Beach Loop Ride June 23, 2002

Rio Hondo River, Los Angeles River, Beach and San Gabriel River Bike Paths

It is best to ride to the beach early in the morning before the sea breeze establishes itself as an often stiff head wind. Return in the afternoon or later morning hours and the sea breeze will be at your back. Usually the return trip is easier thanks to the wind.

This outing will take most of the day for the average rider in training for a century (100 miles) or similar ride. In my case it is typically 110 to 120 miles. When I can afford a day devoted to riding this is one I enjoy greatly. I leave from my house in Altadena picking up the Rio Hondo River Bike Path at the Los Angeles County Peck Road Water Conservation Park, which is on the west side of Peck Road south of the intersection of Live Oak Avenue and Peck Road in an unincorporated area bounded by Arcadia, El Monte and Temple City. The bike path can be picked up from the east (off of Peck Road) or the west side (from Live Oak) of the park. If you enter from Peck Road there is a parking area if you wish to drive to the park.

From Altadena I take Allen Avenue south through Pasadena to Lombardy Road just inside San Marino. I turn left (to the east) on Lombardy Road and continue east past Sierra Madre Blvd. and San Gabriel Blvd. to the "Not a Though Street" sign and turn right (south) on La Presa Drive. La Presa will veer to the left and meet with Huntington Drive. Just Prior to Huntington Drive on the west side of La Presa is a monument rock with a plaque commemorating the small mill dam built in the early 1800s for the San Gabriel Mission. Look though the gate and you can see the rock and concrete dam and a small pond.

Turn left (east) on Huntington Drive and continue past Rosemead and Baldwin Avenue. Beyond Baldwin Avenue the Santa Anita Race Track will be visible on the left (north) side. Turn right (south) on Holly at the point where Huntington Drive begins to curve to the northeast. Follow Holly south to Longden Avenue and turn left (east) on Longden Avenue. You will pass Second Street. Turn right (south) on Sixth Street. The signal light will be Live Oak Avenue. At Live Oak look to the left across the intersection and you should see a sign marking the entrance to a 3-par golf course. Go south down the long "driveway" entrance to the golf course and when you first enter the parking lot area look to your left (east) and you will see the Eaton Wash and a gate allowing access to a bike path along the west bank of the Eaton Wash. Take this bike path to the Water Conservation Park. When you reach the dam the bike path will drop down and cross over to the other side of the park. As you climb to the level of the dam on the far side the bike path on the east bank will be seen. Turn right (south) and as you pass over the dam the beginning of the Rio Hondo River will be seen. The Rio Hondo is concrete until the Whittier Narrows Recreational Area is reached (about 10 miles more or less). Drinking fountains are available in the Water Conservation Park, so check your water bottles.

The bike path will follow the east levee of the Rio Hondo River. At the Whitter Narrows Recreational Area the concrete will end and the bike path will drop down off the levee. The option is provided to turn left (east) allowing access to the park area. I have not found water in the park, but I suspect that there is some available. Proceeding south there are model air plane flight areas and the bike path will come to a tee at the 60 Freeway (Pomona Freeway). Turn right and the bike path will pass under the 60 Freeway and continue south. A trap shooting area will be on the left, so do not panic concerning the shot gun blasts.

Through this area you may see some wild life such as rabbits, quail and even garden snakes. The Rio Hondo River is on the left but is hidden by vine covered trees and vegetation. The bike trail will rise out of the river bed at San Gabriel Blvd., which has curved and will meet Rosemead at a 90 degree angle. As the bike path comes up to San Gabriel Blvd. turn right on to San Gabriel Blvd, and then left on Lincoln Avenue (first signal light and just past the bridge over the Rio Hondo River). As the left turn onto Lincoln Avenue is made the continuation of the bike path will be seen immediately on the left. If you miss it you can continue on to the Whittier Narrows Dam using Lincoln and pickup the bike path.

Note: Turning left at San Gabriel Blvd. there is what appears to be a continuation of the bike way on the sidewalk. This is not the Rio Hondo River Bike Way, but it is a way to cut across to the San Gabriel River side of the Whittier Narrows. There are not signs and the continuation of the Rio Hondo River Bike Way is not clearly marked. Following the transition path to the San Gabriel River side will bring you to the intersection of San Gabriel Blvd. and Rosemead Blvd. You will probably have to navigate the intersection like a pedestrian to get to the "caddy corner" where the bike path continues. Where the bike path ends turning left (north) will take you to the Santa Fe Control Dam Recreation Area and beyond to the San Gabriel Canyon. Turning right (south) will take you to Seal Beach. Again the bike paths are not marked with signs. An interesting side tour is to turn north just before the bike path reaches the San Gabriel River. This will route you along a water canal diverting water from the San Gabriel River to the Rio Hondo River and the spreading basins south of the Whittier Narrows Dam. This water is usually coming from the San Jose Creek that merges into the San Gabriel River just north of the 60 Freeway.

Once the Whittier Narrows Dam is reached the bike path will climb to the top of the dam, proceed to the east across the top of the dam to where the flood gates are located for the Rio Hondo River, and then drop down the face of the dam to the Rio Hondo River west levee. Several miles south of the dam the bike path will cross over to the east bank levee, but this bridge will be obvious. While on the west bank there will be at least two opportunities where you can replenish your water bottles at drinking fountains in parks. Large water spreading basins will be seen to the east of the river as well as smaller ones on the west side. At this writing all the water was being diverted out of the Rio Hondo River channel into these basins, which appear to reach eastward all the way to the San Gabriel River at one spot.

