Explore the best rated trails in Mettler, CA, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the South Fork River Trail and Bouquet Canyon Trail . With more than 9 trails covering 71 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
We were here Sunday after Thanksgiving. Nice tree lined trail through the town. Not many people.
Parking lot was closed when we tried to visit. No signage to explain why.
Rode the length of the trail from Foster Park, with my wife. We're both in our 70's. While sections of this ride are excellent, what keeps it from being a five star path are a number of factors. In parts, the trail is rough, and needs maintenance. The fairly frequent road crossings as you approach Ojai set this path aside from five star paths that use underpasses or overpasses. Signage is only fair. Not for inexperienced young riders, secondary to the road crossings and rough sections. All that said, for moderately experienced riders, this is a very good ride.
Traveling by car through the Central Valley over a hundred times during the past fifty years, I've never paused to ride a bicycle in Bakersfield. Mistake! The Kern River Parkway Trail is a way above average opportunity to take a break from the monotony of Highway 99 or I-5, get in a good ride, and get back in your car with the invigoration that a two-wheeled adventure virtually always brings.
I did the length of the trail in two parts. Daty 1, headed south to SoCal on 99, I parked at Yokuts Park (plenty of parking, easily accessible off 99) and rode east. The trail itself is wide, and smooth, well maintained, and without safety concerns. Specifically, though homelessness has been mentioned in previous posts about this path, no encampments encroached onto the path, and homeless folks numbered less than ten over the roughly sixtteen mile round trip. I got a bit confused at Manor St. : stay right, look for the narrow tunnel that goes under the street. The hills mentioned in the official description and previous posts are not steep, easily negotiable by even a mildly fit rider. I did not ride the streets to the disconnected far east portion of the trail, but will next time
On my return trip headed back home (Merced) on 99, I parked again at Yokuts Park, and headed west for a 28 mile round trip ride to the western end of the trail. What a delight! Again, the trail was wide, clean, traveling largely along water, safe, for all ages and levels of riders. Previous postings about tumble weeds....didn't see any. Again, no street crossings, as the path uses underpasses for all roads, a marvelous piece of engineering. If you're a birder, bring your binoculars, you'll be travelling along extensive wetlands. The trail drops about 400 feet in elevation over 14 miles, hardly noticeable going either downstream along the Kern, or upstream on the way back. My sense of public safety seemed to be confirmed by the many families that I encountered on foot or on bikes. The speedster bicyclists were polite, and the width of the path made it easy for the tortoises and the hares, the pedestirans and the dog walkers to get along.
This path is a beauty, an achievement of forward thinking and an excellent investment in the public good. It's easily accessible from either I-5 or Highway 99. If you're passing through Bakersfield, you'll be richly rewarded by pausing to try it out. I rode it in January (58 degrees), for summer riders, be well prepared for the heat, which can be lethal.
It’s a nice, paved trail but lots of homeless camped along it and have large dogs off leash. Also lots of garbage…Bakersfield needs to clean it up. Also never have seen such a squirrel infestation as their parks have
I have ridden this trail all the way. It is a very good trail,but from Enos Lane to Buena Vista Lake, it needs the tumble weeds cleaned up and from Hwy 119 to Buena Vista Lake all the broken glass and trash cleaned up to bring it up to par.
We have used this trail several times. We have not gone on the entire trail but we have ridden 35 miles. We prefer to go west on it as it is more scenic and there are not any homeless or sketchy areas. If you go east you will encounter many homeless people and the area doesn’t seem safest. We have not been bothered by the homeless, it is just a little uncomfortable seeing some using drugs, as we have a teenage daughter. Overall this trail is well kept. You can tell the city cares deeply about this trail. It’s in our top 10 in the country!
It was an awful trail path for walking or biking. Too many people taking up the whole path, too many unleashed dogs, and Fillmore residents loitering on path as well as off to the side of path creepily watching girls and woman while drinking beer. I felt extremely uncomfortable. Trash left all over and people don’t pick up after their dogs. I can tell you for sure that I will not take this oath trail again.
I rode this trail and portions of some of its connectors and it was a lovely ride. I am strictly a recreational rider and these trails meet my needs. They run parallel to what passes for a river in Southern California. The trail is VERY well maintained and marked. It is essentially flat. There was zero trash and graffiti. On one side of the trail is the riverbed and on the other side there are some residential areas, parks, and access to commercial areas if you want to stop. You can go for miles and miles if you hook up with one of the connectors and are so inclined. There are
lovely views of the distant mountains and even a glimpse of Six Flags Magic Mountain. There are different places where it can be accessed. I picked one that was an established trailhead in a retail area with plenty of vehicle traffic so you do not feel that your car is out in the wilderness. But as soon as I hit the trail, I felt like I was away from the city and in a peaceful place. It can be very hot in the Santa Clarita Valley in the summer. There is of course a breeze along the river that varies in intensity. I was there early in the day and it was not an issue. I had to drive some distance to get there and it certainly was worth.
I’ve been riding this trail a couple times a week since I found it. With very few interruptions or vehicle crossings, this is a great trail for settling in and peddling away.
I started at the Foster Park trailhead. At least on a Wednesday afternoon there was plenty of parking under the bridge just before you get to the trailhead. I was on an ebike and it was an easy uphill cruise, with a gentle slope, all the way to Ojai. When reaching Ojai I would recommend turning around at Montgomery Street. Trail gets pretty junky for the few hundred yards after that. Few
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