1. Your neighborhood. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with your beach cruiser before heading out on a trail with other bikers, skaters, or walkers. Know how your bike rides, how fast your bike goes easily, and how you handle the bike. Touring your own neighborhood is also a good way to get out and see where you live instead of driving your daily route to get somewhere quickly.
2. Coronado Bike Path: This 17.1-mile bike path is a nice cruise between the Coronado Ferry Terminal and Imperial Beach. This trail is relatively flat with a nice wide path for easy walking. The path can be busy on the weekends with joggers, rollerbladers, other bicyclists, and walkers also using the path. This trail can also be windy most afternoons. The path winds around the outskirts of Coronado and then down Silver Strand. The Pacific Ocean is on one side and the San Diego Bay on the other side of this promenade. The path is well maintained in most areas. The San Diego side of the trail gets a little rougher as the road has a few more crevasses.
3. Mission Bay Bike Path: 11.4 miles around beautiful Mission Bay. This path tends to get heavily trafficked on the weekends, as cyclists, runners, walkers, and inline skaters use it as well. This has many launch points throughout Mission Bay. Elevation change is minimal, making this ride great for a single speed Beach Cruiser as well. This path also takes the cyclist along the San Diego River and SeaWorld.
4. Mission Beach/Pacific Beach Boardwalk: About 3 miles of fun along the Pacific Ocean. There is a speed limit on this road along the beach. It can be crowded during the peak tourist season. There are no elevation changes along this route. There are many places to stop and enjoy the Pacific Ocean, have a bite to eat or a drink. Belmont Park is an amusement park in the area that is home to a wooden roller coaster.
5. State Route 56 Bike Path: This 10.3-mile-long route runs from Del Mar to the Saber Springs neighborhoods of San Diego. There are a few food places at both ends of the trail, but not much in between. There is a significant quarter mile uphill when going from west to east. This route is not a popular tourist route, but it is popular with bike enthusiasts and local joggers.
Above are some bike rides through downtown San Diego for the inner Beach Cruiser enthusiast in all of us. Beach Cruisers can be used for more than just a beach cruise. However, if it’s a beach cruise that you’re looking for, they are listed as well.
