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South Bay Bicycle Trail
Rating Details »
Categories: Fitness & Instruction, Parks [Edit]
Will Rogers State BeachTorrance County Beach
Santa Monica, CA 90407
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
9 reviews for South Bay Bicycle Trail
A lot of beach. A lot of flat ground. A fun way to see the different piers in Los Angeles County during one continuous ride.
As someone that has ridden this trail from Malibu to Torrance and back (40 miles ish?), I have to say that this is one of my favorite things to do in all of Los Angeles County, maybe because it covers a good deal of it? I have to say that while it is great, it does get a little repetitive because it's just miles of endless coastline and Southern California goodness. However, the joys of riding through each major beach (Santa Monica, Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo) pier makes this is worthwhile and fun, easy ride.
Either a good thing or a bad thing is the fact that the ride is mostly flat. Outside of some variation in the Playa Del Rey area, you're pretty much riding flat for most of the way. Beach on one side, street on the other. There are some parts where you'll ride on the street to stay on the path (Marina Del Rey, you'll hop on Washington for a bit. I think in Redondo you go on the street to keep going on the path), so that'll keep your sanity and make you feel pretty gangsta that you're stepping up to the streets and not just staying by the beach.
It's fun and really fascinating to see the different mixes of people at each of the South Bay beaches. You can slow down by the piers to check out some shops or grab some ice cream, or just cruise by and take it all in on the go. There is a lot of foot traffic as you get close to the piers, along with riders that are much more hardcore than you that will zoom past you and make you feel like you have no manhood, but I think it's the trade off for having such a great bike path available.
I had done the Malibu through Venice ride so many times and didn't realize that the path continues down through MDR and all the South Bay beaches. So if you're like I once was and always stopped when you get to C&O's on Washington, just ride down Washington for a bit and after you pass the lagoon on your right, the path will be on your right. That'll take you on a path that goes to Dockweiler, through El Segundo and to Manhattan Beach. I never knew!
You can do it! Start in Malibu and come all the way down to Torrance! You'll be really proud of yourself and you'll walk like a cowboy when you get to work on Monday.
Great way to escape the summer heat and get a workout. The ocean view and ocean breeze makes this feel like a mini vacation. I like to start out in Playa Del Rey and ride to Redondo Beach about 13 miles. Get there before 10AM on busy weekends to avoid the traffic and find parking. I have seen bike rentals at Dockweiler Beach and Redondo Beach. This is a great place to people watch as the beaches along the path are very popular. See some of the most desirable and expensive real estate in California along the Hermosa and Manhattan Beach sections. There are many places to stop and eat especially along the Strand in Manhattan Beach. You can usually see a professional volleyball event taking place during the summer months. At times the path can get a bit congested so that something to be aware of.
This is a fun trail for a leisurely bike ride. We rented bikes from Sea Mist Rentals at a rate of $15/day. Yeah, the cogs were a mess, as were the derailleurs and gear shifters, but it was still fun. We left early (10 am) and missed the crowds as we made our way south along the shore. However, by noon the beach was crowded and plenty of people were blocking the bike path. However, dodging people was fun and the weather was right. There three miles to the north of Santa Monica Pier, towards Will Rogers, was a bit less crowed. I think there is around 20 miles of trail.
So much fun, and so pretty. We parked by the Santa Monica pier and rented bikes at the shop just past there ($7/hour or $22 for the day) but it looked like the couple shops past that one had a better selection of bikes...our cruisers were kinda old and rusty (would have been worth it to try to cram my own bike into my car).
Got a little lost around Marina del Rey where the pathway goes into the streets, probably because we weren't paying attention. Either way though, it's a great way to spend the afternoon, getting a little exercise, having lunch outdoors, and enjoying all the scenery and people watching (even the ones that strollllll lazily right in the middle of the lane). Would be the perfect activity for a weekday sunset in the summer....though the weekend WAS a little crowded, especially right around Venice.
What a great workout? It can be free if you have a bike, or simply rent one from any of the local bike stores along the beach.
I highly recommend doing this ride at least once. Choose a beautiful California day, be sure to put on sunblack, recruit a friend, and bike down the coast of southern California. It's a 22 mile bike ride. I only went from Santa Monic to Manhattan Beach. It was lots of fun going there. We stopped for lunch and then headed back. I forgot how tired I would be on the way back, so it was a bit of a trek and I was definitely feeling it at the end of the ride, but I felt great. For the two of us down and back with a stop for lunch was 4.5 hours.
Why was it so great? We enjoyed the ocean air, the boats on the water, the waves crashing down, the people watching, the volleyball games in action...We were outdoors excerising and catching up at the same time.
A couple of receommendations:
Try to do it on a week day because then it'll be less crowded. On the weekend it tends to get really crowded.
