This is a list of bike paths in Los Angeles County, California, United States.

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San Gabriel River Bike Trail in Long Beach

Paths

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Cyclist on Ballona Creek Bike Path near Sepulveda Blvd.
  • Ballona Creek bicycle path – runs along Ballona Creek in the Westside Los Angeles area. The LA city-owned segment of this bicycle path is in two sections. The easternmost section of the bike path runs from the LA/Culver City border to 62nd Street in the northwestern Baldwin Hills area, (Bike Path ID: 1832, Mileage: 0.23) and is 0.23 miles long.[1] The western section maintained by LADOT runs from Lincoln Boulevard in Playa Vista to Sepulveda Boulevard at the border of Culver City (Bike Path ID: 9, Mileage: 2.49).[1] This bicycle path continues east several miles into Culver City, and ends at the Metro Expo Line La Cienega/Jefferson station. The westernmost extension of this bicycle path is via roads in Marina Del Rey and Playa del Rey, connecting to the Dockweiler State Beach bicycle path, which is part of the 22-mile coastal Marvin Braude Bike Trail.
  • Browns Creek Bike Trail – runs along Browns Canyon Wash from 314' south of Rinaldi Street to Devonshire Street in Chatsworth, Los Angeles. Bike Path ID: 1830. Mileage: 0.91.[1]
  • Burbank Boulevard bicycle path – runs in the Sepulveda Basin park, from Balboa Boulevard to 727' west of I-405, near the Encino Golf Course. Bike Path ID: 12. Mileage: 2.37.[1]
  • Burbank Channel bicycle path – located in Burbank with two segments: Cohasset Street to Tulare Avenue (0.3 mi), and Buena Vista St. to Jackson Street (0.6 mi).[2]
  • Cabrillo Beach bicycle path – runs in San Pedro, from Oliver Vickery Circle Way to the end of the jetty at Cabrillo Beach Park. Bike Path ID: 13. Mileage: 0.38.[1]
  • Canterbury Avenue bicycle path – runs from Chase Street to Reedly Street along Canterbury Avenue in the San Fernando Valley. Bike Path ID: 14. Mileage: 0.52.[1]
  • Chandler Boulevard bicycle path – on Chandler Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley. The LADOT-maintained portion runs from Vineland Avenue to Clybourn Avenue in North Hollywood (Bike path ID: 18. Mileage: 0.8).[1] The bike path, which changes names to Chandler Bikeway, continues 1.91 miles in Burbank from Clybourn Avenue to Mariposa Street.[3]
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Chandler bike path, evening, Burbank
  • Compton Creek bicycle path – runs along Compton Creek in Compton and Rancho Dominguez for almost six miles. It extends from El Segundo Boulevard east of N. Parmelee Avenue(near Centennial High School) to Del Amo Boulevard near the Blue Line Del Amo station.[4]
  • Coyote Creek bicycle path – runs along Coyote Creek, on the Orange County border to Long Beach. Maintained by CalTrans.[5]
  • Culver Boulevard Median Bike Path – runs from McConnell Avenue to Sawtelle Boulevard in Culver City. Bike Path ID: 20. Mileage: 1.4.[1]
  • Devonshire Street bicycle path – Runs from Woodman Avenue to Arleta Avenue. Bike Path ID: 21. Mileage: 0.5.[1]
  • Dominguez Channel bicycle path/Laguna Dominguez bicycle trail – runs along the Dominguez Channel, and is partially maintained by the city of Los Angeles and partially maintained by the county of Los Angeles. The city-maintained portion runs from .03 miles west of Vermont Avenue to West 190th Street along Dominguez Channel in Gardena. Bike Path ID: 23. Mileage: 0.79.[1] The county-maintained portion continues for 2.7 miles along the Dominguez Channel.[6]
  • Duarte bicycle path – located in Duarte, this 1.6-mile-long (2.6 km) trail was created by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.[7]
  • El Dorado Park Bike Path – located in El Dorado Park in Long Beach. The 4-mile-long (6.4 km) path connects with the San Gabriel River Bike Trail.[8]
  • Expo Bike Path – runs parallel to the E Line for ~12 miles, from University Park and USC to Santa Monica.
  • Hansen Dam bicycle path – runs along Hansen Dam in the northeastern San Fernando Valley. Bike Path ID: 28. Mileage: 2.27.[1]
  • Harbor Park bicycle path – runs from Gaffey Street to Harbor Park in San Pedro. Bike Path ID: 29. Mileage: 0.38.[1]
  • Heartwell Park Bike Path – runs through Heartwell Park in Long Beach, and is 2.5 miles long. It connects with the San Gabriel River Bike Trail.[8]
