Mount Soledad offers great views of the city and is accessible for those getting more serious about riding their bike in San Diego
If you live in San Diego and you are gettnig more serious about riding your bicycle you are going to have to tackle a hill at some point. The hill in the San Diego beach/downtown area that gives you the most bang for the buck is probably Mount Soledad. At the top you get a 360 degree view of the beaches, the bay, and the mountains.
You will need a bike with gears. Any trip up Soledad should be taken seriously for the rider that is just getting more serious about their cycling. This is the type of ride that is difficult to easily categorize. You can think of this ride as a "transitional" level ride between the rider that is just getting more serious and an entry level club rider. Depending on your level of fitness it will be manageable or difficult. So, if you are up to a challenge you should be able to make the climb. The route up Mt. Soledad road is one of the longest routes up the hill but it is also the least steep way to travel. Give it a try. The worst case scenario is that you don't make it and you can turn around and head back down and enjoy the scenery. On the other hand, if you find that you still have some energey at the top - ride up twice.
View Mission Bay to Soledad in a larger map
This ride starts at the kiddie park at Mission bay. An alternate starting point is the visitor center just up the road. At the kiddie park there is a bathroom. We routinely drink the water from the sink and have not gotten sick yet. Not sure if that means it is safe but there you have it.
Take a left out of the kiddie park on East Mission Bay Drive and wind your way around the bay. When you come to the end of the road, take a right on the bike path. The bike path will go under some underpasses. If you see puddles under an underpass try to avoid riding through them. It rarely rains in San Diego if you know what I mean.
There are a few right hand exits off of the bike path. Take the exit on to Garnett Avenue. Make a right onto Garnett. Take your first right on Pico Street and then a quick left on Felspar Street. Your next right will me Mount Soledad Road. Take the right and head up the hill. Soledad road ends at a T-intersection with LaJolla Scenic Drive South. Take a right and keep on going straight on Soledad Park Road. At the top of the road there is a cross and veterans memorial. There is also a water fountain on the east side of the memorial.
To get home just turnaround and back track. Be careful going down Soledad if you are at all inexperienced riding down hills.
To download additional information about your ride, right click on
the links below and then click "save link as" to download the file to
your computer.
Download a GPX file you can use to upload to your Garmin
Download a KML file you can use to upload to Google Maps or Google Earth
