Le Mesnager Loop Trail

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Unknown

These trails are multi-use and popular with hikers. Wear a bell, yield to hikers and equestrians, and control your speed on steep descents.

This little loop can be ridden in either direction, pick your poison.

Counter-clockwise: From the Deukmejian Wilderness Park parking lot, take the hiking path up to where it joins the Dunsmore Canyon Trail. This "road" is steep, loose doubletrack and utterly unrelenting. The upper Le Mesneger trailhead is clearly marked to the left at 0.5 miles, but if you want you can take the punishment as far as a mile up the canyon.

Le Mesneger climbs up the to the ridge top just as steeply for another tenth of a mile, but the trail bed is a much more tenable hardpack singletrack. Just as the downhill begins, there's a spur to the left with benches and 300° views.

Why bother with this climb? The descent is a ripping good time, and the switchbacks at the bottom of the loop have some well-placed boulder features.

Clockwise: From the parking lot, edge around the white gate and head up the extremely steep and loose doubletrack on the left. Take the first available right and ride around the little patch of grass to the Le Mesneger Trail lower trailhead. This graded and landscaped singletrack climbs about half a mile via gentle banked switchbacks up to a fire road grade. The next half mile is a very steep and loose doubletrack on Dunsmore Canyon Trail (this park has a theme) up to a saddle.

From there, climb up the back side of the ridge to the lookouts and close the loop, or extend your ride up the Rim Of The Valley Trail or just give up and turn around.