Southern California - Cycling from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara - Looking for Route-Planning Help

Hello all,

I hope that this hasn't been discussed too much here, and also that I'm posting in the right place. Feel free to point me to any previous posts that might be relevant or any other forums that might be good to go to in addition to this one for help.

I'm planning a trip from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara, to Oakland, Portland OR, and finally Seattle WA, on the bicycle. There will be plenty of time in each city to rest, as the trip will take place over 7+ weeks and I will stay with family along the way.

I would depart from Las Vegas on October 3rd, so it shouldn't be sweltering.

The route that I feel I need the most advice with is from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara. I have found that it is not permitted for bicycists to ride on I-15 S from Las Vegas until Jean, NV. Assuming I was dropped off in Jean, and rode south on 15, I was thinking I could do 60 miles the first day to Baker, CA, and the next day go to Barstow, CA, or perhaps a bit further. I do not know about what route I will take after that to get to Santa Barbara, but as the rest of the route is more densely populated, I am less worried about it, although I still want to plan ahead of time which route to take. As a note, I will be bringing camping gear with me.

Although I have been to Las Vegas, and Santa Barbara, this will be my first time cycling in these parts. How sparse is the area between Jean, NV and Barstow, CA? Is camping out a bad idea? Are there any specific routes you would recommend, or should I just take my time, wake up early to avoid the heat, and stay on 15? What would you do from Barstow to Santa Barbara? I am looking for a route that is pretty direct, but if it could be scenic and / or avoid lots of strip malls, I would be pleased.

Any help or advice is welcome.

Thanks,

_S

Not to be too discouraging, but that's really freaking God's country out there man! I sometimes don't even get cell service.

Between Jean and Barstow....nothing really. But Baker serves as a logical stopping point. I think it's a really small town that might work out for you.

There's also a large mountain pass between Jean and Baker.

I-15 is notoriously treacherous. The freeway shuts down once a month, usually. Add to that that you've got drunks headed to or coming home from vegas, and it'd make me nervous. But I don't think you have any alternatives. Taking 295 to highway 95 out of Vegas might get you close to Hoover Dam, if you wanted to stop and see that, but that takes you far south, then you have to make up the distance on the less-traveled Highway 40, which also links to Barstow.

Beyond Barstow the situation gets better. Don't do the 58 to Mojave or the Antelope Valley- that's yet more God's country and it's high desert.

Here's how I would go:

From Barstow:

1) South on I-15 to barstow, then onto Highway 18 (Pearlblossom Highway) west. Pearlblossom is hairy at some points though. It's quite narrow, single lane road in each direction and semis use it.
2) Assuming you take that or another road west, you need to link up to Sierra Highway or Soledad Canyon in the Antelope Valley near Highway 14. Take one of those roads south (doesn't matter which ,they all end up near your next rest stop, and all should be downhill).
3) On either of those roads, you'll end up in the Santa Clarita Valley,which is my hometown, but which is just a giant collection of strip malls. No matter, you can spend the night here, then find your way onto Highway 126
4) Highway 126 is a beautiful, scenic, and wide-shouldered highway from Santa Clarita to Ventura. It's mostly downhill, and about 45 miles to the ocean. What's more, a few miles from Santa Clarita, the farms start to become regular fixtures. You can ride the farming roads to see life in the Santa Clara River Valley, some really rich farmland. Plus you will have the satisfaction of knowing that the Tour of California bike race usually passes through on these roads.

From Ventura to Santa Barbara I assume you'd take Highway 101.

Good luck.

You're crazy. I would never ride a bike on Interstate 15.

I thought NV policy was to permit bikes on the interstate when there is no alternate route. Isn't there a frontage road along/near I-15 from Vegas to Jean? (Edit: Google Maps shows that 604/Las Vegas Blvd continues south to Jean)

Not all of I-15 is open from NV to Barstow, as there are some parallel alternates, check with Caltrans District 8 (http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist8/contact/phone-email.htm) or Caltrans Headquarters (http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tpp/offices/bike/cbac.html) for details. There is a bike map here (http://www.cabobike.org/touring/dist8map.pdf), but it is rather old (although I don't think much has changed in that area).

