Find the top rated bike trails in Fountain Valley, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Open space is precious in South Gate, and the Southern Avenue Greenway—which runs under overhead power lines—provides an off-street walking and biking route, as well as play areas for the community....
The Arroyo Seco Bike Path runs about 2 miles between South Pasadena and northeast Los Angeles, offering views of the LA skyline and the distant mountains. It begins south of Pasadena Avenue and...
The Venta Spur Trail travels along the narrow corridor of a former rail spur that began serving the Frances Packing House—a major citrus processing facility—in 1916. Today, the popular trail serves...
The Ballona Creek Bike Path follows the channelized Ballona Creek for 7 miles, from Syd Kronenthal Park in east Culver City (National Boulevard) to the Pacific Ocean, where it connects with the Marvin...
To the trail user, the West Irvine Trail and Peters Canyon Bikeway are one continuous trail with two names in three cities. The northern component of the Peters Canyon Regional Trail, both paths...
The Chandler Bikeway is a jewel tucked nicely into a Burbank neighborhood. The bikeway begins as a well-maintained corridor that runs in the median between lanes of traffic on Chandler Boulevard. Like...
Quintessential Southern California, the Marvin Braude Bike Trail—commonly referred to as simply The Strand by locals—is featured in hundreds of TV shows and movies. Whether you are here on vacation,...
The Turtle Rock Trail meanders its way through the neighborhood of the same name in southern Irvine. The path is a short—but serious—aerobic workout, as it features climbs to the trail's high point at...
Irvine's Jeffrey Open Space Trail, currently open in three disconnected segments, has won awards for its landscaping and innovative design incorporating a series of intaglio panels in the concrete bed...
The Watts Towers Crescent Greenway is a short but pleasant rail-trail in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. The trail's central attraction is the Watts Towers Art Center, home of the striking and...
The Hoover Bike and Walking Trail is a utilitarian path adjacent to an active rail line in the western Orange County city of Westminster. Also paralleling Hoover Street for its entire distance, the...
The Culver Boulevard Bike Path is a short rail-trail located in a nicely landscaped median park in Culver City and Los Angeles. The trail was built on a former Pacific Electric interurban...
The Shoreline Pedestrian/Bicycle Path is a scenic multipurpose trail that runs from the tip of the breakwater opposite Island Grissom at the Long Beach Shoreline Marina to Long Beach's Belmont Shore...
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The Salt Creek Trail, with more arms than an octopus, offers a variety of experiences for trail users of all types in Dana Point and Laguna Niguel. Featuring two sections, several branches and a mix...
The San Gabriel River Trail extends from the base of the San Gabriel Mountains all the way to the Pacific Ocean. A key component of Los Angeles County's transportation infrastructure, the trail...
Yorba Linda's El Cajon Trail courses through the city on a former irrigation canal that was abandoned and filled in after a flood made it impractical to use. Paved with a parallel equestrian and...
The Bellflower Bike Trail runs for more than 2 miles on the right-of-way of the old Pacific Electric transit system—also known as the Red Cars—across Bellflower. At its zenith in the 1920s, Pacific...
The Pacific Electric Inland Empire Trail is a great commuter and recreation trail in western San Bernadino valley, with expansive views and connections to community centers and parks. The trail...
If you are looking for a quick escape from the smog and traffic of Southern California, take a trip along the Tustin Branch Trail. Currently open in two disconnected segments, the trail runs on the...
The Alton Avenue Bike Trail runs adjacent to both Alton Avenue and an active railroad line through Santa Ana. The path primarily serves the recreational and commuting needs of local residents,...
The Santa Ana River Trail is a 12-foot wide path following the Santa Ana River, a waterway that is cement-lined through much of Orange County but free flowing in Riverside and San Bernardino counties....
The Orange Line Bike Path is an 18-mile rail-trail paralleling the Los Angeles Metro's Orange Line rapid busway in the northern neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Both the busway and the trail stretch from...
The short Upper Bay Trail arcs around the northern edge of the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve near the Newport Beach–Irvine city line. The protected estuary, home to six rare avian species, is...
The Harvard Trail is a short sidepath along Harvard Avenue in Irvine. Beautifully landscaped, lit and featuring smooth concrete, the trail is a much more pleasant experience than your average roadside...
If you believe the setting makes the trail, you won't quibble with the brevity of the path through Seal Beach's Electric Avenue Median Park. Ensconced in a beautifully maintained linear park, the...
The Oceanfront Boardwalk begins in West Newport Beach at the end of 36th Street and runs nearly 3 miles down the Balboa Peninsula. Along the way, trail-goers will find restaurants, dory fishermen,...
The Alton Avenue Bike Trail runs adjacent to both Alton Avenue and an active railroad line through Santa Ana. The path primarily serves the recreational and commuting needs of local residents,...
A neighborhood trail of the first order, the Pacific Electric Bike Trail links well-kept middle class neighborhoods on either side of tree-lined Maple Street near downtown Santa Ana. The trail runs on...
