Pacific Coast Bicycle Route
- Epic Ride
Big trees, big waves, and beautiful beaches all the way from British Columbia to the Mexican border, tracing redwood forests and a rugged, wild coastline.
- Distance
- 1,830 miles
- Surface
- 95% paved
- 2+ months
- Route Type
- Point to Point
Ride the Pacific Coast Bicycle Route
This route runs south from Vancouver, British Columbia, to the Mexican border, and most riders travel southbound to take advantage of the prevailing winds.
What to Expect
This is one of the most popular long-distance touring routes in the country, and it shows: services, campsites, and fellow cyclists are never far away. Expect salt air, crashing surf, and cool fog in the morning, with terrain ranging from flat to rolling in Washington to steep, sustained climbs along the Oregon and Northern California coast. It’s a demanding ride in places, but the steady services and ever-changing ocean views make it one of the most approachable long tours in the network.
Riders pass through the Olympic Peninsula’s forests, along Oregon’s dramatic headlands and sand dunes, and beneath the towering redwoods of Northern California’s Avenue of the Giants. The route crosses the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco, follows the cliffs of Big Sur, and passes lighthouses and barking sea lion colonies along the way. It finishes on Santa Monica’s beachfront bike paths and a ferry ride to Coronado before the final miles to Border Field State Park.
British Columbia and Washington run flat to rolling with a few climbs, while Oregon brings steep coastal climbs over headlands, and Northern California continues hilly along the shoreline and through the redwoods. The Central Coast brings more big climbs along the cliffs of Big Sur, and Southern California flattens into urban riding on beach paths and city streets. The full route includes detailed riding conditions and field notes for every climb and descent.
This route’s services are consistently good, one of its defining features compared to more remote rides in the network. Distances between towns are generally short, though Northern California’s redwood stretches and Big Sur see longer gaps. Cell coverage can drop out in those same stretches, so download your Ride with GPS route for offline use.
Ride this route roughly March through October for the most reliable weather. Riders who start early in the season may spot gray whales migrating offshore. Expect wetter, cooler conditions in the Pacific Northwest and drier, warmer conditions farther south in California. Fog is common along the coast, especially on Northern California mornings, and prevailing northwest winds favor southbound riders.
Route Sections
Vancouver, BC to Astoria, OR, 413.5 miles
From Vancouver, the route heads south through the city’s suburbs and crosses the border into Washington, then runs flat to rolling with a few climbs before crossing the Columbia River into Astoria, Oregon.
Astoria, OR to Crescent City, CA, 407.7 miles
This section follows the Oregon coast’s steep headland climbs and spectacular viewpoints before crossing into Northern California’s redwood country near Crescent City.
Crescent City, CA to San Francisco, CA, 407.8 miles
The route continues through towering redwood forests, including the Avenue of the Giants, and hilly coastal terrain, with ups and downs following the coastline all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge and into San Francisco.
San Francisco, CA to Santa Barbara, CA, 383.1 miles
This section continues down the Central Coast through rocky headlands and the dramatic cliffs of Big Sur before reaching Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara, CA to Imperial Beach, CA, 250.5 miles
From Santa Barbara, the route continues through beachfront bike paths in Santa Monica, then urban cycling through Los Angeles and San Diego suburbs before a ferry to Coronado and a bike path along Silver Strand State Beach to the route’s end at Border Field State Park.
Pacific Coast Bicycle Route Photos
Plan Your Ride
This popular coastal route benefits from strong infrastructure, so most of your planning centers on timing, RV traffic, and campsite reservations.
Trip Planning & Logistics
Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego all offer airport and train connections, making it easy to ride the full route or just a section. Most riders travel southbound to take advantage of the prevailing winds and plan four to six weeks for the full route. Bring a passport or other approved travel document for the border crossing. This route is available in paper and digital formats through Adventure Cycling’s shop and includes routing, detailed service information, riding conditions, and field notes for trip planning.
A standard touring bike suits this route well, since it runs almost entirely on pavement, bike paths, and shore roads. Pack rain gear and fenders for the Pacific Northwest, front and rear lights for fog and tunnels, and layers for cool coastal mornings.
