skidder

The bridges crossing the SART are as high as the levees on each side of the river, and the trail is on top of those levees I'd guess they are 15-20 feet above the riverbed?. They're truss bridges, pretty well guarded on the sides so you won't fall off . Scroll down on this page and you'll come to a few pictures of the bridge at the south end that goes across from Costa Mesa to Huntington Beach. There's another similar bridge almost next to the 17th street road crossing up in Santa Ana, about 1.5-2 miles south of the 'Orange Crush' freeway interchange. Not sure about the bridges farther inland, maybe other can chime in on those.

Entering and exiting the Santa Ana River Trail in Costa Mesa | Marc Perkins

SoSmellyAir

Thank you. Although I know the chances of me falling off are miniscule, the fear I feel crossing bike bridges is disproportionately huge because of my condition.

ui127

This trail is a bit boring but has some nice spots at either end, right? I can't think of any better options nearby for such long, continuous dedicated bike path riding?

diphthong

simple matter to hook up the 90% bike paths ride mixing in the la river trail to the long beach trail. a quick roll through southern long beach and seal beach (and a roll along the sgrt as far as you wanna go) and sunset beach (all west of pch)...then hopping on the huntington beach/bolsa chica bike path to newport beach.
just before entering newport, heading north on the sart to your hearts content. any combo of the lart, sart and sgrt with the assorted 20 miles of connecting/paralleling pch makes it an ideal, flattish first century or a good way to get in oodles of miles with very little automobile interaction.

skidder

It is kind of boring, but it'll take you by Angel Stadium and the Honda Center and some interesting neighborhoods. The 'inland' portion ends at Green River park/golf course, but there is a way to get through the area beyond that and back on the portion of the SART in Riverside County. The SGRT goes inland up to Irwindale and (someone correct me if wrong) the Azusa area at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. I don't know how far the LART goes inland, at least to the Cahuenga (sp?) gap (Griffith Park/Glendale area).

ui127

Good options for sure. Have you ridden all of SART/SGRT/LART? Got a favorite or a favorite starting point?

CAT7RDR

If one is looking to complete a big loop and include the SGRT, SART and PCH, here is a connector route that I have ridden several times to use some rolling hills and gentle climbs of La Habra Heights and Whittier Hills to make it interesting and relieve the boredom of the flats. My preference is to connect from the SART to the SGRT.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45293350

skidder

Never ridden the entire length of any of them. My usual ride on the closest one, the SART, is from the beach up to Katella/Angel Stadium/Amtrak station then back, 26 mile RT; the section from Katella up to Green River is the really boring part!. I can't remember how far I've gone up the SGRT, but I'd start in Seal Beach and go inland for 45 min/1 hour then turn around. The LART I've only been on a very few times and just the section south of the 405 freeway, a few times when doing a bike tour down the coast, or when traversing from PV back over to Long Beach. The section from the 405 south to Long Beach downtown area is OK, just that the areas off of it are pretty sketchy.

Garfield Cat

On the safe side: even if you ride solo on a bright weekend afternoon day, the river trails are not like street riding. There are pro's and con's.

Boring: bring some music with you and that will take the edge off the long straight-aways.

Muggings: oh yeah, as Forrest Gump says "sh-** happens".

folmonty 

The SART is nice to avoid car traffic but as mentioned here by many there are times it's extremely boring. Relentless headwinds can make it quite droney. In the past few of weeks I've been staying in OC have seen some crazy ebike and even motorcycle antics that are problematic. Homeless situation seems to be escalating one again which is no surprise. Primarily I like to use it as a connector to other routes. Back in the 80's 90's when we lived in Riverside area it was a great ride to Huntington or Newport Bch. Love to see families riding together but it's not a good place for young children unless strictly supervised. Just hope that whatever city agencies are responsible for keeping the SART clear, open and devoid of squatters stays on it.

