Touring * Fitness * Beginner * Artistic *

From Interstate 5 in Irvine, take the Culver Drive exit at Sand Canyon Avenue and head south. Just beyond the railroad crossing a block away from the freeway, you will see the trail next to the trees on the right. Turn right into the gravel lane a few yards up and park in the sandy lot located right next to the trail. Map: Orange County Bikeway Map, available free by calling the County of Orange, EMA/Transportation Planning office at (714) 834-3111.

Just by looking at a map, it is impossible to know that the arrow-straight Atchison-Topeka Trail is actually quite pretty, including a park and a two-mile stretch of greenbelt. The southeast extension passes through an agricultural area that's blanketed with fields of pungent, bright green basil. Leaving the parking lot as you head west, the converted rail-trail parallels a still-active railroad line. Because of this, the scenery along the first quarter mile has an industrial flavor. Before long, the chain-link fences and train yards give way to wide vistas of burgeoning crops to the south, and the scenery is further improved by the tall eucalyptus and pepper trees that shade the path. Be on the alert for the big acorns that speckle the otherwise very smooth asphalt trail. Giant dirt movers have been busy in the distance just south of Jeffrey Road, so it is possible that a new housing or shopping development has replaced the wide field that now borders the trail on the left. The trail crosses four-lane Jeffrey Road without benefit of a pedestrian crosswalk or a light, but the road is straight so you can see traffic approaching from several blocks away. On the other side of Jeffrey, a small neighborhood greenbelt welcomes you with a short patch of rough asphalt that soon gives way to prime pavement once again. Off the trail to the left, the concrete sidewalks at Hoeptner Park invite an exploratory side trip, or at least a visit to one of the drinking fountains. The wide railroad/power line easement running behind the neighborhoods allows the well-tended path to continue through fairly natural scenery for another two miles, all the way to Peters Canyon Channel near Jamboree Road. The greenbelt is so young that the trees are too small to offer much in the way of shade. Return the way you came. Heading south from the parking lot, the Sand Canyon Avenue extension of the Atchison-Topeka Trail also kicks off with unappealing industrial scenery, but soon it, too, is surrounded by agricultural fields. If you're lucky, the wonderful scent of fresh basil will perfume the air as you skate this one-mile stretch of asphalt. When the bike path terminates, street skaters can continue on the road up to Alton Parkway. To connect to the Woodbridge Lakes Trail (see page 378) and San Diego Creek Trail (see page 381), turn right at Alton to reach the shopping center a mile and a half away.