From Barstow you could go the old Route 66 to Helendale, then couldn't you zigzag you're way west to the Lancaster area? I've done the old Route 66 before (rough pavement) but I have no experience west of there. Maybe the Victor Valley Bicycle Club (http://mysite.verizon.net/vvbikeclub/index.html) folks might have some info.

Once you get to the Lancaster area, then you could link up to Sierra Highway or Soledad Canyon and then follow the directions from Sonoma76.

If you've got plenty of time, and are in it for scenery, ride west to LA, then take PCH up from there. (100 miles from downtown LA to Santa Barbara.)

do a search. i believe people talked about a route from vegas to la a long time ago. i don't recall if anyone came up with a suggestion that didn't involve the 15.

Some thoughts/information:

1) Yes, you can actually ride out NV 604 south from Las Vegas to Jean. But think about starting the ride in Barstow or Victorville or Mojave.

Riding I-15 between Vegas and Barstow would be mostly endurance. For that matter, most of the detours off I-15 take you through Mojave National Preserve or similarly lonely country. Spectacular country, but wholly shadeless country. You will need to apply sunscreen religiously: the UV exposure is total, and pretty strong even in October. Dehydration is a big risk: even with a Camelback, it is often 15-20 miles between water sources. Or more. And did I mention the wind? Wind is a constant in the Mojave, and it can be really strong.

If you do want to take I-15 between Primm and Barstow, there are gas stations/minimarts at some of the freeway exits ... but it's a long way between exits. Off of I-15, you are really on your own - little hamlets like Cima, Essex and Nipton have stores that are ... um ... sometimes open, and the motel and cafe at Amboy were at last report closed and boarded up.

Have you cycled in the Mojave Desert before? If not, seriously consider starting someplace cooler/wetter. It's not exactly Central Nevada in terms of lonely desolation, but it's pretty close.

2) Buy a copy of the Benchmark Road & Recreation Atlas for California. (Benchmark Atlases live up to their name; you will not find better atlases detailing the rural roads and topography of U.S. states.) Study it. It will show you some paved alternate routes to I-15, although given where you want to go, some cycling on I-15 seems inevitable (i.e., the climb up to Mountain Pass going south out of Primm).

3) Go to the "Mountain-Plains" forum here and search for a thread called "Has anybody tried to ride Interstate 15?" There was a guy who wanted to go from SLC to LA, and I posted some info you will want to look at.

As has been said, Pearblossom hwy to Hwy 14 is your best route from Victorville. From there take the Sierra Hwy west towards Santa Clarita. Turn right on Soledad Canyon which becomes Valencia Blvd. Take Valencia blvd to where it goes under Interstate 5 and turn right on "the old road." North on "the old road" to hwy 126. West on 126 to Santa Paula.

In Santa Paula, the hwy becomes freeway at Hallock Dr. Turn Right on Hallock for 200 feet or so and then left on Telegraph Road. Telegraph road is renamed "E. Main St" for a short distance through town but it returns to being Telegraph on the other side of town. At that point it runs all the way into Ventura and is a fairly flat rural road with good shoulder and not much traffic and some scenery.

In Ventura, Telegraph ends at Thompson Blvd. Just go straight through the intersection to take Thompson Blvd west to Seaward Ave. Turn Left on Seaward. Seaward crosses Hwy 101 but continue on until the stop sign at Pierpont blvd. Turn Right on Pierpont. Pierpont ends at the bike path/entrance to Ventura State Beach. Continue on the bike path past the fairgrounds where it turns inland at the mouth of the Ventura River. Continue until the pathway ends at Main Street.

Turn LEFT at W. Main Street (A pathway continues that way over the bridge) to the entrance to Emma Wood State beach (just follow the path - it takes you where you need to go without turns). The path goes under the freeway and continues along the beach and RR tracks by itself for about a mile or so. It joins Hwy 1 at that point. Ride along the road and follow the bike path signs. The path continues along the deserted looking part of the road until it ends. Just keep following the road and you'll be fine. At the North end of the road the path joins the shoulder of Hwy 101 through La Conchita. It's a wide shoulder and is regularly ridden by cyclists. Exit at Bates Rd. (There's a sign.) Turn Right at the end of the ramp and go UP Bates to Rincon Rd/Hwy 150. Turn Left on 150 to Carpinteria Ave just after you cross Hwy 101. Turn Right on Carpinteria Ave. Follow Carpinteria Ave to Santa Ynez and turn right. Cross the bridge over the Hwy to Via Real and turn Left. Via Real has lots of different names in different places but it's all the same road that parallels 101. There is a jog that you need to take at Olive Mill Road to get onto Coast Village Road but it's only 50 feet or so. Turn right on Coast Village Road and keep going west. Turn Left when you finally get to E. Cabrillo Blvd and go under the freeway. This takes you back to the beach.

