Reiff Road, aka Rayhouse Road or Yolo County Rd 40

Rode up yesterday and was disappointed to see the west gate closed. Thought it opened in early May. Went through Knoxville trails to make up for it, but I'm wondering when they will open it. Does anyone here know?







Title of thread was changed to focus on road condition and info.

AKA Rayhouse Road in Yolo County
Current road conditions and map requests:
Bureau of Land Management
Ukiah Field Office
2550 North State Street
Ukiah, CA 95482
707-468-4000

Was there about a month ago and there was trackers regrading the trail. Most of the trail was washed out do to the heavy winter.

The gate was temporarily open this weekend , but closed again this morning. There's a brand new sign on the east side at the top of the ridge, "End County Maintained Road". I have a feeling this may be permanent.

However, I did pass a grader that was going up from the Cache Creek side, so maybe it's just because of the rough winter. Yolo County hasn't even set up the picnic tables at that park on the east end of the road at Highway 16.

Was there almost 2 months ago. Went around the gate, as usual. Rode all the way through to another end. Nothing washed out. Just some road damage, very minor.
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/ArtyomVit/Knoxville032008/photo#5180786620725590418"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ArtyomVit/R-XZ-4lx-ZI/AAAAAAAAB1k/dk_m1nXHZCg/s800/P3222320.JPG" /></a>

Sunday 6/8 it was still closed. I don't see a way around the gate at west end. They really filled it in tight on the uphill side last year and it drops off too steep on the downhill side. Am I missing something?

I got my 950 around (west to east). Barely.

Yes,
Don't go up and over, go down and around. (from west to east turn left around gate). My son made it on his KLR and he's a noob-ish.
BTW still closed.

Took the DRZ out to for a scoot and found myself at the west gate to Rieff Rd (Rayhouse in Yolo Co.). The sign at Knoxvill/Berryessa Rd now reads "Road Close Permanently". Not being one to refuse an invitation like this, I rode up to the gate and despite the sign (or maybe inspite of the sign) the gate was open. :huh Launched down the hill to find the partial washouts from last winter unrepaired. There are 3 pretty rocky areas on downhill corners that were rutted in the winter. They are passable (no sweat on the DRZ) by larger trialies but traction might get a bit scetchy with street type rubber.

As I rode along I noticed other high erosion areas that were in marginal shape. At the top of the ridge there is a large friendly sign that sez "End of County Maintained Road". The sign faces east so I'm interpreting that, plus the lack of maintenance evidence to mean that the county will only be grading this road up to the top of the ridge (since that's the part used by the Raft Tour companies).

The remainder of the road was in good shape and the east gate (Cache Creek side) was open.

Dunno if I just got lucky that the west gate was open or not but it would appear that the western half of the road will become more and more gnarly as sucessive winter rains erode the rocky corners. If the washouts get serious, large trailies will have a problem with the last climb and last few corners even if the west gate is open.

It's pretty nice up there now that the weather has cooled a bit but pretty dry. Still worth a ride from the east to sit by the lake and watch the local bald eagle soar around.

Did anyone actually see this gate open during this last summer?

Word is that Yolo put $100K :eek1 into maintenance from the reservoir eastward after last winter,
but doesn't plan to continue upkeep. Rayhouse Rd/CR 40 is to remain gated and un-patrolled.
Yolo County Road Closures: http://www.yolocounty.org/Index.aspx?page=831
Lake County Road Closures: http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Assets/PublicWorks/Docs/Road+Closures.pdf?method=1

Who's word? What is your source that says the road is to remained closed? That first link for Yolo County only says that Rieff Road (CR40) is closed seasonally, which mimics previous experiences. The Lake County link doesn't mention Rayhouse Road (the name of the section within Lake County) at all.

Who's word? What is your source that says the road is to remained closed? Info came from the Yolo Road Dept. on Friday; please PM me if you'd like the employee's name. I've got a call out to someone at the Blue Ribbon Coalition regarding some questions I have about the change and will report back when I have more info.

