The California Cycleway was an elevated wooden bicycle path constructed in Southern California at the turn of the 20th century. Conceived by Horace Dobbins, the ambitious project aimed to provide a dedicated, grade-separated route for cyclists between Pasadena and Los Angeles, a distance of approximately nine miles (14 km).
Construction began in 1897, with the first and only section, a 1.25-mile (2 km) stretch from Pasadena to the Los Angeles city limits (near the Arroyo Seco), opening in 1900. The cycleway featured two 8-foot (2.4 m) wide wooden paths, elevated on stilts above the terrain, spaced 50 feet (15 m) apart. It was designed to allow cyclists to travel at high speeds without interference from pedestrians or horse-drawn carriages, offering refreshment stands and electric lighting for night use. A toll of 10 cents was charged for its use.
Despite its innovative design and initial popularity, the California Cycleway's existence was brief. The rapid rise of the automobile began to supplant the bicycle as the primary mode of personal transportation, diminishing the demand for such a facility. A severe storm in 1905 damaged a portion of the structure, and with declining ridership, the cycleway ultimately proved financially unsustainable. The remaining sections were eventually dismantled, with parts of its right-of-way later incorporated into the Arroyo Seco Parkway (Route 110), one of California's first freeways. Today, only scattered remnants of its original wooden pilings remain visible in the Arroyo Seco.