Touring * Fitness * Beginner * Artistic *

From Interstate 210 east of Pasadena, exit to the south on Interstate 605, the San Gabriel River Freeway. Take the first exit, Arrow Highway, and head east to cross the San Gabriel River. Turn left to enter the park on Orange Avenue (the right turn is Azusa Canyon Road). Approaching from the east on Interstate 210, take the Irwindale Avenue exit heading south, turn right on Arrow Highway and right again on Orange Avenue. The entrance fee at the gatehouse is $6, and you can come and go all day as long as you show your receipt at the gate. There is plenty of parking. Map: Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area Map, available from the park office near the entrance or by calling (818) 334-1065.

Besides being an ideal parking and starting point for a skate on the northern San Gabriel River Bike Trail, Santa Fe Dam is a beautiful location for novice skaters to learn the basics of gliding, turning, and stopping. The concrete sidewalks are wide and smooth, and are bordered by thick lawns that make the occasional bout of klutziness more bearable. Behind the rocky levee that surrounds the park, the San Gabriel Mountains tower in all their majesty, adding drama and elegance to the pretty lakeside scene. On weekdays, the place is nearly deserted, leaving all of that prime pavement to the lucky visitor on wheels. At off-peak hours, the sidewalks running next to the reservoir and through the shady park are a welcome respite to those who are used to the crowded skating locations near the ocean, often overpopulated by a wide variety of wheeled and nonwheeled users. It can get very hot this far inland, however, so plan to visit in springtime or on a cooler summer day. A park map plus a variety of other L.A. County trail maps can be picked up at the park office near the entrance at the east end of the lake. To access the San Gabriel River Bike Trail, park in the first lot you see after descending the levee from the gatehouse. Driving in past the gatehouse, you will see the trail next to the road. To get to the river trail, skate back up toward the gatehouse on the trail near the entrance road and follow the levee to the west side, where the path goes back down the rocky bank on the other side to cross Arrow Highway and join the river trail. Although its northern section is not described in this edition of California In-Line Skating, the San Gabriel River Bike Trail serves as an excellent fitness and speed skating route, and also as a connection to the Rio Honda via the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area seven miles southwest.