Lower Arroyo Seco Recreation Area

This is a fantastic option for a nature walk without a mountain road drive if you don’t mind hearing traffic.
The one drawback is the plethora of locals who allow their dogs off leash. I am a dog owner, and, while I love for my own dog to run free, I do not allow it in unfenced areas accessible to other people and pets. In a city environment, this creates risk for pets and people. A «friendly» dog rushing a dog who is sweet but cautious can result in injuries to pets and people, untold stress when trying to get away from such a dog, and legal liabilities. Just be considerate and keep your dog’s leashed. Even small dogs can attack larger dogs, their owners worrying over the little attackers and oblivious to injuries to the canine and human victims. Please don’t allow your dog’s off leash. You don’t know every walker or their dogs, and your «friendly» dogs running free are a hazard and stressor in this highly populated area with many strangers, as hard as that is to accept.

If you wake up in the emergency room face down with an arrow in your ass, its probably the result of a gesticulating archery neophyte pulling her first compound bow, and you were walking your dog on the main path.
That’s if you missed the sign declaring Arroyo Seco Park a gathering place for Archers: professional, amateur and frightening wannabes. Otherwise, you’d never know this was a target area for piercing cans, bullseyes and random tree trunks.
The archery clubs are largely overshadowed by the sheer and natural beauty of the land and the housing architecture. Quiet Tudors, Dojos, Cape Cods and a few spatterings of Modern Expressionalists line the Arroyo and protect it from the blistering direct sunlight most of Pasadena is subjected.
If you want to walk little Poopsie, be prepared to share the path with larger dogs. If they are easily spooked, there are periodic foot bridges so you can cross over. The paths are unsegregated, so the big dogs as well as the teacup microlaps will have to yield the same spot.
The major highlight is, of course, the Colorado street bridge arching its majestic buttresses across the arroyo. It serves as a massive deco gateway to the Rose Bowl, which is a nice field to cap off a strident jog or leisurely hike. The smell of high grade weed frequently perfumes the air under the bridge, and it’s origin is typically a group of teens who think they’re very clever and undetected while they’re snickering, coughing, billowing out acres of smoke, and hiding in the bushes nearby.

Nice place to walk the dog or escape the city. Located near the Rose Bowl, it’s a mini oasis. This is pretty much a trail/​path destination. Great location to get out for fresh air. Lots of people walking dogs and even a small pond where people practice fishing. If you want to switch up your local walking/​hiking routine try this place out !

love the area! love jogging there. however, it would be nice if the dog owners/​walkers would pay attention to the signs and laws by keeping their dogs on a leash. there have been too many occasions where my husband and i have had dogs run after us or try to bite us. on average 50−60% of the dogs are off leash. other wise the trails are a great place to get away and run!

My sister has been here before and recommended we walk our dogs here.
We took our two dogs here for a walk and decided to take the path along the wash, then into the woods/​trees that led us under the bridge.
The walk was a bit creepy to me… The fact that we were walking under the bridge freaked me out a bit. There was some small ponds during the walk; the water was black due to the lack of circulation.
I give this location five stars, because although the trail we decided to take was a bit freaky to me, there did seem to be lot pf trails to take; there were many other dog walkers and just walkers themselves.
I will come back, but take another trail. –not under the bridge.

Great hiking spot for the fury creatures we call our doggies… and of course for us humans.
It didn’t receive a 5 star rating because it was SOOOOOOOOO difficult to find. You have to put in the cross streets to find the place or else gps will take you elsewhere. I probably circled Pasadena twice before I found the place. It was a great hike with friends. Lots of fallen trees to take pictures on.
Will definitely be back again.

Great alternative area for running/​walking if you get tired of the rose bowl. There are quite a few trails you can take. Depending on which one you take, you can get a scenic route or a more man-​made view (cement, gates, etc). Enjoy running here because it’s less crowded than the rose bowl and you get to see the different vegetation, rivers, and little gardens along the way. For the most part, the trail is pretty flat. There also is an archery range so if you want to practice shooting some arrows they have a small section dedicated to this. Lots of people come through here riding bikes and walking their dog. I’ve also seen people riding horses.

This long, narrow park situated along the cement basin of the Arroyo Seco river
is one of my favorite places for a relaxing, meditative walk. The park is slowly being rehabilitated and replanted with native shrubs so although the cemented river channel is an eyesore, the surrounding cliffs, vegetation and old bridges offer a lot of visual enjoyment. There are miles of flat dirt and rock «hiking» trails and loops to explore.
There are plenty of rules governing this park, and signs to remind you of them. No bikes or motorcycles are allowed. Dogs are welcome but required to be on leash (though I’ve seen plenty off people ignoring the rule.) Horses frequent the trails as well.
I like to bring my children here and I think this is a nice place for families. There are no cars and the river is totally gated off so it’s pretty safe. There are a few picnic tables here and there. There is at least one small, free, parking lot. Although the trails are flat they are bumpy. I don’t think it would be easy with a stroller, but if you have little ones who like to run around this is a nice place to take them for a bit of urban-​nature.