That first link for Yolo County only says that Rieff Road (CR40) is closed seasonally, which mimics previous experiences. There's a link at the top of the page to "Subscribe to receive e-mail updates" on road closures, which may be helpful in following what's going on with Rayhouse Road/CR 40 and the rest of the county.

The Lake County link doesn't mention Rayhouse Road (the name of the section within Lake County) at all. It's a resource for info on Lake County road closures, since the western end/Reiff Road is located there. Sorry for the confusion.

What I saw would confirm that. The road west of the ridge doesn't look like it's been maintained at all.

That's OK with me since it's not too difficult to find a work-around for the west gate. The problem with this is that I'm sure it involves just a bit of riding on land belonging to someone.

It will just limit this road to serious dirt bikes in the future since getting a GS or other big bike over the west end will be "interesting"

Hopefully it won't turn into another Willow Springs road where the residents will call in and report your use. Since it remains an official County Rd. maybe that can't happen.

Too bad since it's a nice peaceful ride.

I've already started the research myself to find out about this. I aim to keep it open. Even if it means digging into to the law books to find out where we, the public, stand in this situation.

A man on a mission.....I love it. Please post what you discover.

This afternnoon the Yolo County Road Department confirmed their intention to discontinue road maintenance on Rayhouse Rd/CR 40, but said they would continue to open the gates seasonally to allow motorized vehicles as large as ATVs/quads.

The Yolo County Board of Supervisors will meet at 9am tomorrow, Tuesday 11/18/08, and discuss Motion 4.07 which will propose abandonment/end of maintenance of Rayhouse Rd/CR 40. Procedings may be viewed after adjournment here: http://www.yolocounty.org/Index.aspx...x%3fpage%3d323, click on "watch". Minutes are slated for approval at a subsequent meeting planned for 12/09/08.

A Board of Supervisors Public Hearing is scheduled for 1:30pm Tuesday, January 27, 2009. If unable to attend, you may make your opinion known beforehand by contacting Yolo County District 5 Supervisor (http://www.yolocounty.org/Index.aspx?page=328):

Duane Chamberlain
625 Court Street, Room 204
Woodland, CA 95695
(530) 666-8627
Fax: (530) 666-8193
eMail

If you'd like, please cc all correspondence to:

Don Amador
Western Representative, Blue Ribbon Coalition, Inc.
555 Honey Lane
Oakley, CA 94561

as he has expressed interest in following this situation.

I will write Mr. Chamberlain explaining the limited impact of dual sport usage, benefits to the local community and expressing my opinion for continued maintenance/access. I plan to attend the hearing on 1/27/09 as well. Anyone else?

I have ridden it several times. I havent made it up there this year yet. I have always been able to get around the west gate but not around the east gate. the big jugs on the GS wont fit. Its such a short road it dosnt call to me musch but yet fun and one of the few dirt roads around these parts.

OK....so if I read this right, FIRST they are gonna vote on it.....THEN (2 months later) they are gonna ask us for our opinion:huh?

I love the way democracy works!


Yep, it's a short road but it's nice to have it at least open since it makes a nice way to tie in a loop between Capay valley and Berryessa/Knoxville Rd.

Also, I've gotta think that the Rafting guys will have something to say about ending maintenance on the entire road. They go up there in old school buses and those vehicles will probably only work for another year or two if maintenance ends.

For us, we can mostly alway find a work-around for the bad spots.

What I don't understand is: If maintenance ceases, why not just remove the gates? What are they protecting.....(oh....us)? It certainly makes me much less "respectful" of the gates.

Well now, isn't that interesting. Reading the agenda for today's meeting (which I can't attend since I just found out about it), it sure sounds like they've been thinking about this for a while.

And I must say this is pretty sneaky. Last spring, they install signs saying the road is no longer maintained. The gate on the Lake County side is locked during the summer (maybe periodically opened). In the fall, they announce that they're considering terminating maintenance. Part of the public process is to notify the public, including posting signs on the road itself. Yet, who actually goes up there in the winter since it is normally closed. I never would have known about it if it wasn't for this discussion. Even the guy I emailed last week, Assistant Planning and Public Works Director Panos Kokkas, failed to mention the meetings or intentions.