Altadena Riders Want an End to Broken Trails & Promises

Altadena-- Hundreds of riders and hikers took to the broken trails of Altadena Saturday, January 26th to demand developers and local government keep their commitments to replace, repair and care for the trails and equestrian facilities.

According to local residents, the La Vina development on the west end of Altadena destroyed and completely blocked historic trails, including a segment of the Altadena Crest Trail. The developers had promised to re-create and maintain a through trail in their development as a condition of development, but have never done so.

The Altadena Crest Trail runs from Hahamongna (Oak Grove) Park to Eaton Canyon. However, the trail is broken in several places, requiring equestrians, hikers and bikes to take to the streets for long stretches to make the complete trip.

The Loma Alta Park in West Altadena has an equestrian arena and connections to trails, but residents state the trail connection was removed during the La Vina development, and horses must now negotiate steep paved streets to get to the trail.

Loma Alta Park has a riding arena which has been used for several years by a summer equestrian program for local kids with some sponsorship from the County. Each year the program would end with a “playday”, but this was canceled last year by the county claiming the arena was “too small to hold events".

The County of Los Angeles has now proposed building a gymnasium at Loma Alta Park which will impact access to the equestrian arena and trails. Proposed funding for this project is allegedly from Proposition A and La Vina developer fees earmarked for open space and trails.