Verrado: Lost Creek & Skyline

I had such a good time riding at White Tank Regional Park, I made a concerted effort to get back to the west valley in short order. Next up: Verrado's Lost Creek trails and the neighboring Skyline Regional Park in Buckeye.

The two areas are adjacent and can be linked by trail so it made sense to me to combine the two. Both areas are south of the White Tank Regional Park along the foothills of the White Tank Mountains.

I made the trek west and found the parking area, a dead end road turned dirt cul-de-sac. I really didn't have a specific route but as soon as I rolled out I ran into a local and asked for some tips. He gave me a couple of trails to put on my 'must ride' list and warned me that there was no easy way to get back to Lost Creek from Skyline. I kinda figured that based on what I knew about the area.

This could be interesting.

The trail system hasn't been around too long.

Lots of gold in the hills this time of year.

There were a few cool trail signs along the way.

I was picking my way up El Guapo trail, a technically challenging climb. It was a lot of fun and I'd love to try it again after getting a feel for it. It had a very raw flavor, a hand built trail from the old skool days.

Deep into the hills now, starting a loop on Dead Head Pass.

It's rare for me to see the Estrella Mtns. so far away...to the east!!

The trail began to open up on the way back down the north side.

Pick your poison.

Not so sure about that jump line.

Widow Maker trail begins directly behind these petroglyphs.

The area is fenced off, but good views are available.

Down Periscope was one of my favorite trails of the ride.

That's one of the Skyline connector routes. I'd come down that later in the day.

More from Down Periscope.

Great signage out here.

It was now time to cross over to Skyline Regional Park. I had heard Quartz Mine trail was not to be missed and it turned out to be my connecting trail into the park.

One punchy climb, read: hike-a-bike, led me here. Worth it.

Quartz Mine at the summit.

Small cairn family before dropping in.

I like the look of this!!

These trails are a few years old now and were machine built IIRC. I was a bit surprised how rutted some sections were, as if drainage wasn't considered. Not sure if they were simply built in haste or the builder didn't fully grasp the process of sustainable trail construction. I'd expect machine built trails to hold up much better than what I was seeing. Don't get me wrong, still fun, but I wonder what it'll be like in 5 years.

It's a long downhill into the park. I knew I'd have some work to get back over to Verrado.

Nice signage down at the trailhead.

From here I made my way up the Mountain Wash trail which is really a dirt access road, but a solid climb that really gets the heart rate elevated. This dumped me onto Turnbuckle trail. Oh my, what a chunky, chundery descent that was. I'm glad I went down it instead of up, otherwise it would have been mostly all hike-a-bike. It made me wonder how the other trails were going to be and if I'd wind up as lucky.

I did find some good XC types of trails on Granite Falls & Chuckwalla.

One of my favorite springtime blooms: Hedgehog Cactus.

I rode up Chuckwalla to connect to Pyrite only to realize it was a one-way trail!! Gah! So, back down Chuckwalla to ride Pyrite in the proper direction.

Pyrite trail, time to climb...and walk.

Up, up, up it goes, views getting better with each pedal stroke.

Nearing the top, I had to make the official summit spur trip.

Top of Pyrite looking to the west. Felt like I could see into California from here.

The downhill was a bit rowdy with tight switchbacks and steep grades, but I managed a clean run.

Now, I simply have to get over to that high saddle...

A series of steep hike-a-bike switchbacks up Turnbuckle West led me here. Moar hike-a-bike leading up Lost Creek to the saddle.

I finally crested and was ready for some fun downhill action back to the car. I remembered the local rider I met early that morning mentioning the S.O.B. trail, that's South of the Border, not the other S.O.B.!! I made quick work of the jeep road downhill and found the singletrack connection.

Sonofa..nope. South of the Border in these parts.

It was a really nice wrap-up to a fun, but difficult day of riding. I was spent.

I really enjoyed the area, but will have to ask some locals on their preferred routes through Skyline Regional. I only missed one or two trails there, but maybe they were better options than some of my choices. Verrado/Lost Creek was a lot of fun, I'll definitely check that place out again. Once more, the West Valley delivered.

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