The Lower Arroyo Seco Rec Trails offer a great alternative to running or walking the Rose Bowl Loop (or they can act as a extension for your run, as the trails link up to the loop on both the North and South sides).
There are both, straight-​forward trails that run along the channel (on both sides) and adjacent nature focused trails on the East side of the stream. Both are remote areas that offer a bit of solitude while remaining close to the Rose Bowl. It is easy to find serenity here, however on the weekends you may find horses in the trail, going for rides from the Equestrian Center on the South end of the park.
It’s also important to note that while the rules of the park are to keep your dog (s) on leash, the culture here sings a different tune. If you dog is timid or more aggressive be careful, many of the dogs here are not on leashes and the owners are reluctant to do so. You may have random dogs appearing solo on the trails in front of you…
All in all, this is a decent hike/​walk/​run. It’s location is convenient and its usage is rather low.

It’s quiet. Lots of people of different backgrounds. But not overcrowded. Lots of trails. As a newbie, I didn’t really know what to expect but I just kept running. Its beautiful, in the rustling city there is this little gem. Great place to get away for a bit.

Plentiful trails for joggers, walkers and dog-​walkers! Beautiful vegetation even in December (mid-​winter). I can see why people get their wedding photography taken against the backdrop of the Colorado Street Bridge and the foilage under it — it’s a hidden gem!

I love bringing my pups here to explore and to get a nice little walk in.
It’s not really much of a hike, but more of a nature (ish) walk.
You can take a few laps around and work up a sweat and there’s never too many people there to crowd your space, but always a few other people walking around (so I feel safe enough to go alone).
Sometimes if it’s empty I get brave and let my dog off leash, but WARNING sometimes the Pasadena PD will ride around on their horses giving tickets to people with their dogs off leash. It’s a stupid ticket you don’t want to get.
Overall, I love this place, it’s quiet, relatively nature-​y, and close to home. I recommend coming here and getting a run in.

I come here all the time to run. There are lots of trails to explore and veer off from. there is an archery range/​course which is pretty neat to watch. The parking lot gets crowded on weekends.
I like to start here at the parking lot and run north along the channel to the Rosebowl run around that and back.
–OR–
I run south from the parking lot to the San Pasqual Stables parking lot cross the channel and run north past the archery range and cross the channel again to get back to the lot.
–OR–
Just go down there and make your own options. there are lots of people enjoying the rec area from horseback riders, archers to dog walkers.

This is really a nice hidden gem that my friend introduced me to in the middle of Pasadena. It was hard to believe that just a few blocks east are the hustle and bustle of the rest of the city. The only thing that betrays the façade of tranquility are the sounds of the nearby freeways.
Some cool things about this place:
Free parking
Lots of trails to explore
Interesting things like the Colorado Blvd bridge that you can walk under
A cute building south of the bridge that’s apparently a cooking school?
Weird reflecting pond south of the parking lot
You can walk north or south till you get bored
If you need some time to relax, think or exercise without distractions, this place is hard to beat due to its location right there in the city. Highly recommend exploring but be careful driving down to the parking lot as it’s a single lane shared by cars going in both directions.

Great hiking with plenty of interesting sights along the way. I particularly like the flexibility of making the hike what you want… a bit more or less of a workout… a bit more or less sun/​shade.
As a bonus, the archery range is a nice diversion from the usual and a fun activity for your older kids. Dogs love this area and owners are pretty decent about picking up after their furbabies.
Honestly, the trail and general area get no complaints from me. But because of that, it’s just so dang popular! You have to get out there pretty early on a Sunday and even earlier on Saturday (more heathens milling about after all ;D) to find parking on the inside. Another bonus though, which I suppose is a trade off to the aforementioned popularity… no Adventure Pass needed.
Careful this time of year… saw a rattlesnake before the heat of the day.

I did about a 6 mile loop hike of the Lower Arroyo Seco parking at the archery parking area and going north to the front of the Rose Bowl and then back south until I got to the equestrian area and golf course. Then I turned north to complete the loop.
I got my information for the hike from Charles Fleming’s article in the August 22, 2011 LA TImes article as part of his series of walking in Los Angeles.
The part of the hike that is the nicest is the area that was returned to a riparian habitat under the Colorado Boulevard and 134 Freeway bridges. It’s very pretty and very un-​city like.

This park is great. It has lots of hiking/​walking/​running trails. The trails actually continue up to the Rose Bowl, past JPL and up into the San Gabriel Mountains. Although the river is in a concrete channel, water has been diverted into a series of streams that water a restored native riparian (stream) habitat. Trails are braided with lots of options. There is also a restored archery field, casting pond and restrooms.
No picnic grounds but lots of quiet benches and places to enjoy the restored landscape.
Also a great place to walk your dogs, but please, use a leash. I’m personally fine with letting dogs off leash but you share these trails with horses (there are stables down steam) and dogs can frighten horses and throw riders.
I come here several days a week.

It is a nice spot for walking my dog!