Anybody tried out this Santa Clara county run facility in San Jose off Metcalf road?

yep. Place is small but can pack a punch. If you want some technical riding in small quantities you can find it at Metcalf. You can almost kill yourself and then be back in the parking lot in 5 minutes. They also have a pretty mellow Motocross track (ther are some small double jumps on this track) .There are some easy trails all over the place but when you venture onto a black diamond ,you may really get a black diamond. The kind of stuff that has you off the bike and wrestling it. depends on your skill level. you should check it out.

I go to Metcalf about twice a week, but that is because it's close to my house. Like KX1984 said, you can cover the whole perimeter of the park in about 7-10 minutes depending on you're riding style. I don't want to say skill because there is'nt much there that requires skill. Although, again like KX said, there are a handful of black diamond trails (mainly tight switchbacks) and they are a challenge the first 2 or 3 times and then can become ho-hum. I don't do the MX track much, but it seems to be the most popular attraction there. To sum it up........good place to tweek you're bike, or just get away from the city, heck, I've ran over at least 3 rattlesnakes there and chased a few coyotes, rustled up a couple of deer (one was a buck). It's sort of fun to dump the clutch on a rattler (there are'nt many other options once you're commited) :excuseme:, but I can't recommend it (roosting rattlers I mean) :p I highly recommend Metcalf !

Jerry

Wait a minute, I like Metcalf also but mainly because its close. If you have a park like Hollister or Carnegie that is closer dont drive further. Metcalf is just like described above but the main attraction is that it is nearby for San Jose residents.

Definately a fun place, the MX track is groomed pretty good, nice marked trails and Mike, the Ranger is pretty cool IMO..
Rick

As a new dual-sporter, I think Metcalf is pretty fun and, yes, even challenging. ;)

Which one is it... Metcalf or Carnegie... that's got a bad reputation... something like three fatalities this year?

WheelsUp said:

Um ,that would be Hollister with probably 12 deaths this year. Honestly I don't know what the "dead count" is for any of these places officialy. I have been made aware of deaths at Hollister and Metcalf in the past year though. Hollister is the most populated SVRA in the state of California =fact. I would imagine that Hollister takes the award for deadliest riding area in CA. I watched the helicopter come in three times on one Saturday. Here is what I see. Parent buys teen a cr125 or cr250 . Kid want to be super freestyle guy and start from day one launching off the big table to on the motocross track. Kid breaks neck on big jump on motocross track. You would be hard pressed to go there on any given Sat. or Sun. and not see a kid getting a life flight ride off of that track. Not kidding. Hollister is still more fun than either Carnagie or Metcalf though. Just more traffic.

If anyone in the bay area is thinking of trying a Hare Scrambles race, there is one at Metcalf on Oct 1-2. The course uses just about every trail in the park and many of them are run backwards..

IS that the one Timekeepers puts on? If it is its a killer race. Even though its small I love ridin gmetcalf, its great to go down there with the supermoto wheels and practice on the MX and the gran prox track, you should see the looks people give though...... :foul:

kx1984 said:

I agree with you on Hollister being more fun than Carnagie or metcalf but have you been to Carnigie on a saturday or sunday. The average weekend at carnigie is still MORE crowded than Hollister on a holiday weekend :thumbsup:

Yes, I am refering to the Timekeeper's Prime Time Hare Scrambles. I'm a member of the club and thought I would mention it on this thread.. :>) It is great having (and working) a race so close to home!

Metcalf is cool if you live close by and want to get a few hours in. Some fun single tracks, lotta rocks on the back side. I would rather ride Hollister or Clear Creak, but close is good..

OK, I was going to check out Metcalf, but my riding buddy (who has also never been there) wants to go to Prairie City instead. We're both out of Oakland and don't want to go to Carnegie...so, Prairie City or Metcalf?

metcalf is cool if you are close. Everyone should go there so I can have Hollister to myself :p

Metcalf smokes Prarie City. That one was simple. Prarie City is all flat. All all all flat.

JSanfilippo said:

A few years back, Hollister bought a whole bunch more land to expand the place. This land has been tied up in red tape ever since. When they bought the land ,they were handing out flyers giving updates on when the new land was gonna be opened up .They explained in this letter that all of a sudden there were all these sound and dust issues. They also mentioned in this letter that Hollister was the most used SVRA in Califrornia beating out the second most used SVRA (GORMAN/Hungry Valley) by like 2 to 1. I think Carnagie appears more crowded because there are way fewer trails that the average weekender will use at Carnagie. Hollister this past winter was turning people away after 11:30 a.m. because they were FULL. This happened weekend after weekend and I started calling ahead before driving down (if I was getting a slightly late start). I was glad to see that most of the big crowds left with the winter. One weekend I could'nt find parking and the next I could park just about anywhere. I have never ever had a hard time parking at Carnagie but I also can't figure out why everyone thinks they have to park next to skips. I think that there is about a 3 mile stretch to park on at Carnagie but people park right by skips and then call the place a shithole ,complaining about ATV's and punks all over the parkinglot. :excuseme: I have never had to park next to anyone at Carnagie and I've never had to be bothered with ATV's or "Punks" ruining my day there. It's like some people can't get out of thier own way :excuseme: . I'm in San Jose. I've ridden Metcalf ,Hollister and Carnagie over and over for the past 21 years. I think all of these parks have plenty to keep a person busy. I think that unless you can go around every corner in a particular park in 5th gear pinned ,then you are not above the park. Even Prarie City ,if your bored ,you not riding fast enough ,that all. :thumbsup:

stickley said:

Try Metcalf. What do you have to lose? 5 bucks and some gas? It's a small but fun place. Oh, bring your bike with tires you don't care much about. The place has lots of stoney rocks. The rangers are nice too, long as you are cool and don't wheelie in the parking lot.

have fun!

:thumbsup:

:ride: I love Metcalf!

It was one of my 1st riding experiences ever. I crashed heavy there. I know its small, its busy, its pretty easy, & its way too close to San Jose. :naughty:

But just like your 1st girlfriend, she just gets better looking the older you are! :thumbsup:

JSanfilippo said:

are u crazy ?????????????? hollister is way worse, at least most of the people at carnegie can ride ,when you go to hollister its all beginers and quads