Mountain Bike Azusa Canyon

Parking

Park at Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area in Irwindale. The entrance is off of Arrow Highway, a little bit west of Irwindale Avenue.


Directions (From Santa Fe Dam Parking)
  • Find the bikepath and follow it north until it ends at Highway 39 / Azusa Canyon
  • Proceed north on Highway 39 to the junction with East Fork Road
  • Stay left on Highway 39
  • Continue a little bit further and start looking for gated West Fork Road on the left hand side
  • Lift your bike over the gate
  • Follow West Fork Road (closed to traffic) for approximately eight miles to Cogswell Dam
    • This is a pleasant out and back ride along the river in a shaded canyon
    • It is pretty flat until the last 1/2 mile where the road climbs steeply to the top of the dam
  • Take in the view, eat something, and cruise back down West Fork Road to Highway 39
  • Turn right and head south, back down Highway 39 to East Fork Road
  • Turn left onto East Fork Road and continue for about five miles to Glendora Mountain Road
  • Turn right onto Glendora Mountain Road and climb steeply for about 3.5 miles to the junction with Glendora Ridge Road
  • Turn right onto Glendora Ridge Road and get ready for an amazing downhill
    • There are a couple of very short climbs and then the road just drops
  • Enjoy this twisty descent and continue until you reach the intersection with Sierra Madre Avenue
  • Turn right onto Sierra Madre Avenue and continue until you reach Highway 39
  • Turn right onto Highway 39 and head north until you see the bikepath entrance on your left
  • Enter the bikepath and follow it back to Santa Fe Dam where you parked your car

Distance

Total distance is somewhere around 63 to 65 miles, with about 4,000 feet of climbing.


Additional Information

This is a very enjoyable ride without a whole lot of automobile traffic; however, if you start late in the morning on a weekend, you will encounter quite a bit of traffic on the initial climb up Highway 39.

There are a couple of places along East Fork Road where you can refill your water bottles.