San Gabriel River Bike Path

There is, perhaps, no better way to truly appreciate urban life than riding down a bicycle path. There are many in SoCal – some nicer, some prettier, some cleaner – but none like this one. I have ridden the entire thing numerous times, both in sections and as a single long ride. Over time, you begin to notice themes and trends… When the flowers are in bloom, when the water runs in the river, when the clouds of gnats gather, and when the locals are active. There are times when it is scary, serene, scenic, scented, but always satisfying.
AZUSA CYN TO ARROW HIGHWAY:
Starting from the northernmost point, there is a turn-​around dead-​end where the trail enters Azusa canyon. Most folks don’t start here, but for the purpose of explanation, this is the top of the trail. Nestled well in the foothills of the San Gabriels and adjacent to some upper end gated track housing, the trail here is relatively clean, save for the occasional pile of sand or gravel.
Heading south, the trail runs along the east side of the San Gabriel «river”– an historic watershed that is largely concreted on its way to the ocean. This stretch is one of the more natural areas, with chaparral and semi-​arid plants like yucca, sage, buckwheat, willow, prickly pear and cholla cactus growing amidst the rocky soil and Boulder-​strewn expanse of the flat river bed. It is here that many enter the river trail at Lario or by parking near Encanto park and riding across the bridge.
This desert beauty, interrupted by the 210 freeway and the occasional kid on a big wheel, continues down past the Miller brewing plant into the Santa Fe Dam area (see my review for more information!)– in summary, many recreational opportunities, a nature center or two, and a beautiful desert plant path to walk… Rabbits, roadrunners, coyotes, snakes, lizards, and ground squirrels frequent the area. The trail continues along the top of the dam for a couple of miles, then crosses Arrow Hwy.
ARROW HWY TO PICO RIVERA GOLF COURSE:
The trail switches to the west side of the river below Arrow Hwy. starting with one of several rest stops for bikers. This first one is a concrete area with some benches, a shaded area, and a map or two of the area. Heading south, the scene is mostly industrial for a mile or so. Passing behind neighborhoods and schools, the homeless population starts to show up under bridges and road overpasses. Graffiti becomes common. Occasional broken glass and garbage keeps your eyes on the path. There are a few places where it seems water collects most of the year; local subsistence fishermen ply the waters here for carp, and the occasional catfish or stocked trout that got trapped here when the waters recede seasonally. There are several horse and livestock properties along the last few miles above the Pico Rivera golf course/​dam area. Watch for the roosters in cages– I’m sure they’re just part of a breeding program, and couldn’t possibly be involved in any kind of cock fighting operation…
Just above the Pico dam, the SGR trail meets the terminus of the Rio Hondo trail, which heads essentially north back to Arcadia via Whittier Narrows regional park and past El Monte Airport.
Pico Rivera Golf Course is biker-​friendly, and has restrooms, a snack bar, and a parking lot that seems to be used by many cyclists as an endpoint.
PICO RIVERA GOLF COURSE TO I-​5 FWY
Just south of the golf course, you switch back to the east side of the river. This stretch prompted me to make a pepper spray purchase, and rig a holder for it in my handlebars. It is also good motivation to keep pedaling! Shoals of people– some homeless, some harmless, and some homeys – wandering about or living under the bridges in communities. I once had a guy try to stop me holding a broomstick that I was sure was going in my front wheel as I sped by. If you time your ride when other cyclists are in the area or go with a group… And don’t go looking for trouble… You just get through here. Backyard farms, horses, some illegal dumping, and urban rattle-​can art highlight this stretch. Keep moving. Rest stops and small parks are overrun by homeless and weirdos. Respeto, Papi.
I-​5 TO SEAL BEACH
As if someone hit a switch or waved a magic wand, the trail improves, and the scenery changes. Two big parks– Wilderness Park and Liberty Park– are decent rest stops with relative safety. Things continue to improve the closer you get to the ocean, but the crowds increase. Watch for kids, joggers, and pedestrians! Use your voice to let people know you’re behind them.
Within a few miles of the beach, the river is filled with water year-​round, and you can see mullet jumping out of the water near the power plant warm water outfalls. Anglers try to snag mullet and tilapia here. Numerous waterfowl and wading birds can be seen here. Prettier and prettier…
In Seal Beach, the last stretch heads down to the River’s End café, and some beach restrooms, and a short ride to downtown and the pier.
Happy cycling!