Wear sunscreen. If you aren't used to biking all the time, you will not realize what parts of your body is exposed. Get your thighs and your wrists!!! I got a wicked, funny burn on my thighs and on my wrists because of holding the handle bars.
so, as you know (if you read my reviews, but if you don't thats fine with me because chances are you're probably not reading this one either) i purchased a bicycle last friday. a beautiful orange pearl electra townie that shall be hence forth known as 'tang'. since i got tang on friday, i simply had to test her out in the wild. what is she going to do? sit and look pretty in the garage? hell no.
my friend and i have been looking for ways to get fit (trust me, this ties in to the paragraph above) and researched a whole bunch of things from the santa monica stairs to runyon canyon. we also found the south bay bike trail. it looked like the exercise for us: open spaces, fresh air, possible cute guys on the beach. what more could you want? so i decided to drag her out on saturday in order to test tang's comfiness and capabilities (see! there's the tie in). so we headed down to will rogers, rented her a bike, and off we went.
i loved the south bay bicycle trail! it was fantastic. mostly flat with some slight up hill areas, you can ride on this thing for hours and not really feel miserable. you can look at the gorgeous ocean or marvel at the variety of freaks in the santa monica/venice area. the only downside is stupid people. apparently they can't read when it says "BICYCLES ONLY" and decide that it would be far better to walk in the middle of the bicycle lane. oh yes. i love scaring the pedestrians by shouting "ON YOUR LEFT" as i whizz by. take that! maybe next time your ass will walk where its supposed to be... ON THE PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY. sheesh.
we rode all the way down to marina del rey (7 miles), had lunch, then turned around to come back. such a great, peaceful ride. around the marina del rey area, you do have to detour from the beach and take the street to get around the harbor area. not really so bad as the bike lanes are fairly wide and the drivers seem to be more concious of the influx of bicycle riders in the area. just know your hand signals and you should be ok as there are signs to guide you back to the trail. i think this sunday is going to be a ride to redondo beach. i can make it. thank god i have my trusty cupholder for that redbull.
I love riding my bike. One of my favorite ways to spend a sunny afternoon is riding said bike from my place in PDR to either Santa Monica or Torrance, via the South Bay Bicycle trail. The path borders the ocean from Will Rogers State Beach on the north end, all the way to Torrance beach on the south. You've got the ocean, beautiful beaches and beautiful people biking, running and skating. It does get a super crowded on the weekends, especially in the summer, but that does offer you fabulous people watching, so it's an agreeable trade-off in my opinion.
Plus there are plenty of spots in which to engage in one of my favorite pastimes: bicycle pub-crawling. Yay!
P.S.A.:
Please, if you're going to use the trail, be aware there are other people using it and look where you are going. I have had some close calls with people stopping dead in their tracks to look at something/someone, without looking behind them, and with people walking/running across the path without looking. Sometimes I forget how clueless the average human is; the bike trail has a way of reminding me. Be aware of your surroundings...your body and your fellow bike path enthusiasts with thank you.
This is arguably my favorite way to spend a mild weekend afternoon in L.A. While it goes without saying that I'm kind of a freak and I've actually biked this entire trail (and back) in a single day, nevertheless the variety of sights on this path (and the fact that it's, you know, on the beach) makes for a really wonderful trip. I usually start around the Santa Monica Pier (the trail runs all the way up to my favorite beach spots near Temescal Cyn), and take the path all the way south to where it ends just shy of Malaga Cove in PV.
Highlights include:
- Cruising past the fancy-schmancy beachfront hotels in Santa Monica.
- Getting a drive-by snapshot of the culture of Venice on the weekends. Just an indispensable, fascinating aspect of this city.
- After the Venice Pier, biking down Washington to pick up the trail again, and laughing at your friends who are frightened by biking 2 inches away from passing traffic.
- Biking right past the boats in dock at Marina del Rey.
- The herons near Ballona Creek.
- The LOOOOOONG expanse of Dockweiler Beach. Whenever I bike this I feel like I get a sense of what it was like for the Israelites being lost in the desert. It's hot; it's ugly; there are planes taking off right over your head; at one point there are a bunch of smug hang-gliders (OK, I don't know if they're smug. Whatever). This is not pleasant. But I guess it builds character. Or something.
- Biking among the beach homes on the Strand in Hermosa. Passing an uncountable number of bikini-clad girls playing volleyball. And having lunch by the Hermosa Pier.
- Following a bike path through a PARKING GARAGE in Redondo.
- The Torrance beach where the path ends. This beach is actually really pretty.
- Biking ALL THE WAY back, usually into a stiff breeze. Good times.
One recommendation: a lot of sunblock.
It's so nice to get away from cars and smog when the weather is nice out. Breathing the ocean air, no speed limits, being able to stop and park and turn around anywhere I feel like. I feel so liberated whenever I'm on my bike. I usually ride down from Santa Monica. These bike trails are my favorite thing about Los Angeles. The beach is absolutely stunning at sunset especially when you're on a bike.