Cabrillo connects to many of the roads that will take you up into Santa Barbara city and your destination wherever that may be. I have personally cycled most of the roads I listed from Santa Paula to Santa Barbara so I know this route. Of the other roads from Victorville to Santa Paula I have personally driven them at one time or another fairly recently.

As a side note, just because it will be Oct doesn't mean it won't be HOT in Vegas so be prepared for that eventuality.

I did the route the other way (Los Angeles to Las Vegas) about 10 years ago, so take this with a grain of salt:

-Do the ride mid-week to avoid the Los Angeles tourists heading back; they're probably a little tired, if not tipsy.

-Use SR 604 coming out of Las Vegas to get to Jean,NV. Its the southern continuation of the "Strip." Its old, can be potholed, but is better than I-15. Also, wathc out for the off-roaders using this road, as they can be driving quite fast. If you can, ride all the way to Primm, because . . .

-There's nothing between Primm and Baker. You'll make a big hill climb (2500 ft) after crossing the dry lake west of Primm, so do it in the cooler morning hours. After the climb (to Mountain Summit?) there's a dip that's suppsed to have a rest stop, but the rest stop is pretty rudimentary with no reliable water - have somene stash some here for you if possible.

-After the rest stop is another, shorter hillclimb to Halloran Summit, then a lllooonnnggg 20 mile 3000 ft descent to Baker (good brakes are recommended!). Overnight here.

-After Baker its a long, grind uphill to the Barstow area. Not much water in this area, either. A water stash along this route is a great idea, too. You'll defiantely ahve to get off about the Calico Ghost Town exit and use the side roads into Barstow.

I came up from San bernardino to the Victorville/Barstow area, so can't help you with directions west of Barstow. Everyone else's suggestions above seem about right.

Using I-15 - I got stopped twice by the California Highway Partol and chewed out both times for using the interstate on a bike, but Fed Law does allow bicyclists to use the Interstates "if no reasonable alternative" (I carried a copy of the law with me at that time), and the CHP offiers could not suggest anything that was "resonable." Nevada's Troopers were great - stopped twice there, too, but they were more interested in helping me get to Vegas (" all the way from LA?; cool dude!").

I'd also suggest not doing it in the fall, since fall season in the Mojave is known for quick forming, violent thunderstorms that make car travel tough, and bicycle travel almost deadly. I drove out to LV last September and that dry lake west of Primm was FULL! from the storm two darys earlier.

Good luck. A tough ride for sure, but well worth the effort, a great accomplishment, and the desert scenery from a bicyclist view is spectacular (especially in the early morning and later afternoon).

You all have shared so much excellent advice. It is all greatly appreciated. I will continue to check this post to see if more people have thoughts, and continue planning. Surely I will also post in the coming weeks about planning the trip from Santa Barbara up to Oakland, to Portland, OR and to Seattle - my final destination.

It's also great that I heard about your experiences as I was probably underestimating the magnitude of this challenge.

Thank you again,

_S

Someone above suggested taking Sierra Highway south out of Palmdale to Santa Clarita. The climb south out of Palmdale is incredibly dangerous. NO shoulder, NO room, 6-8 lanes of freeway-speed traffic with frequent commercial trucks. I did it once and I'd never do it again; it's a ticket to death.

Better option: buy a METROLINK ticket in Palmdale. Catch METROLINK in central Palmdale and take it south for one stop to the Acton METROLINK station (at the top of the pass you would cycle up to if you cycled up Sierra Highway). South of the Acton station, Sierra Hwy. becomes mellower, less trafficked, and far more cyclist-friendly as you roll through Acton and Agua Dulce.