On the southwestern outskirts of Los Angeles, the Laguna Dominguez Trail spans just shy of 3 miles, connecting the cities of Lawndale and Hawthorne (named for famed American author Nathaniel...
The scenic University Trail begins at a connection with the San Diego Creek Trail and runs east along University Drive through southern Irvine. The trail stretches the length of William R. Mason...
The Robert McCollum Memorial Bicycle Trail, also known as the Trabuco Creek Trail (East Bank), is a short paved path along Trabuco Creek in San Juan Capistrano. The trail begins at a junction with the...
The Peters Canyon Trail, currently open in two disconnected segments, runs northeast from Bill Barber Community Park to Portola Parkway, with a small gap from Warner Avenue to an active rail line that...
Running through large Los Angeles suburbs in both Los Angeles County and Orange County, the Coyote Creek Bikeway follows the channelized bank of the creek through residential and industrial...
Quintessential Southern California, the Marvin Braude Bike Trail—commonly referred to as simply The Strand by locals—is featured in hundreds of TV shows and movies. Whether you are here on vacation,...
The Culver Boulevard Bike Path is a short rail-trail located in a nicely landscaped median park in Culver City and Los Angeles. The trail was built on a former Pacific Electric interurban...
The Venta Spur Trail travels along the narrow corridor of a former rail spur that began serving the Frances Packing House—a major citrus processing facility—in 1916. Today, the popular trail serves...
Want an enjoyable loop hike through a new preserve and three parks with stunning ocean views throughout? Check out the trail system in the Dana Point Headlands, a scenic coastal area in Orange...
The San Gabriel River Trail extends from the base of the San Gabriel Mountains all the way to the Pacific Ocean. A key component of Los Angeles County's transportation infrastructure, the trail...
The Exposition Line, running from Downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica, carefully integrates light rail, bikeway and pedestrian facilities. The second phase of the light rail line opened in 2017,...
The Bellflower Bike Trail runs for more than 2 miles on the right-of-way of the old Pacific Electric transit system—also known as the Red Cars—across Bellflower. At its zenith in the 1920s, Pacific...
The Victoria Avenue Bike Path parallels a scenic parkway dotted with palm trees that was built in 1892 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The northeastern end of the trail...
The Peters Canyon Trail, currently open in two disconnected segments, runs northeast from Bill Barber Community Park to Portola Parkway, with a small gap from Warner Avenue to an active rail line that...
The Compton Creek Bike Path crosses Compton along the east bank of its namesake creek, offering access to precious open space for the urban neighborhoods along the way. Compton Creek itself is a...
The Oso Creek Trail offers just over four miles of paved pathway connecting Jeronimo Open Space Park and Oso Viejo Community Park in the suburban southern California city of Mission Viejo. Much of...
The Santiago Creek Trail is a scenic urban ride up a portion of Santiago Creek northeast from the Westfield MainPlace Mall to Collins Avenue in Orange. From Collins Avenue, the trail heads south to...
The paved Los Angeles River Trail—also known as the Los Angeles River Bike Path, Los Angeles River Bikeway, Los Angeles River Greenway Trail and Lario Trail—is open in two disconnected segments along...
The Salt Creek Trail, with more arms than an octopus, offers a variety of experiences for trail users of all types in Dana Point and Laguna Niguel. Featuring two sections, several branches and a mix...
The Shady Canyon Trail is an incredibly scenic route along Shady Canyon Drive in southern Irvine. Extending through the southern reaches of the historic Irvine Ranch and protected Irvine Ranch Natural...
The Rio Hondo River Trail runs for more than 17 miles through Los Angeles County along its namesake waterway, a partially channelized tributary of the Los Angeles River. The trail extends northeast...
The Santa Gertrudis Creek Trail is a 3-mile paved trail that serves as both a recreational amenity and an active transportation alternative for locals looking to get to nearby locations without...
On the southwestern outskirts of Los Angeles, the Laguna Dominguez Trail spans just shy of 3 miles, connecting the cities of Lawndale and Hawthorne (named for famed American author Nathaniel...
To the trail user, the West Irvine Trail and Peters Canyon Bikeway are one continuous trail with two names in three cities. The northern component of the Peters Canyon Regional Trail, both paths...
The Exposition Line, running from Downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica, carefully integrates light rail, bikeway and pedestrian facilities. The second phase of the light rail line opened in 2017,...
The Orange Line Bike Path is an 18-mile rail-trail paralleling the Los Angeles Metro's Orange Line rapid busway in the northern neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Both the busway and the trail stretch from...
The Coastal Rail Trail will one day run 44 miles from Oceanside to San Diego along the Coaster commuter rail. Today, short sections of the trail are coming together, with four disconnected stretches...
The short Upper Bay Trail arcs around the northern edge of the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve near the Newport Beach–Irvine city line. The protected estuary, home to six rare avian species, is...
The Walnut Trail shares a wide corridor with an active railroad line, a BNSF route, through a section of Orange County known for producing oranges and strawberries. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe...