Hiker/biker campsites are a signature feature of this route, set aside for cyclists at many state parks in Washington, Oregon, and California and typically available first come, first served, without a reservation. Reservations for regular sites help during peak summer season, especially near popular coastal towns, and Warmshowers hosts are plentiful in the larger cities.
Services are consistently good along nearly the entire route, though the redwood stretches and Big Sur have longer gaps between towns, so plan resupply ahead through those sections. Along the way, look for clam chowder on the Oregon coast, Dungeness crab in season, and fish tacos in Southern California. Check your digital route in Ride with GPS for service phone numbers, and call ahead for anything outside peak season.
U.S. 101 and Highway 1 see heavy RV traffic during peak summer season, so wear bright clothing and ride defensively. Landslides periodically close parts of Highway 1 through Big Sur, so check road status before heading into that stretch. Use lights in tunnels and fog, watch for logging trucks in Oregon and Northern California, and expect heavy urban traffic in the Los Angeles area.
Always check Adventure Cycling Route Updates and Corrections before you go.
Routes change. Bridges wash out, businesses close, and construction pops up overnight. We strive to keep routes updated as those things happen. When we learn about a change, we reroute around sections that have become dangerous or are temporarily closed for road work, bridge outages, or construction, and we update service information as businesses open, close, or move. Digital routes are updated as soon as we’ve reviewed a reported issue.
You’re often the first to spot these changes out on the road. Help us keep this route accurate for the next rider by reporting anything you notice with our Route Feedback Form.
This Route Is Part of Something Bigger
It’s one piece of the Adventure Cycling Route Network, began in 1976 and built on a simple mission: to empower people to travel by bike. Our team maps and maintains it; our members and donors make it possible.
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Frequently Asked Questions
It’s our flagship, staff-built route network. The one that started it all 50 years ago with the TransAmerica Trail, the route that launched bicycle touring and bikepacking in America. Every route in it is designed and researched by our own team of cyclists and cartographers: months of research and on-the-ground testing go into each one, so what you get is more than a line on a map. Each Adventure Cycling route has detailed logistics, terrain and elevation info, points of interest, camping and lodging, safety alerts, and history, all in one place. It’s the most in-depth of our three networks, available as digital routes and most as paper maps too. It’s the route network we update most regularly as conditions change.
They’re related, but not the same thing. The Adventure Cycling Route Network is made up of routes we’ve researched, ridden, and mapped ourselves, chosen specifically for a great touring or bikepacking experience. The U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS) is a state-by-state national system that we serve as technical experts for, made official through each state’s department of transportation. The two overlap in a lot of places, but an ACRN route carries our own on-the-ground vetting; a USBRS route carries official state recognition.
It depends! If you want a route we’ve personally scouted end to end, with services, camping, and terrain notes built in, start with the Route Network. The ACA Route Network has routes of many different lengths and can be a much easier starting place for someone new to bicycle travel. If you’re an experienced cyclist piecing together an officially designated corridor, or riding somewhere the two systems converge, the interactive USBRS map is a good resource to use.
The Adventure Cycling Route Network is a premium network because of everything that goes into it. Unlike the U.S. Bicycle Route System (built by state DOTs) or Short Routes (submittedby cyclists in their own communities), every Adventure Cycling route is researched, ridden, and vetted end-to-end by our own team. Unlike other routes, Adventure Cycling routes come with extensive information on riding conditions, terrain notes, camping and lodging info, logistics, safety alerts, and points of interest. We also keep it current as roads and services change. The price supports that ongoing research and maintenance work, done by a nonprofit whose whole mission is making sure the route in your hands is one you can trust.
Turn-by-turn directions with a bike icon aren’t the same as a route built for specifically touring or bikepacking. Every mile in the Adventure Cycling Route Network has been researched and ridden by our staff and researchers, chosen to avoid dangerous traffic, and mapped with what a touring cyclist actually needs — food, water, camping, hotels, bike shops — spaced out along the way. The Adventure Cycling Route Network was built for cyclists by cyclists, is regularly updated, and comes with the resources and information needed to plan your ride.
