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I first rode this trail over forty years ago when it was one of the first Class I trails in southern California, and I must say it was so cool to go from the Inland Empire all the way to the OC beaches! In recent years I've also ridden the upper portion which is a completely different experience but still worthwhile. The lower portion is nice and flat with cool ocean breezes, while the upper portion is hilly in places and much warmer in the summer. Lower: 5 stars. Upper: 3 stars.
As a lifelong resident of the Inland Empire and a Rancho Cucamonga homeowner, I've ridden this trail dozens of times over the years. It's extremely popular with locals and families for bicycling, walking, and jogging. For an urban area it has a great deal of good things going for it. There are also some not so great things.
THE GOOD: Off street, Class I trail following along the historic route of the extinct Pacific Electric Rail Line; some pretty views of the San Gabriel Mountains; historic, one hundred year old homes near downtown Upland; riding between Base Line Road in Fontana to Route 66 in Rancho Cucamonga.
THE BAD: The trail is frequently intersected by major thoroughfares and other streets so there are lots of stops and starts; you're essentially riding your bike between the block walled backyards of neighborhoods for much of the time or behind businesses; going uphill between Route 66 and Base Line Road in Rancho Cucamonga (according to my wife); downtown Fontana homeless.
THE UGLY: When heading west, don't bother going beyond Euclid Avenue in Upland since for the most part there's nothing but some sketchy apartments, warehouses, and industrial complexes the rest of the way.
CONCLUSION: I've traveled thousands of miles in the United States to ride my bike on beautiful, historic, once in a lifetime, bucket list worthy trails. This ain't one of 'em. As a Rancho Cucamonga resident I was excited when they constructed this since it's great, local urban bike riding, and an opportunity for walkers to get in their ten thousand steps or joggers their miles. However, don't plan a big vacation around this one (unless you're coming to visit friends or family and you need to get a bit of exercise).
Looking through the preceding 47 reviews, a title from May of 2013 sums this trail up best: "Better Than Riding a Stationary Bike".
CONSIDER: Just west of Vineyard Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga is a connecting trail called Cucamonga Creek Trail which goes north about six miles into the foothills of Rancho Cucamonga. It's a Class I asphalt trail, and the first few miles are moderately difficult and not especially well maintained, but the last few miles travel diagonally across the foothills and are easy and well maintained as you travel through neighborhoods of million dollar homes and ranches full of horses. Eventually you get to the crown jewel park in our city, Heritage Park, where you can enjoy valley and mountain views and have a picnic lunch. (I've taken my kids when they were little and my 10 year old granddaughter in recent years up this trail). Best of all, you can coast almost all the way back to the Pacific Electric Trail!
I usually stay in Rancho. I'm still trying to get in shape lol. The ride towards Fontana is horribly bumpy. But I like it better than the trail to Claremont. Only because coming back is more uphill. I haven't ventured outside Rancho or Upland. The trail is definitely not set up right for any kind of riding. It should have been laid down with no separation cracks. I heard Claremont is not this way??
This trail is pretty good from rialto to rancho but from upland to Montclair it's not that good. The trail is fairly easy and clean with OK scenic view. But there are quite a few breaks on the trail which one might find a little annoying.
All homeless gone! Rode to beach twice last week from Orange! We enjoy this trail!
Tried heading for the beach today. The trail was open. All the homeless are gone and they put up fences in all the areas the homeless were camping out. I went to Moon Park and it was clear all the way. There were my smiling cyclist on the trail. Spring is here and the trail is clear. See all you kids out there.
Frank
Currently both trails have sections closed so you can't ride end to end as of 3/30/18.
I did not care for the stretch of trail from Upland-Claremont. As mentioned in a prior review-too many street crossings. I haven’t tried the Upland-Rialto route yet.
If I could split this review, I would rate most of the trail, from Upland to points east, 5 stars. But the westernmost 4 miles from Upland to Claremont are terrible. The street crossings require you to leave the trail, go down to the nearest traffic light to cross, then go back up to the trail to continue. This wouldn't be so bad if the crossings weren't every quarter mile, and if the crosswalk buttons weren't placed in such bizarre, hard to reach places. I guess it's OK if you live here, but if you are visiting from outside the area, just pretend the trail starts in Upland. It's fantastic.
Had a fun fast spin on the PE IE trail yesterday. Started at N. Cactus in Rialto and rode to Victoria Park Ln. and back. There is a short section in Fontana closed for construction between Emerald Ave. and Juniper Ave. but just go slightly over to the parallel road to the left (Seville Ave.) to get around it.
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