Southern California - Safe Route to get to LA Beach Bike Path?

So I'm about to move in a couple of weeks to very close to the intersection of La Tierra Blvd, and La Cienega Blvd. Does anyone know of a safe way to get from there to the bike path on the beach or of any other nice routes in the area? Thanks!

I would normally direct you to http://www.bikemetro.com/ but it seems to be down at the moment.

IF you don't want to be in heavy traffic with narrow lanes: You've got two choices:

1. Brave the Ballona Creek Bike Path (frequent reports of robberies)
2. Go around LAX

For choice 2 - make your way to the Howard Hughes Shopping center and then:
- Sepulveda South
- Left onto Manchester
- Right onto Aviation
- Right onto Imperial
- End at Dockweiler Beach

That will probably add 2 miles to your route, but there are either bike lanes, or wide streets the whole way.

Billy, your directions are probably best as you know the area better than I. But how about
- Sepulveda south
- Right on Manchester
- Left on Pershing
- Right on Imperial to the bike path

I would head down Centinela and it merges with Jefferson and take that all the way to the bike path. Only a short stretch when Jefferson merges with Culver Blvd to Pershing Dr is where you might get ansy, but I never had a problem with cars coming too close. Or make a right on Lincoln Blvd north to the Ballona Creek Bike path west and you can access the beach bike path once you cross the bridge and make a right just after you cross the bridge.

Nice thanks for the info guys! I'll probably end up checking out all of the routes to see which one I like best. I was thinking about Centinela to Jefferson but I think I'd like to try out all of these thanks!

Ballona Creek Bike Path definitely doesn't scare me. I ride it all the time and never had a problem.

Do you guys think it's better to take La Tierra down to Sepulveda, or cut across Centinela to get there?

Which route you take is up to you. La Tijera to Manchester to Vista Del Mar Lane that merges with Vista Del Mar Ave, then down some (steep) stairs or ride to the BBQ pits by LAX to the bike path is pretty sedate. Depends on where you want to start your ride and which direction you want to go. Just experiment with different routes and how much time each takes and/or the distance/topography differences and pick the one you are most comfy with.

Billy, your directions are probably best as you know the area better than I. But how about
- Sepulveda south
- Right on Manchester
- Left on Pershing
- Right on Imperial to the bike path

That's how I'd do it. I really like opening it up on Pershing.

BTW, if you take Manchester past Pershing you can do some short but challenging climbs in that hilly section of Playa del Rey.

Explore them all. I've been sitting on my hands with this thread. I used to live in the area, but that was 20 years ago. I never had much problem commuting around the west side of L.A. though. I used to ride Ballona Creek path to the beach, down to Imperial, then back inland to my office just south of LAX on Sepulveda (was Hughes Aircraft at the time, I think it might be Boeing now).

Yep, these are my stomping grounds too, and all these suggestions are good. I've been living across the street from the Ballona Creek Bike Path for over 20 years, (my wife grew up here), and I have never had a problem. Just don't ride it after dark...that's asking for trouble.

What problems that did exist were usually around the housing projects at Inglewood Blvd., which is near where I live, or farther east near La Cienega. They fenced the projects off years ago, however, and that cut down on a lot of the nonsense.

A lot of folks used to get off at Sawtelle, ride down McDonald Street, and get back on at Inglewood or Centenela. The bike path is usually a good workout, because you're almost guaranteed a stiff headwind on the way to the beach, and a tailwind on the way home.

Other than that, I'd say that La Tijera to Manchester to Pershing is definitely the way to go. I've ridden Jefferson dozens of times over the years, but since they widened it for Playa Vista the traffic can be pretty heavy.

Feel free to PM me for more advice. BTW, I still ride the Ballona Creek Bike Path nearly every day. It's an extremely popular spot for bird watchers, since there are usually giant egrets, great blue herons, and tons of other birds hanging out near the wetlands.

+1 on the La Tijera to Manchester to Pershing suggestion.

Aviation/Imperial is my daily commute, I think its safe but it can be very noisy (work @ Imperial and Nash in El Seg.). Bike lane on imperial is excellent to sepulveda, and somewhat spotty and a little rugged west of sepulveda to dockweiller IMO.

Billy, your directions are probably best as you know the area better than I. But how about
- Sepulveda south
- Right on Manchester
- Left on Pershing
- Right on Imperial to the bike path

That does indeed seem like the best route.

When I go that way, I'm usually riding to the Aviation Station on the Green Line.

I've taken the Ballona Creek path many times, but always in daylight. Robberies? I had no idea it was unsafe.

I occasionally take Sepulveda from the SF Valley to Wilshire, to the bike path on the coast near Pacific Palasades and Santa Monica. I head south to Palos Verdes. Usually I pick up Ballona from MDR to Playa del Rey (just a mile or so), but on the return trip I follow Ballona up to Sepulveda and follow Sepulveda all the way back to the valley. It gets me out of the coastal wind (which I'm tired of by that point in the ride), and knocks about three miles off the return ride.

Never had a problem on Ballona Creek bike path.