Pacific Coast Trail

A beautiful & challenging route from Vancouver, B.C. to San Diego, CA. (or vice versa)

Welcome friends to the “Local Routes” section of Get-Into-Cycling.com. In this page, we will take a look at the beautiful "Pacific coast Trail." In reality, this route is more of a “long distance” one than a local route, but since we are only touching on a segment of the route, we’ll keep it in this category for now.

In short, the Pacific Coast Trail begins (or ends depending on where you start) in the Southern most tip of California in the City of San Diego and winds its way thru many different locations, both urban and rural. The majority of the route hugs the Pacific coastline (hence its namesake), crosses into the wonderful states of Oregon and Washington before coming to an end in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada.. The entire route is 1836 miles in length......whew! I’m tired just thinking about it.

The segment shown in the photos in this page are located near Seacliff and Mussel Shoals which is just south of Santa Barbara, California along U.S. Hwy 101. As you can see, this is a very beautiful segment of the route, but it is only a small portion of a great route waiting for you to explore.

Now before you hop on your bike and tackle this great route, much preparation and care must be exercised: Unlike the other routes previewed here, this route is definitely not for beginners. You must be in top physical condition to ride a route such as this in its entirety. Additionally, your bike and equipment needs to be in good shape as well. Unless you are participating in an organized tour, you will need to carry your own food and supplies with you. For more information on this, see our "Trip Preparation" page for some tips to help you prepare for a long tour such as this.

Of course, you can still enjoy this route in small, manageable segments. But depending on which segment you choose to ride, you must still exercise caution. Contrary to most routes that travel along a dedicated bike path, certain parts of this route travel along U.S. Hwy 101 which is a major north/south artery. So aside from other cyclist, you will also share the road with cars, trucks, RV’s, etc. And since the route travels along the coast, not to mention thru rural country sides, weather can also be unpredictable, so prepare accordingly. See our segment called the "All Weather Cyclist" for tips for preparing for adverse weather conditions.

There are many fine sites on the internet and books available for you to look thru to help you prepare your ride along this great route. So do your research and enjoy the sites, smells and sounds of the Pacific Coast Trail. It truly is a breath-taking experience. Don’t forget your camera!

Pacific Coast Trail: Return to Loaded Tourist Home