Bike instead of drive the stunning Pacific Coast Highway

The Pacific Coast Highway is the pinnacle of West coast biking going 1,650 miles from Washington to Mexico. We’ve been wanting to do a more tropical ride so we decided to dip our toes into this highway with unbeatable ocean scenery on the Southern California end. Cycling the entire PCH is definitely on our bike bucket list, especially after getting a small taste in San Diego which marks the very southern end of the highway before merging with I-5 and crossing the border into Tijuana, Mexico.

In order to experience as much of the PCH as we could in one day we took the Ocean Surfliner Amtrak train from downtown San Diego to Oceanside, CA–about an hour ride. This train is specifically designed to transport bikes. That way we only had to ride one way! Since we took the early train, it was a little on the chilly side when we arrived in Oceanside. We looked for a breakfast restaurant to kill some time. We were disappointed to find that there wasn’t much available. So instead we took a stroll down the pier and watched the many surfers hitting the morning waves 

We began our journey about 8am and headed out on Highway 101. Once on this scenic route, navigation is a breeze–just follow the road. We travelled 12 miles in the first hour before pulling over for breakfast in Encinitas. We passed through few smaller beach towns like Carlsbad and Leucadia with plenty of options for food. This stretch has some impressive beach views and a nice bike lane for the majority of the ride. 

After breakfast we headed another 10 miles to Torrey Pines State Reserve. Luckily there is no entrance fee for bikers or walkers. So far there was a surprising amount of rolling hills as I was expecting a rather flat ride. But nothing compared to the grueling climb into Torrey Pines. I actually had to stop a few times to catch my breath and stop my legs from exploding. But the climb was worth the views! The top yields many hiking trails, beach cliffs, ocean views and of course the famous Torrey Pines Golf Course home to the 2017 US Open Championship. 

We took a break from out bikes and hiked the Broken Hill Trail via the North Fork, there was a bike rack right at the trailhead. This 2.5 mile round trip walk was downhill all the way to the beach, through the rocks. At low tide there is beach access and you can walk along the rocky shore all the way to the entrance of the park. We did not make it at low tide, so we climbed the stairs down to the water but didn’t go any further to keep our shoes dry. Unfortunately it’s uphill on the way back, not difficult unless you’ve already biked 20 miles!

We then stopped by the Torrey Pines Golf Course pro shop which was only a 5 minute bike down the road before continuing on. Highly recommend stopping if you’re at all a golf fan. My husband doesn’t typically enjoy souvenir shopping (unlike me) but he could barely control himself around all the snazzy golf gear. Off we went the next 5.5 miles to La Jolla Cove in search of some sea lions. And just what you wanted to hear…another steep hill to get to the popular sea lion spot which is immediately on your right at the top of the hill. Look down by the life guard stand, I’m sure there will be a crowd of people marking the spot, and you’ll likely see and hear a whole pile of sea lions. Remember to keep your distance!

After the detour we quickly stopped at a 7-Eleven down the road for a Gatorade and some Nutter Butters to get our second wind for the 19.5 miles left back to downtown San Diego. From La Jolla on we actually got off the Pacific Coast Highway so we could make some stops at the surrounding beach towns. There was a lot more street biking and navigation, but still most had nice bike lanes. We stopped at the boardwalk of Mission Beach for another snack while watching kite surfers. Lots of food options here, a roller coaster at Belmont Park and great beach access if interested. 

Unfortunately the second half of the ride was further off the coast with limited ocean views especially past Mission Beach. We took detours to look at the Christmas trees at Crystal Pier and Ocean Beach before heading back to our hotel. The entire trip was about 45 miles and we got back just after sunset at 5pm. While we only gained 600ft of elevation the hills were surprisingly difficult. The first 20 miles were the best views of the trip, but I thoroughly enjoyed the entire ride and it definitely made me want to ride more of the Pacific Coast Highway in the future. 

Since the ride was on the highway, it was not the most peaceful ride due to car noise, but for the most part the speed limit didn’t go about 50. However there were nice large bike lanes for about 90% of the 45 miles with only a few sketchy sections. I highly recommend handlebar and tail light lights for safety. We just got these ones for this trip and they were super easy to attach. The road was not super busy this time of year with other bikers. Keep your eyes peeled for surfers doting the different beaches and therefore cars pulling out across the bike lanes at all times. 

This was the first trip we have taken together during the Christmas season. We accidently hit San Diego when multiple areas were having there Christmas festivals and tree lightings. I’ll post a full review of all the Christmas activities we got to attend including Jingle Jets at the USS Midway, the Coronado Holiday Parade and Balboa Park December Nights. I also enjoyed seeing all the Christmas trees on the sand beaches. Such a change from the white Christmases that we’re used to in Montana and an unexpected bonus to our trip!