No. The network includes routes for a wide range of experience and difficulty levels, from a first multi-day trip to a cross-country expedition. What every route has in common is that it was chosen with a touring cyclist’s needs in mind, whatever kind of trip you’re planning.
Not at all. Alongside iconic long-distance routes like the TransAmerica Trail, the network includes shorter regional routes, so it works for a weeklong vacation or a two-month journey.
For many years, we focused on paved routes, but today the network includes plenty of unpaved gravel riding for bikepacking. In fact, Adventure Cycling mapped the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route in 1998, arguably the most impactful bikepacking route in the world. The Adventure Cycling Route Network also includes the Golden Gravel Trail, Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route, Arkansas High Country Route, and more. Some routes are a 50/50 mix of pavement and gravel. Some routes follow paved and unpaved bike paths and rail trails. The Adventure Cycling Route Network has terrain for every cyclist.
We revisit our printed maps every three to five years, and push corrections to our digital route data as we learn about changes on the ground. If you have an Adventure Cycling Route in Ride with GPS that we’ve updated, you’ll get a notification when you open the route to update to the newest version of the route. Updating will ensure you have the latest data, information, and points of interest vital to being on route. For cyclists who have Adventure Cycling paper maps, we keep a list of route- and section-specific updates current on our Map Updates and Corrections page.
Change comes from two directions: our own staff research and reports from the cyclists actually out there riding them. If a bridge washes out, a shoulder disappears, a campground closes for repairs, or a town loses its only grocery store, that’s the kind of thing that triggers an update. You can help us keep our routes accurate; fill out our Route Feedback Form.
Most of our Adventure Cycling Routes come as waterproof print maps and digital Ride with GPS navigational data. Our print maps are the #1 longstanding popular resource for traveling cyclists. They are waterproof, highly detailed and always work. For long trips, many cyclists use a combination of print maps and digital routes.
If you’re already comfortable and familiar with a GPS navigational aid such as Ride with GPS or a Garmin, our digital data packages are an excellent choice. We do not recommend GPX data for beginners since there are a few extra steps to installing and troubleshooting.
Once you purchase a digital route, you’ll get an email with a link to unlock it in the free Ride with GPS app — no separate subscription required for basic navigation. From there you get turn-by-turn voice directions, curated points of interest like campgrounds and bike shops, and field notes on the history, geography, and climate along your route, all available 100% offline. If you’drather use a dedicated GPS device, you can export the route as a GPX file to load onto a Garmin, Wahoo, or similar device.
To export GPX files of your Adventure Cycling digital route, use your laptop or desktop to open the email you received after purchasing your digital route. Click on the link that allows you to access your Digital Route. Finally, click on EXPORT ALL at the bottom of the screen. This is the only way to export files that include the route line, points of interest, and services. Files will be exported as one ZIP file.
Adventure Cycling uses abbreviations across its paper and digital routes to indicate particular services, land or road types, route names, direction of travel, and route type. Please see our key to abbreviations.
If you have questions on how to purchase a digital route or about the route content, please contact Adventure Cycling: cartography@adventurecycling.org or 406-721-1776.
If you have questions on how to use your Digital Route in Ride with GPS, please check the Ride with GPS support page or email them at info@ridewithgps.com.
If you’re new to Ride with GPS, please check out the following resources:
Our print map panels aren’t always oriented northwards for space and layout reasons. Refer to the north arrows to help orient yourself if you’re not sure.
No. The Routes and Mapping Department does not do custom routes for individuals. Check out the routes we’ve already mapped, and use the interactive map to piece our route networks together, forming a route that gets you from a point A to point B of your choice.
It started with a single route. In 1976, we mapped the TransAmerica Trail, and more than 4,000 cyclists crossed the country together for Bikecentennial — the nation’s bicentennial cycling celebration our founders organized. That one route became the seed of a network we’ve spent the decades since expanding. Today it’s more than 58,000 miles of mapped routes across the U.S. and Canada, from classic epics like the TransAmerica Trail, Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, and Pacific Coast, to shorter regional routes.