mwandaw

I have been riding regularly on the San Gabriel River Trail and Coyote Creek River Trail the past several months. During that time it hasn't rained. Now that it has, all the entry points in my area are locked, for obvious reasons.

Typically, how long is it before the gates are opened?

TrojanHorse

Usually when they drain - some of the underpasses have a tendency to flood, obviously.

Pamestique 

it's very important to heed closures ... I get on a paved MUP that the it seems like the trails or OK to ride but just this weekend, even with the severe weather and warnings that all trails into the Santa Ana Mountains were close, someone decided to ride anyway, got lost and was found dead yesterday. I'm sure he probably slipped off a muddy trail... If one decides to ride (I rode yesterday in the rain so I get it!) please take care and don't take risks! Most paved trails will open when debris and mud is clear and water levels have subsided and most dirt trails need at least 48 hours to dry out.

beerfish

SGRT was open today, although keep an eye out when you go under PCH, South Street, etc. There was some sandy spots, and scattered debris.

mwandaw

Near the south ends of SGRT and Coyote Creek the majority of the rain was over by Saturday night. At that time my wife and I drove to the Centralia overpass of the Coyote Creek and were impressed at how full it was. I would guess it was about 2/3 full. We've only been riding regularly in the area for a while, and we have never seen it like that!

Sunday morning - about 12 hours later - it was a completely different story. The water had declined considerably and only filled the small channel at the very bottom. I would guess it was less than 1/10 full. What a difference in just a short period of time! We reminded ourselves that it can fill up just as fast. The gates were still closed.

Monday morning I found a Bike Coordinator number and lots of other information at https://dpw.lacounty.gov/bike I called and left a message and got a reply within half an hour. The man told me that he was no longer the coordinator (the number on the website is outdated), but he was able to give me general guidelines about when the gates are opened after a storm.

He said that generally the gates are open the day after the storm passes, as long as there is no more rain forecast for the next 24 hours. I don't know if the gates would be open so quickly if the day after the storm falls on a weekend.

Later on Monday I was able to ride my regular route along Coyote Creek and SGRT. The only obvious sign of the storm that I saw was a pile of debris along the trail on the west side of Coyote Creek beneath Centralia. It looked like the water had been that high.

Ride safe!