Touring * Slalom *

From Interstate 405 (the San Diego Freeway) in Irvine, take the Culver Drive exit heading south. Cross University Drive and pass Harvard Avenue. Turn left on Campus Drive and then left again one block up at Turtle Rock Drive. Climb the hill and turn in at the second left, Concordia. Park at the curb. The trail starts down the hill at the intersection of Turtle Rock and Campus Drives. Map: William R. Mason Regional Park Map, available at the park entrance station.

The Turtle Rock Greenbelt bike path is a beautiful, though short roll up a gardenlike bikeway that passes behind attractive homes situated at the base of the San Joaquin Hills. User traffic is light enough here at midday hours during the week that skaters can indulge in some ski-specific cross training. Skate south to enter the path above the tunnel under Turtle Rock. Here, the greenbelt's lush foliage is complemented by long, deep green grass and plenty of leafy trees. Although the shade is welcome on a hot day, the leaves tend to blanket the pavement below. As long as the ground underneath is dry, they aren't dangerous. When wet, however, the slippery leaves will hamper the long climb up to the summit of the hill at Starcrest and will present a hazard to skaters who brake or make slalom turns on the trip back down. The dedicated greenbelt path ends temporarily at Starcrest, but it resumes farther up the street. Turn left to skate on the sidewalk to Ridgeline Drive. The trail branches off to the right to follow another back-neighborhood corridor, continuing to Turtle Rock Drive and, across the street, Turtle Rock Community Park. Returning to the tunnel under Turtle Rock Drive, continue through it to follow the grass-bordered path near a street in front of the nearby dwellings. At Hillgate, the trail veers away from the street and passes between apartment buildings. Around the bend, it connects up with the William R. Mason Regional Park Wilderness (see the next listing).