TakingMyTime

I was on the SART from the Beach to Katella and there didn't seem to be much of a homeless problem. Actually, the last 2 or 3 times I have been on it there has been a police presence. The best part of the SART is getting on it at the beach in the late afternoon when there's a huge onshore wind blowing. Those tailwinds can be awesome.

calamarichris

To me, SART will always be a monument. As a 16-year old, I made up my mind that I was going to ride my bicycle (from Walnut, CA) to the beach. (Neither the internet nor parental supervision had been invented.)
I pedalled my BMX bike (mostly standing, because of the plastic seat) on Valley View Blvd, stoplight by stoplight by stoplight....) Despite my youthful exuberance, I was utterly exhausted and sore when I got back home. It was deep into the dark hours, but long before cellphones and I was afraid I was so busted. I was trying to quality for the varsity swim team at my school about that time, but I was so weak for WEEKS after this. Haha.
Then I got a ten-speed and my friend Ronnie (a few years older, much cooler, and with a much, much sweeter Raleigh ten-speed, with the metal things on his toes) showed me the way to SART.
After Ronnie, SART became my Happy Place. I always rode through the Anaheim Angel's parking lot, neath the colossal "A" as a superstitious ceremony to thwart flat tires.
I never had a cool jersey, and usually rode bare-chested with the latest Oakley sunglasses. One time I blacked out at a park along SART and a little kid woke me up saying, "Is 'Oakey' your name? Cause that the name on your glasses." (We're talking Factory Pilots, long before the Blades).
I've run into MrBeanz and his bride on SART. What an awesome coincidence and what an awesome day!
I've ridden SART hundreds of times.
I've taken my bike on the train to the Anaheim Stadium AMTRAK stop (and of course, passed neath the colossal A) and ridden back to my Carlsbad home a few times.
I've navigated the homeless encampments that gathered round SART back in the day. (Are they still there?)

SART is like life. It can be ugly at times, but ultimately it is a good thing. I rode up to the Northern end of SART once. (like up around Carbon Canyon or some tish?)
SART is good, especially in the age of texting drivers. Very good. Even better than SGRT, which is also good. They both beat the hell out of BMXing on Valley View Blvd.

Leinster

When I lived in Costa Mesa the worst part about riding SART out past Anaheim was battling headwinds all the way home. Sometimes I’d get off the trail early and ride the regular streets home.

calamarichris

Speaking of Katella, does anyone else remember anchorman and smallcraft pilot Hal Fishman on KTLA, channel 5?
I always wondered if the street was named after the station or vice-versa.

skidder

Katella was named after the daughters 'Kate' and 'Ella' of the original farmer/landowner, a guy named Mr. Rea. A lot of streets in Orange County were named like that. I knew a guy named McFadden, the Orange County street named McFadden was named after his grandfather who was a rancher in early Orange County.

calamarichris

That's awesome to know. Thank you!
When I was younger, we used to vacation up at Lake Almanor, which I later found out was named after the engineer's daughters: Alice, Mary, and Noreen.

I've also been to both Buena Vistas (Good Views for those of you who don't "habla" Chris Farley). In Colorado, even the Spanish-speakers pronounce it "Buwna Veesta" which was hilarious to me at first.

So it's most likely another weird coincidence then. THANK YOU.

skidder

IF you're familiar with the Costa Mesa/Fountain Valley/Huntington Beach area, a lot of streets that intersect the SART were named after former residents of note - Slater Ave, Talbert Ave, MacArthur Blvd, Banning Street, Hamilton Ave, Edwards Street, Gisler Ave, etc. The most famous has to be Segerstrom, named after the family that had a big farming operation in the north end of Costa Mesa. The area is now home to the famous high-end South Coast Plaza shopping center and the Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts. And the City of Irvine - named after a rancher/farmer who formerly owned the land

skidder

IF you're familiar with the Costa Mesa/Fountain Valley/Huntington Beach area, a lot of streets were named after former residents of note - Slater Ave, Talbert Ave, MacArthur Blvd, Banning Street, Hamilton Ave, Edwards Street, Gisler Ave, etc. The most famous has to be Segerstrom, named after the family that had a big farming operation in the north end of Costa Mesa. The area is now home to the famous high-end South Coast Plaza shopping center and the Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts. And the City of Irvine - named after a rancher/farmer who formerly owned the land

SoSmellyAir

I rode SART for the first time yesterday (on a group ride) from Imperial Highway down to Angels Stadium yesterday morning and can confirm that the ride is nice but boring.