  • Imperial Highway bicycle path – runs along the westbound side of the Imperial Highway, from 200' east of Hillcrest Avenue to 200 feet east of Pershing Drive, adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport. Bike Path ID: 33. Mileage: 0.25.[1]
  • La Cañada Verde Creek Bicycle Path – a short bike path in Whittier, running 0.1 miles along the south side of La Cañada Verde Creek from Mulberry Street to Broadway.[9]
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Baum Bicycle Bridge at Los Feliz Boulevard, part of the Los Angeles River Greenway.
  • Los Angeles River Bicycle Path – runs along parts of the Los Angeles River, in separate sections currently. One runs . Another runs in the Glendale Narrows from Riverside Drive at Zoo Drive in Griffith Park to Elysian Valley in Los Angeles. (Bike Path ID: 1905, Mileage: 4.5).[1] The path has recently been extended south to Elysian Valley, just north of downtown Los Angeles, for a full length of 7.4 miles.[10] NBC Universal has agreed to pay $13.5 million in order to have an additional 6.4 miles of the L.A. River bicycle path built, from its current northern Glendale Narrows terminus in Burbank to Whitsett Avenue in Studio City.[11]
  • Los Angeles River Bikeway – also known as the Los Angeles River bicycle path or by its acronym LARIO. It runs along the lower the Los Angeles River from Vernon downstream to the Downtown Marina Long Beach and its mouth. It is 29.1 miles long and runs along the east side of the Los Angeles River.[8]
  • Lake Los Angeles bike path – located at Lake Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert, it runs along 170th St. East. for 2.7 miles between Avenue M-8 and Avenue P. A spur runs 0.5 miles along Avenue O from 170th St. East to 165th St. East.[12]
  • Legg Lake bicycle path – located in the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area in South El Monte, California.[13]
  • Mark Bixby Memorial Bicycle-Pedestrian Path on Long Beach International Gateway Bridge, 1.5 mi (2.4 km)[14] COMING SOON “connector bridge from Ocean Boulevard to the bridge is currently under construction”
  • Marvin Braude Bike Trail – a 22-mile-long (35 km) bike trail along the Pacific Ocean shoreline of western Los Angeles County, from Pacific Palisades south to Torrance. Sections of the bike trail are managed by a wide variety of municipal authorities and have several different names.[15]
    Sections, listed north to south and managed by a variety of municipal authorities, include:
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Bike and pedestrian paths on Santa Monica beach
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Santa Clara River trail
  • Shoreline Pedestrian Bikepath – located in Long Beach. The 3.1-mile-long (5.0 km) bike path is between Alamitos Avenue on the west to 54th Place on the east.[8]
  • Sierra Highway Bike Path – runs 7.1 miles in the Antelope Valley, from East Avenue J in Lancaster south to Easy Avenue Q7 in Palmdale.[26]
  • South Fork Trail – in Santa Clarita, California, connects to both the Santa Clara River Trail and the San Francisquito Trail. It is 8.32 miles long and runs from the intersection of Lyons Avenue and Ave Entranta to west of McBean Parkway and Magic Mountain Parkway.[27]
  • Thompson Creek trail – runs along Thompson Creek in Claremont for 2.8 miles. Access points include Base Line Road, Higginbotham Park, North Indian Hill Boulevard, and Pomello Drive. The park has a parking lot located on North Indian Hill Boulevard across from La Puerta Sports Park.[28]
  • Tujunga Wash bicycle path – runs in North Hollywood from Oxnard Street to Burbank Boulevard in the eastern San Fernando Valley. Bike Path ID: 56. Mileage: 0.52.
  • Victory Boulevard bicycle path – beside Victory Boulevard in Encino from White Oak Avenue to the San Diego Freeway (405 Freeway). Bike Path ID: 62. Mileage: 2.64.[1]
  • Watts Towers Crescent Greenway – a paved 0.2-mile-long (0.32 km) trail in Watts near the Watts Towers. It is on Willowbrook just north of 108th Avenue.[29]
  • Whittier Greenway Trail – parallel to Whittier Boulevard in Whittier, between Mills Avenue and Pioneer Boulevard near I-605. It is currently 4.7 miles long, but plans exist to extend it east to the border of Orange County.[30]
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Whittier Greenway Trail, pedestrian crossing at Hadley Street
  • Woodley Avenue bicycle path – on Woodley Avenue in Sepulveda Basin park, from Burbank Boulevard to Victory Boulevard. Bike Path ID: 66. Mileage: 1.28.[1]

