Pacific Electric Trail Hiking Guide
The Pacific Electric Trail runs along the corridor of the old Red Car interurban line, a paved multi-use path stretching across Rancho Cucamonga and its neighboring cities. It is flat, wide, well-maintained, and lined with trailhead parks, and it delivers something the Inland Empire's mountain trails cannot: a place to walk, run, or roll any distance you want, any day of the year, with the Cucamonga Peak skyline standing over you the whole way.
What the Trail Is
This is a rail-trail built on the right-of-way of the Pacific Electric Railway, the interurban system that once connected Los Angeles to the Inland Empire. The paved path runs many miles east to west through Rancho Cucamonga and into adjacent communities, with numerous access points and small trailhead parks along the route. Because it is a linear corridor rather than a loop, you simply pick an access point, choose a direction, and turn around when you have gone far enough.
Access and Facilities
Access points are scattered throughout the corridor, many with small parking lots, shade structures, water fountains, and restrooms. Everything is free and there are no permits or passes. Because the trail passes through developed areas, you are rarely far from a place to refill water or bail out — a meaningful safety advantage over the foothill trails a few miles north. Street crossings are signalized at major intersections but still require attention.
Who It Serves
The flat pavement makes this the most genuinely accessible route in the region for wheelchairs, strollers, and anyone with mobility limitations. It is also heavily used by cyclists, runners, dog walkers, and commuters. That mix means etiquette matters: keep right, keep dog leashes short rather than extended across the path, and listen for bikes calling a pass. Early mornings are calmest; weekday afternoons bring the most bike traffic.
Views and Setting
The corridor runs along the base of the San Gabriels, and on a clear winter morning the view north to Cucamonga Peak and the Baldy massif — often snow-covered — is genuinely striking from a paved path in the middle of suburbia. Landscaping and mature trees provide intermittent shade, though there are long exposed stretches. Interpretive markers along portions of the route cover the Red Car history that gave the corridor its shape.
Season and Practical Use
The trail is usable year-round, but Inland Empire summers make midday use uncomfortable and the pavement radiates heat — early morning and evening are the sensible windows from June through September. Winter and spring are excellent, particularly after storms when the mountain views sharpen. This is the ideal place to build baseline fitness before tackling Cucamonga Peak or Icehouse Canyon, and a reliable fallback when foothill trails are closed for fire risk or storm damage.
Hiking tips for Pacific Electric Trail
- Use this as your base-fitness route before stepping up to Cucamonga Peak or Icehouse Canyon in the mountains just north.
- Keep dog leashes short rather than extended; this is a busy shared path and long leads across pavement cause collisions.
- Go early or in the evening from June through September, when the pavement radiates heat well past sunset.
- Pick a trailhead park with restrooms and water as your start point, since facilities vary considerably along the corridor.
- Come after a winter storm for the mountain views, when Cucamonga Peak and Baldy stand out snow-covered above the corridor.
Nearby trails to explore
- North Etiwanda Preserve
- Etiwanda Falls
- Cucamonga Peak
Hike this trail with TrailMates
The Pacific Electric Trail is where Inland Empire hikers build the fitness for everything above it. Use TrailMates to find walking and running groups meeting along the corridor in Rancho Cucamonga and Upland. Download the TrailMates app to join one.