Garfield Cat

Segerstrom definitely and even a high school named after him. A little different with Roy Sakioka, the Japanese-American who was interned during WWI and owned land adjacent to the Segerstrom's. I think there is a street named after him too.

Gone in 60

Might not be a wise thing to do, but does anyone have much experience riding the SART after dark, particularly the lower portion from the golf course to the Costa Mesa area? I've started experimenting with commuting from Orange, and take the Santiago Creek Trail to where it ends, cut through the Floral Park neighborhood, and catch the SART just below the golf course.

There are always some homeless shambling around along the trail, and there's a village along the east-side fence that runs from about Warner to where I get off at MacArthur. They keep to themselves for the most part, but if I extended my commuting into Standard Time, I'd be riding home after the sun goes down. The Santiago Creek trail is ok at night, I've come home from visiting friends, a couple of sketchy areas but I keep moving pretty quickly.

skidder

I assume that's the river-bottom golf course just north of 17th street in Santa Ana? I'm not sure what's happening at night on the southern stretch but its OK in the morning. There are a few places along the SART where a handful of homeless seem to have set up camp, under the 5th Street bridge (3 bridges south of the golf course) and farther down between Segerstrom and MacArthur (just before the 405 underpass) there's an encampment at the base of the levee next to the fencing in back of the industrial buildings (maybe about 20-30 people total). I haven't had any issues riding through those areas at 6am-7am, but not sure what's happening there at night. I did ride through there last Thursday morning and one of the homeless had started a campfire, not a wise idea with all the wooden pallets against the fence in the neighboring industrial lot. Might be time to call the Santa Ana PD's front desk line if that keeps occurring.

Gone in 60

Yes, that's the area. Right now, I'm riding south through there between 7:30-8:00 am, then back north between 5:30-6:00 pm, so I'm seeing the same stuff you are. You're right, the village along the east side of the river starts at Segerstrom. Couple of people shouting at the world. I'm wondering if anyone has some experience riding through that section after dark.

Speaking of calling the PD, I noticed an increase in homeless traffic above SART on the Santiago Creek trail this morning around Hart Park. As I got to the area under the 22 where most of them camp, there were a few police cars and and dump trucks, and it looked like some camps were being cleared out.

skidder

A little more information. I noticed there were a few security types in the MacArthur/Segerstrom area once in a while, they were there this morning so I stopped and had a chat with them. They are security personnel from Southern California Edison; SCE has a "right of way easement" for the area where their high-voltage overhead lines are directly over the homeless and they don't want their poles damaged. Apparently SCE is working with the OC Sheriffs and Santa Ana PD to get the place cleaned up (the easement, levee, and river channel are primarily OC Sheriff's responsibility). The SCE folks told me they got a few people out of there last week with OC Social Services help and are 'leaning' on the rest by offering them help or will give them a date when the city/county/SCE will come in and clean out the place. I also mentioned to them that the homeless have been starting campfires inside their plastic tents/gerry-rigged structures and that could start fires in both the trees and the wooden pallets the industrial business behind them has stored up against the fence. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

Gone in 60

Huh. Seen those people and figured they were there in some security capacity. I’ve been seeing the camp stoves and small fires in the mornings. Just takes one fire to turn into what shut down the 10 for a while.

Also takes one guy so methed up that he tries to steal those power cables and blows himself to bits.

My office is just off MacArthur from the trail. Not too long ago, someone stole all of the wiring out of the lamp posts in our office complex parking lot.