Bike trails by watershed

Initial “river trails” organization framework created by Loren MacArthur in 1985.[31]

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LA river bike path entrance in Cypress Park

NOTE: Legg Lake Loop at Whittier Narrows Recreation Area is a bridge point linking the Los Angeles River and the San Gabriel River watersheds.

I. LOS ANGELES RIVER

“The river goes east-west through the Valley, then turns north-south in downtown L.A., flowing into the Pacific in Long Beach. There are bikeways along only about half of the length of the river currently [2022].”[32]

A. Upper Rio Hondo Bike Trail

  1. Santa Anita Wash Trail to Peck Road Water Conservation Park
  2. Peck Road Water Conservation Park to Whittier Narrows Recreation Area
  3. Whittier Narrows Recreation Area to Grant Rea Park (Montebello)

B. Lario Trail

  1. Whittier Narrows Dam to Hollydale Park (South Gate)
  2. Hollydale Park to Long Beach Harbor

C. Los Angeles River Bike Trail

D. Remoter tributaries of the Los Angeles River

1. Los Angeles Basin

a. Arroyo Seco (Pasadena area, northeast of downtown Los Angeles)

i. Arroyo Seco Bike Path

ii. Kenneth Newell Bike Path

b. Compton Creek Bike Path

2. San Fernando Valley

a. Browns Creek Bike Path

b. Tujunga Wash Bike Path

II. SAN GABRIEL RIVER

A. West Fork Bike Path

B. San Gabriel River Trail

  1. San Gabriel Mountains to Santa Fe Dam
  2. Santa Fe Dam to Legg Lake
  3. Whittier Narrows Dam to Wilderness Park
  4. Wilderness Park to El Dorado Park
  5. El Dorado Park to the Pacific Ocean

C. San Jose Creek bike path

D. Coyote Creek Bike Path

E. Billie Boswell Bike Path at El Dorado Park (confluence of San Gabriel River and Coyote Creek)

III. Other LA or SG river-adjacent bike loops or paths

A. Sepulveda Basin Bikeway (loop intersected by Los Angeles River)

B. Long Beach Bike Path (begins at Los Angeles River outlet/estuary in Long Beach)

C. Griffith Park (near Los Angeles River)

  1. Mineral Wells Loop
  2. Crystal Springs Loop

IV. Separate watersheds[33] (Bike trails in Los Angeles County adjacent to watercourses that are not connected to the San Gabriel or Los Angeles Rivers; listed roughly north to south.)

A. Santa Clara River Trail

1. San Francisquito Trail

2. South Fork Trail

B. Ballona Creek Bike Path

C. Dominguez Channel Bike Path

D. Wilmington Drain and Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park loop

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Rosecrans & Crenshaw

Resources

Up-to-date bicycle tourbooks for Los Angeles County have been written by the following authors:

  • Patrick Brady
  • Don and Sharron Brundige
  • Wayne D. Cottrell
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G Line Bikeway through the San Fernando Valley

Legalities

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Bike path sharing E Line right-of-way

Bike paths in Los Angeles County are maintained by various government organizations.

California Bike Paths are explicitly defined in Chapter 1000 of the Highway Design Manual (HDM) published by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).

Bike paths are uncovered by any warranties as to fitness for safe cycling. This is in direct contrast to ordinary city streets. There are two pieces of case law which establish this clearly, one of them being Prokop v. City of Los Angeles.[34]

It is legal in the City of Los Angeles to ride on sidewalks as long as riders do not show "wanton disregard" for the safety of other sidewalk users.[35] This does not apply to all areas of Los Angeles County. In California, when mounted and riding on the road, cyclists are required to "behave like vehicles" when it comes to obeying signals, signage, and lane restrictions.[36]

See also

References

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