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE this bike path specially when it meets up right before the dam and have some coffee with Chalan as I’m about to hit that climb to crystal lake…

1 Star for the easy and free car parking lot at the address listed (El Monte Bus terminal)
1 Star for such a long bike only path which stretches all the way down to Seal Beach
That’s about it. Starting from the Unilocal address listed and heading south, you have the horrible scenery of the LA river directly to your right (with a steep dangerous drop off) and a very narrow lane. Tons of flying bugs (don’t leave your mouth open) the horrible stench from the polluted river, random gangbanger types hanging out along the path and the loud 605 freeway nearby, this path is hardly scenic until you get far south. I’d suggest going early in the morning and if you bike this path when it gets dark beware. On my way back it was completley pitch black when you ride underneath the tunnels and freeway underpasses and I crashed into a homeless guy with his shopping cart. What was infuriating is that he literally jumped into my lane at the last moment so that I would crash into him, talk about a horrifying experience as I helped him up to realize he did this on purpose to get my sympathy and ask for money etc. A bunch of other bums slowly started to walk near me (this was in the almost total darkness underneath the bridge) so I got the hell out of there. I appreciate bike only paths to avoid car traffic but if you’re going to ride here when it gets dark please be aware and travel in groups or at least have the necessary night equipment lights for your bike. Riding back up this path as it started to get dark I couldn’t help but get an uneasy freaked out vibe from the sketchy people that I passed by, which made me pedal faster, so in that case it was a good workout haha. 4.5 half star rating for this path is misleading, just be aware and plan your trip out instead of haphazardly checking it out late afternoon as I did.

I enjoy this bike path. I usually ride to Seal Beach. I would love to ride the entire path someday (soon).

interesting bikes ride. even for a long walk.. outdoors plenty of people exercising … can’t beat it !

This is the Rio Hondo Bike Path, the San Gabriel River Trail runs along the San Gabriel River parallel to the 605 freeway. On Google maps you can see where both trails run along.

The bike path its self is nice, the people that are on it take away from that. Here is my experience going from Azusa Canyon to Seal Beach.
Azusa through Irwindale: Not too bad, busy some days with teens swerving in and out of on coming bike path. Riding on the dam is nice.
Irwindale to El Monte: Homeless people under every bridge. Lots of horses to see being trained by owners.
El Monte to Santa Fe Springs: Families of 7+ just standing in the bike lanes spacing out. You will get «The Look» when you ride through them. because your an asshole riding a bike on… THE BIKE PATH. Villages of homeless people camped out on the 605, more teenagers riding in oncoming lanes.
Santa Fe Springs to Seal Beach: Gets nice here again. mostly beach cruisers the closer you get to the beach. Fish that jump out of the water about 3ft near the water treatment plant.
Even though there are all these knuckle heads on the bike path as well, Its still a nice ride to the beach. It seems there is always a headwind on the way to seal beach. The ride back always seems easier. Plenty of places to stop for water, I even got a snow cone at a park. :)

Based on the address, this is the 17-​mile bike path beginning/​ending at Peck Road Conservation Water Park ending/​beginning at Whittier Narrows. On Google Maps, it’s listed as «Rio Hondo Bike Path.» I really only use the bike path for running so I don’t have to worry about cars, traffic, street lights and stop signs. Every quarter mile, there’s a marker so you can keep track your mileage.
Along the path, there are several parks along the way for rest breaks like Peck Rd Park, Pioneer Park, Rio Vista Park. After Peck Rd Park, there’s a separate loop around the «lake» that takes you past Arcadia Golf Course to Live Oak Ave in Arcadia.
Some times you’ll see people walking their dogs, kids fooling around and homeless under the overpasses. And of course bicyclists. Only major problem I’ve had was an aggressive stray dog who chased after me while riding a bike or attacked dogs being walked by their owners. Thankfully, I haven’t seen that dog in the last 1.5 years.
My favorite part is along the El Monte Airport runway where you see planes landing and arriving. Even better at night when you see only the lights on the plane and along the runway for dramatic effect. There are benches where you can see the planes and some times you’ll see a large man telling passerbyers «Jesus loves you.»
For another sort of workout, you can run up and down the walls of the wash along which the bike path runs. There’s also a flight of stairs past the gate near Peck Rd Park you can get a good stair workout.
Overall, the bike path is well-​maintained. Not many potholes nor major cracks I’ve noticed.
Happy biking or running!