The route down the Los Angeles River will be on the east levee and there will be at least two parks with easy access from the bike path that have drinking fountains to replenish your water bottles. At Alondra Blvd. there is currently a detour of the bike path east on Alondra Blvd. and south on Orange Avenue. Contrary to the posted signs, continue south on Orange past Artesia Blvd., which has no access for a return to the bike path. Continue south on Orange Avenue and turn right (west) on Harding Street past Houghton Park, and across Atlantic Blvd. Turn left at the tee with De Forest Avenue. De Forest Park will be on the right (west). At the south end of the park you can make your way west to the Los Angeles River Bike Path. Turn left (south) on the bike path and follow it to Long Beach.

Once at the beach area of Long Beach the bike path along the beach is not well marked in some areas. You can always return to the beach and pickup the bikeway if you incorrectly get routed to the city's commercial areas. Work your way down the coast toward Seal Beach. The bike path will turn inland. Turn right on Pacific Coast Highway (often marked simply as "PCH"). PCH will cross over the San Gabriel River and provides access to the San Gabriel River Bike Path. If you have not had lunch continue into Seal Beach, right (south) on Main Street to the beach area and the pier.

Following the San Gabriel River north is pretty straight forward except four or five miles north of Seal Beach the channel and the bike path fork. Take the bicycle bridge (left) across to the San Gabriel River. If you continue on the bike path you will follow Coyote Creek, which I have not explored yet. Continuing up the San Gabriel River there are several parks on the east side with easy access from the bike path and drinking fountains. This is a great improvement over the first time I rode this path in the early 1980s, and I had difficulty finding sources of water. On that early trip my rear tire "blistered" forcing me to get off the bike path to search for a bicycle shop at which to purchase a tire. I now care a spare tire. Aren't the folding tires great?

There will be several bicycle bridges to the west bank. Do not use these bridges unless you want to get off the bike path. From just below the Santa Ana Freeway (Interstate 5) to the mountains the San Gabriel is no longer concrete lined. I believe the bike path changes from the east bank to the west bank at the San Gabriel River Parkway overcrossing. As you pass under the bridge and emerge on the north side the path appears to cease, but actually it button hooks to the right and you climb up to the San Gabriel River Parkway. Take the pedestrian footway to the west bank and continue north on the bike path way. You will quickly climb the face of the Whittier Narrows Dam near the San Gabriel River flood gates.

A portion of the area on the Whittier Narrows near the dam is a wilderness area and rabbits, ground squirrels and quail are numerous. Wild ducks are also numerous and there are some geese at Legg Lake that is in the northeast quadrant of the recreational area. As you continue north along the San Gabriel River Bike Path there will usually be substantial water in the river bed. If you are observant you will note that the water is being diverted to the Rio Hondo River side of the "narrows". This water usually is coming from the San Jose Creek located just north of the 60 Freeway. The river bed at this point is very lush and green. Watch for water cranes and blue hereons. I have seen several white cranes in this region.

North of the 60 Freeway the river bed is dry unless there has been some recent rains. It is possible to pass water from Puddingstone Reservoir to the San Gabriel River via Walnut Creek, which enters the San Gabriel River just below the San Bernardino Freeway (Interstate 10). Puddingstone can be fed with Colorado River Water via the Metropolitan Water District treatment plant east of San Dimas (between Foothill Blvd. and Arrow Highway). I am not sure what is the primary source of water in the San Jose Creek. I do not think there is a bike path along the San Jose Creek, but it would certainly provide a nice ride into Pomona if there was a bike path along San Jose Creek.

Once the Santa Fe Dam Recreational area is reached (about 10 miles north of the Whittier Narrows Dam) there is a steep climb up the face of the dam. I like to do it all the way with a standing climb. Between the Whittier Narrows and Santa Fe Dam there is not an easy access to drinking water. However, the park area in the Santa Fe Recreational Area has a lake with boating, fishing, picnic areas and drinking fountains. There are wild ducks, blue hereon, geese and other water fowl in the lake. I enjoy riding in this park at sunset as the water fowl come ashore and will often fly next to my bicycle as ride the small pathways in the park.

The bike path follows the top of the dam to the east side of the dam at which point the bike path is marked and continues north toward the San Gabriel Canyon. The path will pass under the 210 Freeway and then Huntington Drive. North of Huntington Drive there is a restroom facility with drinking water, and later there is a bike bridge to the west bank. This bridge is a former railway bridge built in 1908 by the Puente Railroad and later used by the Pacific Electric trolley line for service to Glendora, Azusa, Durate, Monrovia, Arcadia, San Marino, South Pasadena, Alhambra, El Sereno to Los Angeles via Soto to the Pacific Electric line in the center divider of the current I-10 freeway. Parts of the railway still exists east of the bike way from Baldwin Park to the gravel pits east of this bridge. A portion of the trolley rails are still visible at the east end of Ninth Street in Azusa.

By now you have figured out that I have a bit of an interest in the old Pacific Electric trolley line system that once covered most of Southern California prior to World War II. By the end of W.W.II most of the system had been removed. As a child I had the privilege of riding the Romona Blvd. and Hellman Avenue line into Los Angeles or out to Baldwin Park before they were removed. The last of the line between Los Angeles and Long Beach was decommissioned around 1960. Ironically this last line was rebuilt in the early 1990s as the Metro Blue Line.

I usually return home via this old rail bridge. Take a moment to look at the rail bridge. Portions are earth filled which was a common technique for bridges at the time it was constructed. Once across the bridge I turn right (north) on Encanto Parkway. Encanto Park is on the left with a drinking fountain. Turn left (west) on Charter Oak. There will be a park on the north side of Charter Oak and a bike path will start on the old trolley right of way. Unfortunately this bike way is often choked with pedestrians, so I usually stay on Charter Oak.

24 June 2002