santa ana river trail

I was staying near the Disney parks for a conference and the santa ana river trail was the best choice to go running. It is definitely a better decision rather than just going around the disney theme parks and avoid traffic lights. There restrooms along the way and also water fountains. I do recommend this place if you have to do a long run or if you are riding a bike. You have a lot of miles of fun. However don't try going for anything in the dark. Homeless people like to sleep under the bridges and it is really dark. Doesn't feel safe at all in the dark! During the day there is a lot of people so it is much better!

This is a review of the approx. 7 mile part of the trail from it's paved start at Waterman Ave. to the county line. Pluses: easy parking at county Hall of Records building. Well paved path with lots of ups and down and twists to keep it from getting boring. Not crowded. Minuses: one of the more ugly bike trails I have seen. On one side is the sandy river bed filled with lots of trash. On the other, lots of barren, not much to look at land and industrial sites. All in all, I am sure there are nicer part of the Santa Ana trail to ride.

Path is for both runners and bikers, I start pretty early just before sunrise so not many folks on trail then...but by 9a there are so many packs of bikers this is a great trail for biking. It is ok for runners with rest areas for restrooms which is great. If you do long runs like myself 10+ or more no problem in this trail getting mileage. I began to see quite a few runners/walkers by 8:30-9a. Also by this time the flow of biker groups is pretty steady too but I had no problems as their bike etiquette was great and appreciated. I live in Houston(hot&humid) and weather is great in Ca. for running so I don't think it would be any issues with the lack of trees for shade in this area. My run started at Chapman near 105 and just parked in nearby apts...I was staying at Disney on S Harbor just about 2 miles from hotel. Can view path on Mapmyrun search- Santa Ana Trail

This is a biker's dream trail. Goes for miles and miles. Bit of construction to cope with but nothing that terrible. We did 20 miles the first time out on it. Awesome experience. Fairly flat with a few strenuous hills. Can't wait to be out there again.

A nice natural rural area to bring your horse for a ride, take your dogs for a run or a good starting point for a bike ride.

Everything is paved and its only about 28 miles to the beach from Green River. Easy access points, smooth ride, great for training or just cruising.

If you have a bike the Santa Ana River Trail is a nice ride, even for the smallest of riders. Flat and level, just watch so they don't get too close to the edge.

The two reviews of the SART before this one refer to unpaved mountian bike sections up in the mountains. There are also two long paved sections between San Bernardino and Huntington Beach with a surface road section through Norco (because Norco won't let Parks and Recreation link the two parts).The map on this page refers to the paved section which starts at the Quality Inn at 1750 South Waterman Avenue in San Bernardino. There are seven parking spaces in their parking lot that are dedicated to trail riders. The hotel seems pretty cool about you using their parking though - thanks Quality Inn.The trail is mainly flat with small risers and follows the path of the Santa Ana river towards Norco. The Martha McLean/Anza Narrows park is at mile 12 and has restrooms and water. The trail ends at mile 19.5 on Arlington and you can ride into Norco or turn around here. There is a 1/4 mile dirt section at about mile 17 in the Hidden Valley Recreational Area. It starts up again about 12 miles later at Green River Road just south of Corona and continues about 30 miles to Huntington Beach. From San Bernardino to the beach and back is 126 miles.The trail is moderately used by recreational cyclists and walkers. The beach end is considerably busier than the Inland end. It's in good condition except for a few spots where it has been washed out by heavy rain and not repaired. There is little shade which makes it hot in the summer and there are transients living in the woods between it and the river which makes it iffy at night if you're on your own. However, I've never had any problems. During Santa Ana conditions you get a strong tailwind on the way to the coast but it's a killer headwind when you turn around.

I just got back from what I was told was a 9 mile roundtrip hike on a section of the SART that left out of South Fork campsite (off HWY 38 near Barton Flats) and continued past Heart Bar, a fire crew station, to a forest road, and eventually back out to the 38. It felt more like 6 miles... I'll have to look into that. Anyways, the weather was great (warm, slightly overcast with a nice breeze), the river was running in some areas, and we didn't see a SINGLE OTHER PERSON on the trail. And this was on a Sunday. Need I say more? Ponderosa and Jeffrey pine, black oak and white fir trees provided plenty of shade, and there were even some wildflowers in bloom (in OCTOBER!). Good times. I highly recommend it.

I'm from Israel and we don't have this kind trails at home so it was something for me to check. I was curios to ride the Santa Ana river trail, I got a recommendation to ride it from a bike shop in Big bear and I learned about it through the web, in real life it's one of the best single tracks I've ridden. It's long, beautiful mostly downhill trail that I enjoyed. It demands a good technical skill but not such as described on the web. The biggest disadvantage of the ride are the flies (or mosquitoes) that are attracted to the eyes or sunglasses, and while going uphill manage to stick to the eyes and face. It was a pleasure to spend a day there, mostly in the shade and with some water crossings. I recommend the trail to all bicycle riders who love challenging rides. Don't forget that you'll have to make it uphill after reaching the river (starting at the Angelus Oaks).