Mountain biking is the thinnest of the South Bay’s riding scenes. The beach cities (Torrance, Redondo, Hermosa, Manhattan) are flat and fully paved, with no trail to speak of. The one patch of real dirt is on the Palos Verdes hill to the south. If a local club is heading out on mountain bikes, you’ll find it below.
Where to mountain bike in the South Bay
Close to home, it’s the Palos Verdes Peninsula Nature Preserve. Its multi-use trails wrap the seaward slopes of the peninsula and are open to bikes, and the most-used way in is Del Cerro Park, where a dirt road drops toward the coast past Portuguese Bend. You come for the ocean views; the riding is rolling and scenic rather than steep or technical, better for a mellow loop than a hard day.
The complication is the ground itself. The Portuguese Bend landslide on the south side has sped up in recent years, and Rancho Palos Verdes has closed trails, beaches and access east of Inspiration Point because the land is moving, with sinkholes, cracked surfaces and unstable edges. The city also shuts the entire preserve during heavy rain. The open map changes month to month, so check rpvca.gov/trailalerts before you load the car, and obey the posted signs once you’re there.
For climbing and singletrack, you’ll drive: north to the fire roads and bike-legal stretches of the Backbone Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains, or inland to the San Gabriel foothills, both outside the area this page searches. The realistic South Bay plan is a scenic Palos Verdes spin close to home and the occasional trip north, and a local club makes it easy to carpool to the better dirt.
Frequently asked questions
Is there any mountain biking in the South Bay?
A little. The flat beach cities have none, but the Palos Verdes Peninsula Nature Preserve on the hill to the south has multi-use trails open to bikes, reached from trailheads like Del Cerro Park above Portuguese Bend. It’s the only real off-road riding in the South Bay, and an active landslide closes parts of it, so the open trail changes.
Why are some Palos Verdes trails closed?
Because the ground is moving. The Portuguese Bend landslide complex on the south side of the peninsula has sped up in recent years, and the city of Rancho Palos Verdes has closed trails, beaches and access east of Inspiration Point for safety. The whole preserve also closes during heavy rain. Check rpvca.gov/trailalerts for the current map before you ride.
Where is the nearest proper mountain biking?
North in the Santa Monica Mountains, with fire roads and the bike-legal Backbone Trail, or inland in the San Gabriel foothills. Both are beyond this page’s radius. Close to home, Palos Verdes is the one option, best treated as a scenic loop rather than a technical day out.
How do clubs end up on this page?
A club shows up here when it has posted a mountain bike ride on RiderFinder or Strava recently, or has one coming up. We never add a club because of its name or description, so the list reflects rides clubs actually post.