Sanborn Park, John Nicholas Trail, Lake Ranch Trail

Got out a bit early for a quick ride on the newly opened John Nicholas Trail in Sanborn park the other day.  I have run the Lake Ranch trail many times over the years and I was looking forward to riding the new extension.  

I went ahead and drove up Black road to the parking spot. It is likely only a matter of time before No Parking signs appear on the roadside parking, it is getting just a little too popular.  Not having a good sense of how long the ride would be, nor having much time to spare before having to get back down the hill, I opted to turn left where the trail splits at a spectacular overlook.  This lefthand trail quickly dumps out on Skyline rd which makes for a very fast return to the starting point.  There is plenty of time for the full trail down to Summit rock...next time.

The new sections of the trail are nice with a couple of tight hairpins on the way up.   Doing the abbreviated trail with a road return was short, 8 miles taking 50 minutes and having about 1200 feet of climbing.