Stonyford OHV - Goat Mountain Road M05 
| Length: | 7.2 miles |
| Difficulty: | Easier: 2 Harder: 4 |
| Trailhead Elev: | 2413 feet |
| Maximum Elev: | 4253 feet |
| Trailhead: | Lat: 39.35583 Lon: -122.64333 |
| Reader's Rating: |  (3 votes) |
| Nearby Trails: | Stonyford OHV - Potato Hill #34 - 2 miles Stonyford OHV - Trail #30 - 2 miles |
Trail Description
The Goat Mountain trail is located inside the Stonyford OHV area which consists of literally hundreds of trails. While at first this may sound like a good thing, we found this just adds miles of confusion. We ate up a lot of time just trying to figure out where we were. The forest station’s map did not coincide with the trails markers every time. This trail is actually a major road used to get around the area, but there are many offshoots where there are challenging trails. Due to the confusion regarding what trails we were on, I decided to have just one write-up for the whole ridge that Goat Mountain Road follows. We spend very little time on Goat Mtn Rd itself choosing other trails that parallel it.
A prevailing theme in this area is that it’s very dirt bike centric. The trails are very narrow and have many ups and downs. It seems they built humps into the trails for erosion control, but I think they more serve to make the terrain more interesting for bikes. They merely force you to slow down and in my case drag a little bit.
There were a few steep hill climbs and descents that I enjoyed and were mildly challenging. We purposefully tried designated motorcycle only trails to find some more challenging terrain and we found it there. It’s really a matter of trying to get down a 40 inch wide trail and fend off the dirty looks from the bikers.
Do not get me wrong, I really did have a lot of fun and there is surely more to be had. Before I go next, I’m going to really plan out with a good USGS map to find trails more suitable for 4x4s. There are a couple photos of Jeremy flexing his ZJ in some ruts. The cool part was that his LCAs were binding meaning he was flexing as far as he could. So far in fact that the spring fully decompressed and the top was loose a couple inches below his BB spacers. There is just something to be said when you take your vehicle to its limits. I rated this area four due the narrow trails and a few steep hills.
Directions
From the north, exit I-5 at Willows and take Hwy 162 through Elk Creek and then left to Stonyford. Take Fout Springs Rd approximately 6 miles and you’ll see the trail labeled M5 on the left before you reach Davis Flats. From the south, exit I-5 at Maxwell and take Maxwell Rd approximately 30 miles to reach Stonyford and then proceed as above from Stonyford.
A prevailing theme in this area is that it’s very dirt bike centric. The trails are very narrow and have many ups and downs. It seems they built humps into the trails for erosion control, but I think they more serve to make the terrain more interesting for bikes. They merely force you to slow down and in my case drag a little bit.
There were a few steep hill climbs and descents that I enjoyed and were mildly challenging. We purposefully tried designated motorcycle only trails to find some more challenging terrain and we found it there. It’s really a matter of trying to get down a 40 inch wide trail and fend off the dirty looks from the bikers.
Do not get me wrong, I really did have a lot of fun and there is surely more to be had. Before I go next, I’m going to really plan out with a good USGS map to find trails more suitable for 4x4s. There are a couple photos of Jeremy flexing his ZJ in some ruts. The cool part was that his LCAs were binding meaning he was flexing as far as he could. So far in fact that the spring fully decompressed and the top was loose a couple inches below his BB spacers. There is just something to be said when you take your vehicle to its limits. I rated this area four due the narrow trails and a few steep hills.
Directions
From the north, exit I-5 at Willows and take Hwy 162 through Elk Creek and then left to Stonyford. Take Fout Springs Rd approximately 6 miles and you’ll see the trail labeled M5 on the left before you reach Davis Flats. From the south, exit I-5 at Maxwell and take Maxwell Rd approximately 30 miles to reach Stonyford and then proceed as above from Stonyford.