The Bellflower Bike Trail runs for more than 2 miles on the right-of-way of the old Pacific Electric transit system—also known as the Red Cars—across Bellflower. At its zenith in the 1920s, Pacific...
The scenic University Trail begins at a connection with the San Diego Creek Trail and runs east along University Drive through southern Irvine. The trail stretches the length of William R. Mason...
The Whittier Greenway Trail occupies part of an abandoned railroad right-of-way in its namesake town, running parallel to Whittier Boulevard and Lambert Road between Mills Avenue and Pioneer Boulevard...
It's been a few years since my wife and I biked this path, but I always think about it this time of year whenever I smell the orange blossoms in my southern California neighborhood.
This is most certainly a slow, easy, ideal ride for a spring day. It's not too hot yet, the narrow path passes by some stately historic homes, and the aroma of the orange blossoms are absolutely intoxicating!
Consider leaving the path on the way back and riding up one of the side streets through the groves.
I suspect this trail is especially popular with the surrounding community. I know if I lived there I'd be cruising down to the beach every day on it! For a couple of out of towners, it was well worth the time we put into exploring it.
After spending the night in Dana Point's bluff hugging Blue Lantern Inn, we parked the car and unloaded the bikes in Dana Point Marina's Baby Beach parking lot so we could enjoy pedaling around the quiet marina streets as well as the San Juan Creek Trail.
After cruising over to Doheny State Beach to the trailhead, we began our trek along the bank of the creek. For the most part it's a nice, fairly quiet ride. On the way up, we took a detour and explored the Trabuco Creek Trail as well as Old Historic San Juan Capistrano.
The San Juan Creek Trail eventually concluded in a somewhat rural area of ranches and equestrian centers. After cruising back down to the trailhead, I must say it's pretty cool to relax on the beach in the cool, salty air and to bask in the sun.
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!
This path is an absolute gem, a classic I've ridden and walked so many times over the past forty years. It's so cool to have a wide, sandy beach on one side of the boardwalk and multi-million dollar ocean view residences on the other. (We like to park on a quiet street with very little traffic near The Wedge in Newport Beach, and then jump on the boardwalk at the southern trailhead).
The Oceanfront Boardwalk is only a few miles long, but we usually continue on up the coast and connect to the Huntington Beach Bicycle Trail to enjoy a longer ride.
Consider peddling beyond the end of the Huntington Beach Trail past Warner Avenue and then down the center of park-like Pacific Avenue for a few more miles. You'll be able to brag you pedaled all the way from Newport Bay to Huntington Harbor and back!
My family and I have ridden this trail many a time over the past thirty years. It's a SoCal classic, one of the all-time greats! It's not a trail for you if you're looking for solitude since it's so popular with a multitude of bicyclists, walkers, campers, and beachgoers, but it's the ultimate beach ride: flat, easy, unlimited ocean vistas and a cool ocean breeze.
I've ridden on this path many a time going back to the early 90's. It's beautiful and quiet, but way too short to stand by itself unless you're a walker out for your daily 10,000 steps.
To make this worth your time, consider peddling up the San Diego Creek Trail which connects to it toward UCI to add some distance, or better yet, get on the Mountains to the Sea Trail road to head toward Balboa Island. We like to lock up our bikes on the island and enjoy a leisurely walk around the isle and then explore the village.
Best of all, from Balboa Island, take the ferry across the bay and get on the Newport Beach Oceanfront Boardwalk. You can make a day of it by going all the way up to Huntington Harbor!
Nice bikeway, especially once you get out of the city and neighborhoods. A bit steep toward the end, but at least it's downhill most of the way back!
An OK ride. Not especially exciting, but it is easy and flat. The best part is extending the ride to The Strand in order to ride alongside the beach. Consider heading to the pier and Ruby's Diner.
This is arguably one of the easiest, most beautiful trails in the state. The entire trail runs along the beach and there is an endless supply of entertainment: surfers, volleyball, all sorts of activities going on at all times. The ocean views are magnificent. The trail is smooth, well maintained, clean AND there are nice, clean restrooms all along the trail. We drive from northern California just to ride this trail and the Marvin Braude trail and will do so every year!
The family has taken up rollerblading and we came here for our first outing. It was a smooth ride (hard to find on skates) and the kids were delighted with the big hills on each side of the bridge that ended in nice long straightaways to allow them to safely come to a stop. We didn't make it past the bridge because they insisted on going up and down them over and over. :)
Here's a quick description of the trail:
Asphalt, runs parallel to Jamboree and requires crossing of intersections where cars drive. Mostly gentle hills and flat stretches, but there are a few hills that are quite alarming in size and steepness. Not recommended for beginning skaters.
Now, to the review:
To be blunt, it is not a smooth ride if you're wearing inline skates. It is slightly smoother than the street, and not nearly as preferable as the sidewalk that travels alongside it, which is as smooth as a baby's bottom. It is also disappointing that you have to stop skating to wait for the light to change. It's always nice when a trail is an independent part of the landscape that doesn't require you to yield to traffic, such as those that have overpasses or underpasses.
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