I love this bike path!
The San Gabriel River bike path connects with the Whittier Narrows Regional Park which makes the ride very scenic from start to finish. The south most part of the path is at Seal Beach and head all the way past the Santa Fe Dam into Azusa. It is around 30 miles one way. The ride from the beach to Azusa has a gradual incline until you climb up a slope to the top of the Santa Fe Dam.
There are some homeless people living under the overpasses but if you leave them alone they won’t bother you.
The path is relatively clean regardless and everyone seems very friendly. The path can get pretty busy with people on the weekends so if possible try for a weekday.
Again, this is a bike path, so you never have to worry about cars! Where else can you ride in LA and not have to worry about cars?!? Not that many! So, this is a nice gem in SGV for whenever you can get out there.

I love this bike path but as a girl, who constantly rides this alone, I wouldn’t feel safe here without carrying pepper spray. I’ve had a few situations here and if I wasn’t as fast as I am on my bike, I wouldn’t be riding here alone. I’ve had an older man on a mountain bike, once he realized I was alone, yell and attempt to chase me down. Screaming, «get back over here! Do you hear me!» I’ve also stopped half way to long beach, at the park in Bell Gardens, to refill my water bottles. Two guys kept staring at me and my bike and when I was getting ready to leave, one started walking besides me and following me out. Luckily I got on my bike and took off before he had the chance to do anything. I stayed away for awhile after that incident but I always seem to come back because it’s an awesome place to train and get away from the traffic lights and cars. My last complaint is the group of homeless people that live under the 10 and 60 fwy. Currently there is a huge group of men who like to hang out by the Rosemead exit. If you’re a male cyclist, I doubt you’ll have any problems here. If you’re a female, try and always be aware of your surroundings and carry protection. Oh and I would never ride here past sunset. There was a murder a few years back on this trail and a month ago a body was found with no head.

Absolutely gloriously f’ing awesome =)
If you ever decide to get off your azz and onto your bike or to go for a jog or a walk, this is one of the most beautiful places around to do that. Who cares where you are at or what you like to do. Its nice to get outside and do something. This river trail goes from the San Gabriel Reservoir Dam down to the beach.
It has frequent to infrequent risers and several sub dams along the route. This gives you the advantage of a bit better workout than staying purely level, granted it is almost exactly level anyways.
Pro Tip: Do not stop to chit chat with the homeless who may be living near the trail ;)
Regardless of the homeless, this trail is clean, smooth, well maintained. There are not many root bumps and I dont recall any potholes. It is also clearly delineated in most of its areas. The one exception is where you need to swap sides of the river channel at the north end of whittier.
Pro Tip #2: The tunnel in whittier that you have to go through (washington blvd I think) could be very dangerous if someone is riding the other direction so make sure you can stop quickly.
The path winds along the channel with lots of trees and parks near it. Some areas are a bit dusty and empty, but its a very nice ride for the most part. Definitely something that I really enjoy checking out and riding along.
So if you want to mix things up a bit, do a bit of bird watching, jog, walk, ride horses, or bike, this area is one of the best places to go and do it. Its always a fun good workout. See you out there sometime, if you are so daring…

If you’re a cycler, then this is a good place to do it. No car, traffic and not too many pedestrians. The path is long and mostly flat. You will get a strong headwind as you head towards Seal Beach. The path follows the San Gabriel River, which is mostly an aqueduct. There are multiple points to enter and exit the bike path.

Start out at the top of Azusa Avenue! This is a great way to train, get toned, lose weight if you want a fun way to exercise and if you do enjoy biking!
It goes a great length, passing through Santa Fe Dam, lots of flats and slight downhills as you work your way south west from Azusa, not to mention the great scenery, but don’t forget to take breaks and have snacks and water!
I do plan to eventually make it all the way to seal beach. I will need to get a road bike to do that, don’t even want to attempt with a mountain bike.
If you ever end up under the freeway bridges, once in a while you might spot out random people (person) sleeping in the shade. Go with a few friends and enjoy the sun!
Then you continue through Whittier Narrows, also you might spot out horse back riders, pass through a shooting range! As I bike further, I will add to the review.

