By Susie Murphy

Executive Director, SDMBA

Sycamore Crossing in Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve is re-opened! This project was completed in June 2024 by the San Diego Mountain Biking Association (SDMBA) Professional Trail Crew. This crossing, like all of those in the canyon, experiences high water flow during the winter and had fallen into disrepair over the years. The fixes that had occurred over time were temporary.

This project was a group advocacy effort with over $50,000 in funding gathered from the Friends of Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve through a County of San Diego grant, the City of San Diego, and generous individual donors who contributed to our “Pitch in for PQ” campaign last summer.

SDMBA and stakeholders worked with the city of San Diego over a long period of time to work towards repairing the crossings at Wagon Wheel and Sycamore. Wagon Wheel Crossing was rehabilitated successfully in 2023 by SDMBA using innovative construction techniques, including the use of ground screws for the foundation. These are literally giant galvanized steel screws which come in various lengths. The 28 screws used for the 250-foot-long Sycamore Crossing project are about 3 feet long each.

The use of the ground screws is much quicker and less impactful than traditional techniques which require digging holes and pouring cement. This technique has been proven to stand the test of time and rushing water on several different projects. The SDMBA two-person crew finished the Sycamore Crossing project in 10 working days where it might have taken several weeks using traditionalt echniques.

The Sycamore Crossing is engineered to accommodate all trail users including equestrians. Equestrians can still cross through the water and then traverse onto the northern section of the boardwalk crossing. This improved trail amenity is a great improvement for the canyon trail system and benefits not only trail users but also is beneficial to the sensitive habitat along Penasquitos Creek.

For more about the San Diego Mountain Biking Association: SDMBA.com