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

City streets and concrete paths accommodate bicyclists along San Diego Bay.

Here's a bicycle ride that's practically a land-based equivalent of a harbor cruise on San Diego Bay. Over an out-and-back stretch of 16 miles, you're seldom far from the water, and the ease of gliding over nearly flat terrain lets you concentrate on the sights. Water fountains and public restrooms are available at frequent intervals along the route.

Boats docked in San Diego Bay

Sponsored
Sponsored

Start at or near the foot of Broadway, where parking is easy to come by if you arrive during favorable hours for the ride -- early morning or post-suppertime on Saturday or Sunday. Wend your way north along the Embarcadero, passing the Maritime Museum's Star of India sailing ship. Beyond the stately County Administration Center, the old wood-planked Embarcadero has been replaced by a durable concrete seawall, flower beds, and paved paths that accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians. This is no place for speed, especially when walkers and runners jam the way.

Foot traffic thins as you follow the path (a concrete sidewalk now) west along Harbor Drive toward Lindbergh Field. Opposite the airport, at Harbor Island's entrance, stay left and take a spin around Harbor Island itself. The island -- actually an artificial sandbar -- has a long, linear public park next to its row of hotels and parking lots. Ride on the road surface here; the sidewalk right next to the water is for pedestrians only. San Diego's downtown skyline gleams impressively from this vantage, especially near sunset on sunny evenings.

Back at the island entrance, resume your travel west on the marked bike path. After about one mile, a bike-route sign directs you onto the Harbor Drive bridge, which goes over an arm of the bay. Continue west, passing some Navy facilities and two traffic lights, to a frontage road on the left. Near the defunct Tarantino's Restaurant, jog left and pick up the sidewalk that curves left around the boat docks and sportfishing terminals.

Work your way around to Scott Street, and then down Shelter Island Drive toward Shelter Island. Again there's a mix of private and public development, and again you must ride on the road -- not on the scenic walkway -- to explore the island's length.

The trip back to the foot of Broadway can be quick and more direct. Use Scott Street to reach Harbor Drive, then retrace the marked bike path paralleling Harbor Drive.

The latest copy of the Reader

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

Hike off those holiday calories, Poinsettias are peaking

Winter Solstice is here and what is winter?
Next Article

Bringing Order to the Christmas Chaos

There is a sense of grandeur in Messiah that period performance mavens miss.

Here's a bicycle ride that's practically a land-based equivalent of a harbor cruise on San Diego Bay. Over an out-and-back stretch of 16 miles, you're seldom far from the water, and the ease of gliding over nearly flat terrain lets you concentrate on the sights. Water fountains and public restrooms are available at frequent intervals along the route.

Boats docked in San Diego Bay

Sponsored
Sponsored

Start at or near the foot of Broadway, where parking is easy to come by if you arrive during favorable hours for the ride -- early morning or post-suppertime on Saturday or Sunday. Wend your way north along the Embarcadero, passing the Maritime Museum's Star of India sailing ship. Beyond the stately County Administration Center, the old wood-planked Embarcadero has been replaced by a durable concrete seawall, flower beds, and paved paths that accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians. This is no place for speed, especially when walkers and runners jam the way.

Foot traffic thins as you follow the path (a concrete sidewalk now) west along Harbor Drive toward Lindbergh Field. Opposite the airport, at Harbor Island's entrance, stay left and take a spin around Harbor Island itself. The island -- actually an artificial sandbar -- has a long, linear public park next to its row of hotels and parking lots. Ride on the road surface here; the sidewalk right next to the water is for pedestrians only. San Diego's downtown skyline gleams impressively from this vantage, especially near sunset on sunny evenings.

Back at the island entrance, resume your travel west on the marked bike path. After about one mile, a bike-route sign directs you onto the Harbor Drive bridge, which goes over an arm of the bay. Continue west, passing some Navy facilities and two traffic lights, to a frontage road on the left. Near the defunct Tarantino's Restaurant, jog left and pick up the sidewalk that curves left around the boat docks and sportfishing terminals.

Work your way around to Scott Street, and then down Shelter Island Drive toward Shelter Island. Again there's a mix of private and public development, and again you must ride on the road -- not on the scenic walkway -- to explore the island's length.

The trip back to the foot of Broadway can be quick and more direct. Use Scott Street to reach Harbor Drive, then retrace the marked bike path paralleling Harbor Drive.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

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

Operatic Gender Wars

Are there any operas with all-female choruses?
Next Article

Born & Raised offers a less decadent Holiday Punch

Cognac serves to lighten the mood
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.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader