Rail-Trail
State: CA Length: 12.20 miles Surface:
The Exposition corridor connects the Santa Monica coastline and Culver City in the West to Downtown LA and the University of Southern California on the East. The first phase is from Downtown to Culver City is now open, but this section is primarily on street facilities such as bike lanes. This is a key corridor since it is a rare opportunity for continuous access from South Central LA to the coast through a dense urban area. Formerly a Pacific Electric Line, it is now inactive and is owned by the LA Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Plans for a rail-to-trail conversion were nearing the final stages when the MTA decided to have transit share the corridor with the trail. The trail has strong support from the Los Angeles City Council, the LA County Board of Supervisors, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), and many community groups, including the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and Friends for Expo. It is included in the Regional Transportation Plan, the LA Bikeway Master Plan, and the County General Plan. The trail would serve densely populated areas, including low income districts such as South Central Los Angeles, and will connect to the Beaches at Santa Monica, the Culver Blvd. Median trail, and Exposition Park.
State: CA Length: 53 miles Surface: Dirt, Gravel
Los Angeles' Griffith Park has more than 4,107 acres of preserved natural land for recreating, including hiking, biking, and horseback riding. The park is located in the eastern Santa Monica Mountain amid a landscape of semiarid chaparral foothills and forested valleys. In addition, the park offers swimming, golf, camping, picnicking, and tennis. There are 53 miles' worth of trails, fire roads, and bridle paths, and you can rent bikes here. Maps are available from the park visitor center. The park closes at dusk.
State: CA Length: 20 miles Surface: Asphalt
The trail's western end point is near the California State University campus and proceeds through several city parks with water and restroom facilities. The eastern end traverses through working oil fields. Watch for wildlife that inhabit this area, such as roadrunners and bobcats. Just east of the eastern terminus is Hart Park, a very nice county park. It is accessible along county roads with good shoulders. This is not a "rail-trail."
State: CA Length: 2.70 miles Surface:
When completed, the Los Angeles River Trail will connect several disjointed trails, to complete a unified 52-mile corridor leading from the San Fernando Valley, south to the ocean. Looking to piece together the Orange Line (giving access to Chatsworth Metrolink after Orange Line Extension) and the LARIO trail in Long Beach, the LA River Trail will travel largely along the LA River and provide north-south access for many communities. Currently, a 2.7 mile trail between the intersection of I-5 and Highway 134, and I-5 and Fletcher has been completed. Further work is set to begin in the near future on Phase 3 of the LA River Trail, which will add another 2.7 miles of southern expansion to Highway 101.
State: CA Length: 4 miles Surface:
Building upon the already impressive 14-mile Metro Orange Line Bike Trail, this new extension trail will largely resemble the style and ride of its predecessor. Shadowing the newly constructed Orange Line Busway, the Metro Orange Line Extension Trail will connect Canoga Station (end point of Metro Orange Line Bike Trail) to the Chatsworth Metrolink Station (Amtrak accessibility) for pedestrian and bicycle access. This 4-mile northern extension will assist in providing non-motorized transit options for Box Canyon, Winnetka and other western San Fernando Valley communities. The Metro Orange Line Extension is scheduled for a 2012 completion.
State: CA Length: 24 miles Surface: Asphalt, Concrete
Over half of the miles are along the Pacific Ocean. Great route to build both time in the saddle as well as a great cumulative verticle workout.
State: CA Length: 1 miles Surface: Asphalt
The Porterville Rails to Trails Parkway is 1 mile of converted right-of-way of the San Joaquin Valley Railroad through the town of Porterville. The arrow-straight trail runs between Olive and Henderson Avenues near downtown and features benches, lighted crosswalks with audible warnings and a drinking fountain. Several trees were planted along the trail to enhance the route.
State: CA Length: 12 miles Surface:
Broken into three phases, this bike path is partially completed. The San Fernando Road Bike Path follows the Metrolink light rail tracks which are already in place. With a completed 1.75 mile section servicing the San Fernando Metrolink stop, this path has already received acclaim. Construction on a larger and more expensive segment of the trail began in mid-2010. This portion of the rail-with-trail extends southward for 2.75 miles between Metrolink stops, and involves upgrades to trail safety and overall appearance. The final phase consists of a 4.3 mile segment which extends further south toward West Hollywood. No timetable is available for the final leg of the San Fernando Road Bike Path. Numerous locations of human activity which would benefit from safe pedestrian and bicycle access exist adjacent to the tracks. These include Pierce College,(a Los Angeles City Community College) which has sports and arts facilities as well as being an important regional educational facility, and Warner Center, an small-industrial and business/commercial center which generates a lot of freeway and surface street traffic.
State: CA Length: 1.75 miles Surface:
This rail-with-trail project will connect across the bike friendly town of San Luis Obispo and allow Cal Poly students and local residents easy access to the campus and downtown. After receiving $1.2 million from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act for the Railroad Safety Trail expansion in early 2009, San Luis Obispo planned to expand their Class I trail from the town's Amtrak station to Marsh St. This plan was quickly rejected by the railroad (who owns the right of way), however the Stimulus funds are still available for a design deemed acceptable by the railroad. This extension of the Railroad Safety Trail would provide access over Highway 101 and to nearly completed trails leading to the Cal Poly campus and continuing outside of San Luis Obispo's city limits.
State: CA Length: 1.25 miles Surface: Asphalt
A short segment through the town of Taft follows a greenbelt that was the alignment of the Sunset Railtoad. Kern County is investigating trail extension to connect across the valley to Bakersfield.
State: CA Length: 20 miles Surface:
The Pacific Electric Right-of-Way (PE ROW) / West Santa Ana Branch Corridor is a railroad right-of-way that extends for approximately 20 miles between the City of Paramount in Los Angeles County and the City of Santa Ana in Orange County. The railroad corridor was once part of the Pacific Electric Railway, or Red Car, system that provided mass transit service to Southern California from 1901 to 1961. Much of the corridor has been abandoned and is not currently used, but passes through heaviliy populated areas in need of transportation alternatives. Trail development will be challenging due to difficult street crossings in much of the corridor, but can be successful if combined with the development of mass transit on the corridor. Bellflower has already completed the Bellflower Bikeway in the corridor. The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), in coordination with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), is conducting a transit Alternatives Analysis (AA) for the PE ROW / West Santa Ana Branch. The AA will examine potential transit service along the corridor that can provide additional travel options between Los Angeles and Orange Counties, reduce congestion on nearby streets and freeways, and provide adjacent communities with access to the regional transit network.