Great training grounds. Good recreational area, engineers of this path did a great job catching the essence of los angeles city to suburban living.

I recently took this path from Buena Park to Seal Beach. It was very pleasant. Not a hard ride. The only difficulty was that we had winds going both directions. I have an electra townie, and I saw all ranges of bikes, from little kids, to young people on cruisers, mountain bikes, and even a few trikes. I am happy I have found this path and I can’t wait to do it again.

biking here is very nice and safe, you don’t get all those people on the street and cars too, it gets cold as you go to the base of the mountains, also on the away back from the base of the mountains be careful!!! because on you away back your bike you can just zoom by very fast and if your careful. some of the turns and under the bridge you can crash in to people. when you hit the mid point from the base of the mountains to the dam, the road is going to be like La pot holes everywhere but once you get to the back side of the dam your all good. till you make it on top of the dam. that’s where the wind and gust can knock you around.

Most of the info here about the SGRT are correct. All bike trails have bugs you just can’t avoid it. There are two and maybe three near blind tunnels on the mid portion of the trail. One of the tunnel floods easily after rain. There is one near-​hair pin turn around the Whittier golf course (first timer watch out). The lower portion (near the beach) is a bit worn down. The SGRT does not join the LA River trail. The Rio Hondo trail does join the LA River Trail via LaRio trail and that can lead you to long beach. From there you can jump on to the beach path to seal beach and on to SGRT. Upper trail ends in Azusa at Hwy 39. For climber, there are crystal lake and GMR via Sierra Madre Ave exit (just north of encanto park) or via hwy 39 to east fork rd. Cat 2 climb about 2000 ft elevation.

This is a Great bike path because of it’s length and it’s diversity. Flat or hilly, you can choose. it’s probably the longest bike trail in LA County. Although the scenery is an endless stretch of concrete river bed, it’s well maintained with very few traffic stops. The only eye candy is the parade of women riders sporting skin tight spandex bike wear. I am a teddy bear living on marshmallows and can never keep up, unless they stop for a break. I thought about begging them to slow down, but Hey! I have standards.
My buddies and I usually meet up at Encanto Park, (where the 605 ends in Azusa). It’s the starting point for many cyclists. Over the weekend, the park becomes a mixture of bike convention and soccer moms with their kids, competing over select parking spaces, so getting there early is important.
If you ride south to Seal Beach, the length is about 70 miles round trip and it’s very flat. At some point the trail merges with the LA River Bike Path and not well designated. The path is heavily used over the weekends but does not get ridiculously crowded like the Beach Bike Path, where the traffic police force you to walk your bike because conditions become too crowded.
If you decide to ride north, (the hilly option) the trail will meet up with HWY 39 i.e., San Gabriel Canyon Rd. From there you have many choices, I am told taking 39 to Crystal Lake is especially steep. I have personally done the East Fork Rd. several times. At the 6 mi. mark there’s a restaurant/​snack bar, its where many cyclist stop to fill up with water. I usually turn around at this point, the roundtrip mileage from here is about 27 mi.
I am not really a cyclist, more of a struggling grinder, (even babies on Big Wheels can beat me). I am the weakest rider out of all my buddies but it gave me an excuse to buy a really cool bike. Carbon Fiber, Baby!

i saw horses.
i saw ostriches.
i saw bulls.
i saw cows.
i saw one zebra.
the river was flowing.
it was a gorgeous day.
the trail was smooth.
up until maybe, three miles south of ramona.
cracks running perpendicular to the trail.
nothing major, but if you’re on a roadie, it gets old quick.
they were a bit bigger than last time.
besides that, there’s always something to distract you while you’re on your quest for health. which is a good thing, i think.
spicy.

3.5 stars.
After you get over the swarms of bugs that you’ll bike into and ingest and the sporadic sewage smell, you’ll come to appreciate what this trail will do for your abs, thighs and gluts.
We biked a little over 20 miles total from Monterey Park to just past Whittier Narrows. You see nurseries, zoos, parks, shooting range and lots of interesting foliage.
But mainly… you see the river. It makes for a pretty interesting ride when you have a group of friends (I biked with my group of guy friends, which… always makes for a more interesting ride anyway =p). My friend tells me that we need to ride LA River sometime, apparently that one is much more picturesque.
But in the meantime, that one hill from Whitter to SGV is pretty intense. Toned legs, here I come!