A Glimpse of FUN in the Kern River Valley - Promo Video

Video from Kernville Chamber of Commerce, edited by Andrew Pernicano .

Top 5 Mountain Bike Rides in Kernville / Southern Sierras

Here's just a sample of some of the great riding in the Kern River Sierra:

1. Cannell Trail - An IMBA EPIC with high alpine singletrack weaving up to almost 10,000 feet in elevation before plunging toward the Kern River at 2600 ft; this is a must-do ride!  Mountain River Adventures provides shuttles in Kernville. 

Enroute to the Cannell Plunge.

2. Just Outstanding - 5 miles of pure forested flowing bliss lead to several ride options. Riding to the raw and rowdy Dutch Flat Trail  down into Keyesville is a classic! Along the way, throw in Wagy Ridge to Rocky Gulch Trail  for a day you'll never forget.  Another favorite is to climb Wagy Road to Wagy Ridge Trail to AGTO ending near Boulder Gulch.

Feelin' the need for speed.

Just Outstanding Manzanita Tunnel.

3. Kern Canyon Trail - Amazing in the winter and spring, the 25 miles of singletrack make for an awesome cross country ride in the rolling hills above the lower Kern River.  Start in Keyesville for the big ride, or shorten the ride by pedaling from the Freeway Ridge Trailhead by the corral.

Feeling the flow on this big cross country ride.

Early Spring is the best time to ride!

4. Camp Nelson Trail & Bear Creek Trails -  Don't miss these two gems in the Giant Sequoias!  Both technical and flowy, the shorter Camp Nelson Trail is completely awesome.  A 2,000 foot climb to Bear Creek Trail leads to one of the best downhills around. For a huge day to remember, shuttle both and/or add in Freeman Creek Trail (see below). Watch for hikers on all these trails!

Amazing Giant Sequoia Grove on Bear Creek Trail.

Enduro style riding.

5. Pup Meadow / Portuguese Pass Trail & Northside / Tobias Trail  - The Greenhorn Mountains have so many riding options. Unfortunately the Cedar Fire of 2016 torched the southern section of Portuguese Pass Trail; but it is starting to recover!  One very popular cross country ride is to loop Portuguese Pass Trail by riding up the forest road from Greenhorn Summit to Portuguese Pass and beyond, then back down the trail.  

Further north, the excellent Pup Meadow Trail was recently reopened adding more forested singletrack above 7,000 feet!   A variety of loops are possible throughout the Greenhorns, as well as a long "Greenhorn Traverse" and other huge rides.  A new local favorite is to climb Pup Meadow Trail to Tobias Trail for a 5,000 foot wildly rugged descent down to the Kern River.  Tobias is still a very remote "adventure ride" and can be quite bushy and rutted in places. Click the links above for updates and ride ideas!

Portuguese Pass Trail

Pup Meadow Trail.

Other Awesome Trails:

Mill Creek & Remington Ridge Trails -   If you have a willing shuttle driver to do two laps,  riding both these trails will give you 9,000 feet of fast fun downhill!  Remington Ridge starts with a climb and then has an exciting descent, while the Mill Creek Trail is almost continuously all smooth downhill.

Upper Mill Creek Trail

Remington Ridge Trail

Freeman Creek Trail - This smooth fast singletrack weaves its way down through some incredible Giant Sequoias near the Golden Trout Wilderness.  A superb out 'n' back ride can start off Lloyd Meadows Rd past Johnsondale or at the top near Quaking Aspen on the Western Divide Hwy.   

Machine-built singletrack.

The George Bush Tree on Freeman Creek Trail

Unal Trail -  Short but so very sweet!  Most locals will bike a double loop, or combine Unal Trail with Just Outstanding  or Portuguese Pass Trails for extra riding.  Pedal counterclockwise for the most flowy and airborne descent! 

Unal Trailhead at Greenhorn Summit

Keyesville Classic - One of the most famous trails in the Kern River Valley just got much better!  This cross-country race course now has many more miles of great singletrack and fun re-routes to be enjoyed. Ride this all Winter and Spring!

Keyesville Classic.

Cedar Canyon Trail - One of the most remote rides in the region, these trails (especially in the second half of the ride) are very  physically demanding, very technical, often bushy, gnarly, and super epic.  One group of  unprepared riders had to hike-a-bike several miles of trail and finished 13 hours later.  Having said that as a warning, it is a completely awesome backcountry adventure ride with superb mountain and river scenery. With some trail maintenance and maybe a couple re-routes, this ride could easily be one of the best expert rides anywhere.  Check KernRiverSierra.com for trail updates before riding!

Cedar Canyon Trail

Which High Sierra Peaks Are In View?

