Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Tour the La Jolla coastline by bike.

The pleasantly tepid, breezy days of late June and early July (on the coast, at least) are perfect for the following eight-mile bicycle ride from downtown La Jolla to Bird Rock and back. The looping route of eight miles described here offers unparalleled views, the salt-tinged caress of the ocean breeze on your face, and summer temperatures mercifully cooler than just about anywhere else in the county.

Start the ride anywhere you can find a parking place (if, indeed, you need one) in La Jolla. From the general whereabouts of La Jolla Cove, ride on the cliff-hugging sidewalk or on Coast Boulevard south past the grassy expanse of Ellen Browning Scripps Park and the Children's Pool -- a popular rookery for seals these days. After Coast Boulevard merges into Prospect, swing right on Olivetas, following bike-route signs. For the next three miles, these signs direct you circuitously southward, along ocean bluffs packed with cottages and mansions. If you miss a sign, no problem. Just stay as close to the coastline as possible without turning down dead-end streets.

Sponsored
Sponsored

At Neptune Place, the route briefly returns to the surf at Windansea Beach. Continue south on Camino de la Costa and Chelsea Avenue. Beyond Forward Street, the signed bike route sticks with Chelsea for another half-mile, but I'd advise a detour along Calumet Avenue, one block west. Stop at the grassy Calumet Park (on the right side of Calumet Avenue) for a look at the ocean from one of the prime viewing spots on the San Diego coast.

Calumet Avenue bends east, becomes Sea Ridge Drive, and intersects La Jolla Boulevard. Cross here at the light and go one more block to La Jolla Hermosa Avenue. Ride north on this narrow lane (the right-of-way of a long-gone trolley line), for several blocks, again following bike-route signs. After a short jog to the right, the signed route continues north on Beaumont Avenue.

Beaumont Avenue ends after three long blocks, but a narrow blacktop ribbon continues, traversing the base of a hill. This biking path leads to the south end of Fay Avenue at Nautilus Street. Ride north on Fay Avenue back toward your starting point, but skirt the congested main streets of La Jolla by going right at Genter Street, left on Girard Avenue, right on Pearl Street, left on High Avenue, right on Virginia Way, and finally left on Prospect Place.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Ed Kornhauser, Peter Sprague, Stepping Feet, The Thieves About, Benches

The music of Carole King and more in La Jolla, Carlsbad, Little Italy
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Save Ferris brings a clapping crowd to the Belly Up

Maybe the band was a bigger deal than I had remembered

The pleasantly tepid, breezy days of late June and early July (on the coast, at least) are perfect for the following eight-mile bicycle ride from downtown La Jolla to Bird Rock and back. The looping route of eight miles described here offers unparalleled views, the salt-tinged caress of the ocean breeze on your face, and summer temperatures mercifully cooler than just about anywhere else in the county.

Start the ride anywhere you can find a parking place (if, indeed, you need one) in La Jolla. From the general whereabouts of La Jolla Cove, ride on the cliff-hugging sidewalk or on Coast Boulevard south past the grassy expanse of Ellen Browning Scripps Park and the Children's Pool -- a popular rookery for seals these days. After Coast Boulevard merges into Prospect, swing right on Olivetas, following bike-route signs. For the next three miles, these signs direct you circuitously southward, along ocean bluffs packed with cottages and mansions. If you miss a sign, no problem. Just stay as close to the coastline as possible without turning down dead-end streets.

Sponsored
Sponsored

At Neptune Place, the route briefly returns to the surf at Windansea Beach. Continue south on Camino de la Costa and Chelsea Avenue. Beyond Forward Street, the signed bike route sticks with Chelsea for another half-mile, but I'd advise a detour along Calumet Avenue, one block west. Stop at the grassy Calumet Park (on the right side of Calumet Avenue) for a look at the ocean from one of the prime viewing spots on the San Diego coast.

Calumet Avenue bends east, becomes Sea Ridge Drive, and intersects La Jolla Boulevard. Cross here at the light and go one more block to La Jolla Hermosa Avenue. Ride north on this narrow lane (the right-of-way of a long-gone trolley line), for several blocks, again following bike-route signs. After a short jog to the right, the signed route continues north on Beaumont Avenue.

Beaumont Avenue ends after three long blocks, but a narrow blacktop ribbon continues, traversing the base of a hill. This biking path leads to the south end of Fay Avenue at Nautilus Street. Ride north on Fay Avenue back toward your starting point, but skirt the congested main streets of La Jolla by going right at Genter Street, left on Girard Avenue, right on Pearl Street, left on High Avenue, right on Virginia Way, and finally left on Prospect Place.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

I saw Suitcase Man all the time.

Vons. The Grossmont Center Food Court. Heading up Lowell Street
Next Article

Movie poster rejects you've never seen, longlost original artwork

Huge film history stash discovered and photographed
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.