Where is the San Luis Rey Bike Trail in Oceanside, CA?
Top 4 things to know about the San Luis Rey Bike Trail in Oceanside, CA.
1. Where to Park
For parking, park at Mance Buchannan Park at 425 College Blvd, Oceanside, CA 92057. Parking is free at Mance Buchannan and as long as you get there early there is usually plenty of parking. Weekends and holidays might be a little busier so you'll want to get there earlier.
2. What the Trail is like
The beauty of the San Luis Rey Bike Trail is that it is a completely paved, off-road path. This is by far the best biking conditions you can get!
It's important to note that this is a class 1 bike trail. And that means you should maintain a speed limit of no more than 20 mph. You want to pretend you're traffic and abide by those rules of the road.
The trail is 7 miles one way, but it's mostly flat. Every so often you'll go slightly downhill, under a bridge, but it's not hard to get back up the otherside. When you have an ebike, you don't really have to worry about the uphills and the downhills, because you'll have the motor assist to help you along the way.
3. Where to Ride
Now when you're riding an ebike. It's important to be very safe and a good ambasador for the ebike community. You want to be careful of joggers, walkers, and kids on bikes. It's also a good idea to have a bell to let them know you're nearby and going to pass.
As you approach the Oceanside harbor, you're going to go under the 5 freeway bridge and then the train bridge. But there's a fork in the road and you should go right if you're going towards the harbor and left if you're heading towards the pier.
There's mile indicators painted on the trail to let you know where you are.
The Bike Trail ends on Pacific street. It's important to note there's no bike lines, but the entire lane is a bike lane and you have every right to operate your ebike safely in the street. So maintain the speed limit, pretend you're a motorcycle or another car and drive that way. Anyone walking the crosswalk, you should stop. You should learn a few hand signals to indicate to others left, right, and stop. And just be aware of your surroundings, other traffic, and rules of the road.
When you've had a full day and are ready to head back on the 7 mile path to Buchanan park, The trailhead starts at Pacific St. and N. Coast Village Way.
Please watch the video at the top of the page for the most detailed directions.
4. What to See
Along the trail there's lot's of open landscape where you'll see fields and look out over the river mouth. At the coastline, where the San Luis Rey Trail ends, you can go down to the Oceanside pier and the harbor. Here you'll see beaches and maybe even some wildlife too!
There's plenty of nice cafe's and restaurants to stop for a drink and bite to eat. There's even some shopping and public restrooms as well.
No matter where you go when you're down here, you'll be sure to find palm tress, nice weather and the surf. Rididng an E-Bike in California just doesn't get any better!
