Best bikepaths in SF? (Los Angeles, San Francisco: 2015, hotels, camp)

[IamReady2Move]

I live in LA, and thinking of a road trip to San Francisco this month. I'm a cycling enthusiast, and I'm planning on bringing my bike.

Any favorite bikepaths/bike rides you can recommend?

[humboldtrat]

Golden Gate Park - Biking in Golden Gate Park

It's all flat and near the beach. It can also be foggy, cold and windy. Dress accordingly.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by IamReady2Move

I live in LA, and thinking of a road trip to San Francisco this month. I'm a cycling enthusiast, and I'm planning on bringing my bike.

Any favorite bikepaths/bike rides you can recommend?

In SF:
The ride along the Embarcadero (starting around AT&T Park), through Fisherman's wharf, and along the water to (and across, if you want) the Golden Gate Bridge is really nice. This link describes this ride well. From there, you can bike through the Presidio, which has many bike lanes and multi-use paths.

Biking through Golden Gate Park is always nice, too (I advise starting at the Panhandle bike path and continuing through the park on JFK, which is a better biking route than MLK - especially on Sundays when most of JFK is closed to traffic).

Also, it's good to note that SF overall is very bike friendly (although it's best to try to avoid the hills, when possible). This is a good resource for biking in the City. Since it's so bike friendly, you should be able to bike to whatever starting point you have in mind (such as a ride through GG Park).


Outside of SF, there are a lot of great trails and rides all throughout the Bay Area:

In Marin:
You have a number of really good options from the GG Bridge. One of my favorites is the ride though the Marin Headlands (something like this). Another good ride, which would give you a longer tour of Marin, is the Tiburon loop ride (something like this).

On the peninsula:
A couple of nice rides/paths exist in the Crystal Springs Trail (with two biking parts split between the the San Andreas trail segment and the Sawyer Camp trail segment), along Canada Road (part of which is closed to vehicle traffic Sunday mornings and early afternoons - a stop in Woodside is recommended, if you do that), and along the Bay Trail . And if you have the energy/endurance for it, biking up to Skyline Blvd is a really challenging and satisfying ride, too (something like this) - some people even go all of the way to the ocean (Pescadero and San Gregorio).

East Bay:
I'm not as familiar with the East Bay, but I know it has nice biking. For instance, also with the Bay Trail and with the Bay Bridge bike path (only on the Eastern Span). I'm sure others more familiar will chime in.

I know the South Bay has a lot of great bike paths, but I'm also not very familiar with them. Others could chime in there, too.

Most, if not all, of these bike paths/routes are accessible by public transit (BART or Caltrain, mainly), so you don't necessarily have to lug your bike in your car all around the area.

I know there are a ton of great Mt. Biking options abound here, too - but I never mountain bike, so don't have any specific recommendations.

[jade408]

In the East Bay, the Bay Trail goes pretty far along the bay, not all the way done yet, but it will go from Fremont to Richmond - about 50 miles in total.

Another east bay ride is the Iron Horse Trail, this goes about 40 miles from Walnut Creek to Dublin/Livermore (30+ miles). You can hop off the BART at either Walnut Creek or Dublin and access the trail within a half mile. It runs thought town but is a dedicated path. I haven't tried biking Tilden Park in the Berkeley / Oakland Hills, but that is a good option too. You can bike to either Orinda or Lafayette.

A friend k=biked wine country Livermore, and you can also bike Sonoma/Napa county wineries too if you want to combine your ride with some drinking!

Here is another East Bay Wine Tour: CA Wine Country Bicycle Tour alt. - East Bay Winery Bike Tours
This one is Ferry accessible!

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by IamReady2Move

I live in LA, and thinking of a road trip to San Francisco this month. I'm a cycling enthusiast, and I'm planning on bringing my bike.

Any favorite bikepaths/bike rides you can recommend?

I love biking from Fisherman's Wharf to Sausalito and taking the Ferry back. It's a gorgeous and very bike friendly route.

[mini_cute]

In addition to what other poster's have recommended, here is a great resource for biking specifically in SF: ilovebikingsf.wordpress.com

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

I love biking from Fisherman's Wharf to Sausalito and taking the Ferry back. It's a gorgeous and very bike friendly route.

Agreed - but the OP should understand that this is a very popular idea, and ferries sometimes run out of space for bikes. Best to do that earlier in the day to avoid the crowds of cyclists looking to return to the city in the late afternoon/evening.

[sn63]

Originally Posted by IamReady2Move

I live in LA, and thinking of a road trip to San Francisco this month. I'm a cycling enthusiast, and I'm planning on bringing my bike.

Any favorite bikepaths/bike rides you can recommend?

What type of bike?

[IamReady2Move]

I have a mountain bike. So I can handle some hills, my understanding is SF is pretty hilly. That's part of the adventure of going to a new place.

Just read on another thread there's a big software conference called 'DreamForce' in town the week I was planning to go. Apparently all the hotels have upped their prices. I'm driving up from Los Angeles, but I was going to spend one night in a motel than drive back the same day. Gonna see what I can get motel-wise.

[sn63]

I would suggest Bay Area Mountain Bike Rides and you can browse around and see what sounds interesting. If I had someone in town and could take them to one place to mountain bike it would be Skeggs Point. It is great mountain biking area and is covered in redwood trees.