 As seen from the Baker Point Lookout Tower:

From KernRiverSierra.com:  "...the most unique and awe-inspiring sight of all! In view is the grouping of the highest mountains in the entire contiguous USA! Several High Sierra peaks, including Mt Whitney and other "14ers" line the northern horizon. Because of the north/south trajectory of the Kern Canyon, it is possible to look out to the farthest extent of the Kern River drainage, through the heart of the Sierras."

Read about hiking Baker Point here.

2011 Keyesville Race Highlights (Video!)

Scenes from the Pro Cross Country, Short Track, Downhill, Vintage Bike Race, and Teletubby Dirt Jumpers...
(Sorry we missed getting footage from the Trials events - Those riders were awesome!)

Includes top USA professional racers like Adam Craig, Tinker Juarez, Lance Canfield, Jim Hewitt, Will Patterson, Graeme Pitts, Ben Cruz....

2012 Keyesville Race: March 31-April 1


Keyesville Classic Trail description and information here.

Keyesville Race info here.

Keyesville Classic Mountain Bike Race 2011

Its time again for the 23rd Annual Keyesville Classic Mountain Bike Stage Race near Kernville!

This race is this weekend, March 18-20.

Rising pro racer, Cierra Smith, on last year's DH course.

(Photo by WMSmithPhoto.com)

Last year, racer attendance was increased by 25%, and tons of spectators were found lining the trails of the many bike events throughout the BLM managed Keyesville site.

The race featured many local riders as well as some of the top mountain bike racers in the country.

The dominant US racer, Kelli Emmett of Giant bicycles won the All Mountain women's Pro stage race (she also just won the prestigious Sea Otter Super D and Downieville All Mountain Championships). Kelli had lots of wonderful compliments for the event, and stated that Keyesville had the most fun Short Track she's ever raced. Her teammate Carl Decker, also the top pro XC/Super D racer in the country, won the stage race as well.

Kelli Emmett of Giant making a pass in the Short Track race.

Top U.S. rider, Carl Decker, in full race mode.

More Photos from 2010:

Bionicon rider, Chewy Aitken, at full speed.

Local Scott Link railing it.

Here are photos of all 3 days of the event by Six 3 Events.

Mountain Bike Company sets up shop in Kernville

High-end mountain bike manufacturer, Bionicon Bicycles, has made Kernville its new USA headquaters.
Bionicon specializes in backcountry mountain bikes, such as this one in this month's Bike Magazine issue.

They are in the process of moving, but will be located at 21 Sierra Drive, behind Archie's Hardware in Kernville. (Here) They will feature a Demo Center for Bionicon bikes and a dedicated bike & repair shop.

Bionicon is the major sponsor of the Keyesville Classic, in the Kern River Valley, and sponsors athletes such as Chewy Aitken. (Check him out railing the Keyesville Downhill Race last year (He finished 2nd place in Pro DH riding Bionicon:)

Bike Magazine in Kernville

From the Bike Mag website:


"A Gem in the Southern Sierras"

"Hidden in the Southern Sierras, sleepy Kernville, California, has some amazing riding, with multi-thousand-foot descents from lush alpine forests to brush-littered high desert, all along narrow, untrammeled singletrack. Bike magazine is spending the week here, exploring the trails and sampling local brews such as the Just Outstanding IPA, named after one of the area’s best trails. Check back for more photos and trail coverage.Though the quiet Southern Sierra hamlet of Kernville, California is best known as a whitewater rafting hub, the high desert mountains that surround it are liberally laced with trails that cut through a wide range of terrain and feature just about everything but crowds.

Just to dip our toes in, the Bike magazine staff started our exploration of the local trails with a 20-mile tour that included a six-mile section of “Just Outstanding,” which lived up to its name..."

Read the rest of the story here!
Photos from www.bikemag.com

Spring on the Kern River

Best X Country Bike Ride in Southern Sierras?

[This blog post has been adapted from The Mud Blog]
The Kern Canyon Trail is a preeminent cross country bike ride in the Southern Sierras. Its located in the trail epicenter of Kern River Valley, close to Lake Isabella and about 15 minutes south of Kernville.

This scenic trail is fast, flowy, smooth, fun......and certainly gets the heart pounding. With plenty of mountain views and an occasional glimpses of the river, you'll pass some small creeks, meadows and oak groves along the way.

The ride is great all year long, but can be very hot in the summer. It is simply amazing in the spring, as the wildflowers are in bloom and everything is green.
Although there's several variations of the ride, the most popular version starts from Keyesville and roughly contours the rolling oak-covered mountains above the lower Kern River to Delonegha Bridge.

GPX file of our ride here. [from The Mud Blog]

The ride begins starts on a section of the Keyesville Classic cross country race course and then contours the mountains and scenic look-outs for the next 21 miles. Most of the ride is smooth singletrack with lots of ups and downs, and ends with a great rolling descent. If you shuttle (the popular option) you'll climb 2800 feet up and drop 3400. Have fun!