Cougar Trail

Dogs No Dogs

E-Bikes Allowed

Parking for day use at the Coe Ranch entrance/park headquarters is $8 per vehicle.

Cougar Trail connects China Hole Trail with the Poverty Flat access road at the base of the valley, and while it's been suggested this could be ridden uphill (as an alternative to slogging up Poverty Flat and back the park Headquarters), I'd suggest most riders would find it exceptionally challenging, as the trail is very narrow and steep in places, with some exposure - often on an off-camber hillside, making pedal strikes almost inevitable.

In that regard, I very much recommend this be ridden as a downhill only - typically as an alternative to riding the complete length of China Hole Trail - and certainly if you are starting from the campground at Manzanita Point Rd, it is a very entertaining way to end up at the Poverty Flat camps in the heart of the valley.

For the most part the trail is narrow, with little option to ride away from the obvious line since there is a lot of exposure as you traverse back and forth down the steep hillside. Towards the bottom of the trail there is a sharp left turn to an alternative exit onto Poverty Flat Rd - although it is very easy to miss in the downhill direction, and also has a very tight blind crest turn with a deep gully on the far side which could easily catch you out - so in that regard I would strong recommend the follow the [more established] route prescribed here and cross the Middle Fork Coyote Creek* just south of of the Poverty Flat campground area.

*most of the year I suspect this creek is dry, although I suspect you ought to be prepared for wet feet in the spring.