Someone above suggested taking Sierra Highway south out of Palmdale to Santa Clarita. The climb south out of Palmdale is incredibly dangerous. NO shoulder, NO room, 6-8 lanes of freeway-speed traffic with frequent commercial trucks. I did it once and I'd never do it again; it's a ticket to death.

Better option: buy a METROLINK ticket in Palmdale. Catch METROLINK in central Palmdale and take it south for one stop to the Acton METROLINK station (at the top of the pass you would cycle up to if you cycled up Sierra Highway). South of the Acton station, Sierra Hwy. becomes mellower, less trafficked, and far more cyclist-friendly as you roll through Acton and Agua Dulce.even better option:
take ave 60 south it turns into godde hill road
right on lake elizabeth for half a mile
left on bouquet canyon to santa clarita
bouquet is very beautiful and empty most of the time and you'll be going downhill most of the way

You might think about heading West out of Vegas on 160 to Pahrump, 372 to Shoshone, then 127 to Baker. From Baker there are roads that mirror the 15 all the way to Barstow. I know that the 127 doesn't have a shoulder, but it also doesn't have serious traffic.

Get a Mapquest and zoom way in. You'll find roads there.

Using I-15 - I got stopped twice by the California Highway Partol and chewed out both times for using the interstate on a bike, but Fed Law does allow bicyclists to use the Interstates "if no reasonable alternative" (I carried a copy of the law with me at that time), and the CHP offiers could not suggest anything that was "resonable."
Better yet, get a printout or something from Caltrans saying that it's OK.

As has been said, Pearblossom hwy to Hwy 14 is your best route from Victorville.
Any reason (other than lack of services) why he shouldn't take Shadow Mountain Road west from Helendale, then zigzagging down to the Lancaster/Palmdale area, instead of going all the way to Victorville?

Some photos and a brief writeup I did of a four day tour in the Mojave: http://www.briandesousa.com/bicycling/touring/mojave03.htm

Bouquet Canyon is awesome. It's as close to an alpine environment as I've experienced in the Santa Clarita area.

It's also got hidden little treasures: like the bald, bearded, shirtless, be-speckled guy blasting Grateful Dead in the middle of the forest, with a giant grateful dead flag!

Alternatively, taking Spunky Canyon road north to San Francisquito Canyon road would bring you out really close to Highway 126. It's some awesome scenery, and you'll pass by the ruins of a dam burst from 1928 that killed 500 people, but it's not as beautiful as Bouquet.

It will drop you off in Valencia, the suburb of suburbs, whereas Bouquet will bring you down into Saugus, where you can link up with a west bound bike path.

We do the baker to vegas run which offers a different way but its twice the distace and probably more climbing

http://www.bakervegas.com/MapsCharts/CourseMap08.pdf

Though its out of the way, I always felt the best way from NV to LA was the old 66, the 15 route just doesn't have many options that are 'safe'.

Any reason (other than lack of services) why he shouldn't take Shadow Mountain Road west from Helendale, then zigzagging down to the Lancaster/Palmdale area, instead of going all the way to Victorville?
Shadow Mountain Road is a dirt road. I tried heading out that way when I first moved here but the pavement ends at the San Bernardino county line.

Bouquet Canyon is awesome. It's as close to an alpine environment as I've experienced in the Santa Clarita area.

It's also got hidden little treasures: like the bald, bearded, shirtless, be-speckled guy blasting Grateful Dead in the middle of the forest, with a giant grateful dead flag!

Alternatively, taking Spunky Canyon road north to San Francisquito Canyon road would bring you out really close to Highway 126. It's some awesome scenery, and you'll pass by the ruins of a dam burst from 1928 that killed 500 people, but it's not as beautiful as Bouquet.

It will drop you off in Valencia, the suburb of suburbs, whereas Bouquet will bring you down into Saugus, where you can link up with a west bound bike path.

Could head further west on Elizabeth Lake Road and take Lake Hughes Road down to the Old Road which directly intersects with 126.

Have you tried Google Maps? They now have an option for "Walking" in their directions. I'm sure it won't get you 100% but it might suggest some routes that you haven't considered.

Shadow Mountain Road is a dirt road. I tried heading out that way when I first moved here but the pavement ends at the San Bernardino county line.
Oh, good point, I looked on Google Street View and it is only paved between 395 and old 66. So the only other east/west choice besides 18 is El Mirage Road, how is that?