliminate subsequent loops. The shortest loop would be simply going around the lake only.

You can also park at the corner of College and Cannon and access the trail that's in front of the high school. The trailhead is right at the northeast corner of that intersection.

I have a fun 10k ride I do and a 5k ride. There are lots of choices for easy, flatland and harder, up-and-down routes.

Contacts

Land Manager: City of Carlsbad Parks and Recreation Dept.

Shared By:

Gregg Brotman
Full Details

Trail Ratings

  4.0 from 31 votes

#1

in Lake Calavera Preserve

#757

Overall
  4.0 from 31 votes
5 Star
35%
4 Star
29%
3 Star
32%
2 Star
3%
1 Star
0%
Recommended Route Rankings

#1

in Lake Calavera Preserve

#109

in California

#757

Overall
105 Views Last Month
18,212 Since Aug 30, 2016
Intermediate Intermediate
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17%
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Photos

Calavera Mountain and Lake Calavera in the foreground.
Jul 19, 2014 near Vista, CA
Beginning of trail.
Dec 7, 2023 near Vista, CA
Wooden plank section over marsh area.
Dec 7, 2023 near Vista, CA
Serpentine Trail
Mar 8, 2020 near Vista, CA
Rattlesnake crossed my path
Dec 8, 2017 near Vista, CA
Calavera Lake is a pleasant sight any time of year.
Feb 27, 2018 near Vista, CA

7 Comments

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Current Trail Conditions

Minor Issues 23 days ago
Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

Apr 26, 2024
John Hoffman
Dec 7, 2023
Mark Loftin
A mix of doubletrack, singletrack, and some wooden planks. Lots of offshoot trails to explore!
May 24, 2022
JOSHUA VALENTIN
Apr 26, 2022
Jodey Dugan
Mar 16, 2022
Tyree Hill
Jun 28, 2021
Dan 60D5H411
With Owen, Eliana, Tina
Mar 18, 2021
Drake Withers
Mar 7, 2020
William Ayers

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