By trailbear in December, 2010
12/24/2010
We have had a week of non stop rain that got us noticed by the eastern new orgs. If you have a good mud slide, they will come out and do a stand up on top of some poor guy's car sticking out of the muck.
The front has gone east to plague someone else and the sun come out for a day or two before the next one, so it was time for a ride.
TrailBear has a new trike - Rover X5 by Terratrike out of Utah Trike's custom shop. He wants trail miles. Today was a bright sunshiney day. Better get a ride in.
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I parked in Moon Park by the 405 freeway in Costa Mesa and got on the trail heading up river. There is a LOT of water coming down and really moving fast. There are miles of standing waves and rooster tails.
The trail was in good condition. The silt had been removed from the underpasses - which shows someone was on top of trail maintenance. A few crossings were damp up by the 22 and 5.
Most of the lower river underpasses are high enough that they were well above water level. If they are ever under water you have more serious issues than getting a dry ride. The only u-xing under water from Costa Mesa to the Katella Crossing was at Orangewood by the Angel's stadium.
All in all, a nice ride up and down. About 18 miles. The Rover trike works fine. On my mountain bike, with saddle #4, I really want the ride to be OVER by 20 miles. On the trike, this is not an issue. It does not feel like I have been sitting on a 2x4 for the last five miles. I can go further. Even better, it's like pedaling your lawn chair through the scenery. You have a comfortable moving seat. Park for a break or a view and your chair is there. Put your feet up and enjoy.
Ride on!
Trailbear
Pedaling his lawn chair up river and down.
By dannodude in May, 2010
As a regular- 2-3 times a week rider- over the past ten years I am happy to note that money from a 2002 bond issue is being used to make enhancements such as better maintenenace of the trails and landscaping. The Orange County Transportation Authority has jurisdiction of the trail and seems willing to listen to my suggestions where safety issues are a concern such as loose sand and overhanging foliage.
when they dont out come my clippers!
An unknown gem to many SART users is the huge free parking lot and the Perk U up Coffee shop serving food, and both alcholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The address is 2620 E. Katell Ave, suite B Anaheim, CA just south of the Honda Center on the left side of trail heading north from the ocean. Owner Andrea is very bicycle friendly but tells me she can't advertise near the trail so keep your eyes peeled.
Yankee Clipper
By toolbear in January, 2010
TRAILBEAR SCOUTS FACILITIES ON THE SART
Before Flood Week, the TrailBear hopscotched upriver on the SART, checking out potential trail heads. RTC has updated the map to show most of the results of this survey and removed that little parking area on Hesperian by way of the 22 Freeway. It turned out to be the juvi lockup when ground-truthed. “Youth Guidance Center” they call it. You really can see chain link fences from space. TB did. Parking is by invitation only. No access to the trail over there anyway. 4’ cyclone fence along that sector. The trail is on the far bank at that point.
CENTENNIAL PARK, SANTA ANA @ GE: 33.724745° -117.912756°
This trailhead is right alongside the trail at West Edinger Ave. Nice trees, plenty of free parking, nice lake. The restrooms are individual units or cabins vs. the communal design.
RIVERVIEW NEIGHBORHOOD PARK, SANTA ANA @ 33.763516° -117.894795°
When you reach the Riverview Bridge, if you go straight instead of crossing, you will arrive at this little park on the east side of the golf course. Usual restrooms and water and parking and such. I don’t think it sees much bikie action as Edna Park, across the way, is right on the trail. It does have more parking and a larger restroom.
THE KATELLA CROSSOVER
There are two facilities of note here. One is a commercial trailhead, the Stadium Promenade Mall, GE 33.808821° -117.871579°, which abuts the trail. In fact, you can see a side trail leading to their back parking lot. Alas, there is a locked gate, so no go. Go around to reach the trail.
There is a rare on-trail wayside facility just north of the bridge on Katella at GE 33.806878° -117.873106°. It has a 4x cabin style restroom with water and a new picnic enclosures with water fountain a bit further up. The picnic enclosure is very popular with the drifting community. It was full up with them on the first visit, with more lounging on the hillside. On the second visit – a grey morning – one soul was there trying to try clothing on the fence railings. Sure not a day for that. Rain was coming.
RIVERDALE PARK, ANAHEIM @ GE 33.852078° -117.818691°
This is a nice park, a full service trailhead with good facilities and right on the trail. It would make a great mid-trail staging area but for the two hour parking limit. I suspect that is because it is next to the Kaiser Hospital and there is very little parking in the area.
You may wish to give it a pass and stage out of one of the shopping centers at the intersection of La Palma and Imperial Highway, 1.7 miles further on. There is one on each corner, so you have choices and lots of services available. At this point, one leg of the trail crosses over the river and on to Yorba Park and beyond – and so should you. The other leg dead-ends some miles further on.
YORBA PARK AND YORBA REGIONAL PARK @ GE 33.864335° -117.773531°
The major trailhead on the upper SART appears to be Yorba Park – right next door to and not to be confused with Yorba Regional Park. Confused? Yorba Regional Park is a county park with a variable entry fee ($3/5/10), lakes, walks, shelters, BBQs and all manner of nice things. A delightful park – with pay parking. You can bike thru it without charge.
On the west end of YPR, off Huxford Lane, is a City of Anaheim park called Yorba Park. It has the usual full service facilities with a nice shaded blacktop parking lot, plus a gravel over flow lot, plus a dirt over-over flow lot. We got there at 10 and it was very busy. Lots of cars. Most were clearing out – probably after an early morning on the trail – and we got a slot in the blacktop lot, but this park is doing a lot of business with trail users.
There are two items of interest in Yorba Regional Park for the trail rider. One is a handy restroom with adjacent water fountain on a trail off ramp at N33.86600 W117.77004 and the other is a nice wayside shelter with bike racks right on the trail at N33.87083 W117.75866. We could use a lot more of these up and down the trail. Failing that, how about a few more benches at scenic overlooks? Just a bench?
The riding at Yorba was just great. The trail is smooth and the scenery delightful. (It is the canyon section.) This section of the river has water in it! Of course, after a week of rain – about 10” of it – the whole river has water in it, but that will pass. The middle river will revert to a series of ponds and sections of sandy waste. The lower river will revert from roiling flood waters to concrete and the upper river will have water in it, and trees and shrubs and such.
The TrailBear settled in at Yorba, then headed up river to see the sights. He rode the dead end leg on the north bank up to the locked gate. He saw the bridge underpass closed off in advance of Flood Week. He found a water fountain at the far end of the Gypsum Canyon Bridge at GE 33.868329° -117.713090° where the trail heads back under the bridge and along the freeway. That was it for the day. Time to backtrack to Yorba, load up and head back down river. The Golf Course and Prado Dam will have to wait for another day.
Ride on!
TrailBear
1.22.10