Southern California - San Diego Family Bike Ride?

Hello.
We're going to San Diego for a few days from the 28th to the 1st of July.
Is there a kid Friendly beach? We want to take our bikes and go bike riding at the beach, but I'm unsure where to go.
Are weekdays better, as far as crowds? My middle daughter is not very good as stopping :eek:
so I'd like to avoid crowds so she doesn't run someone over or gets hurt trying to avoid someone.
I would really appreciate any suggestions for beaches.
We'd like to go riding, do some sightseeing and have lunch near the beach. (too much to ask?)

thank you!

Not too much to ask. You can bike along Mission Bay and along the Silver Strand in Coronado next to beach.

bialy is right. mission bay/mission beach & coronado/silver strand are the absolute best places to ride bicycles with kids in the san diego area. both are pancake flat and have diversions for the kiddos.
there are lots of great beaches for the kids in area but many of them don't have easy, kid-friendly
ride-up-to-it beach access.

mission bay has more open space, grass, play structures and bathrooms. the bay has lots of shoreline but it's not as nice as the beach in coronado. the bike path is wide, meandering and sticks close to the
bay. it's no biggie if the kids have or want to veer off the bike path because it's mostly soft, cushy grass
on both sides.

the coronado bike path that extends north of the silver strand loops around the golf course, goes under the coronado bridge, zips by a really big & kid friendly park and then goes to the ferry landing area on the bay side. great bay views! the wide promenade-style bike path peeters out at the ferry landing but you can still continue towards the naval base (northwest end) end of coronado. the speed limit is 25 in the residential areas and the local gendarmes do an overly efficient job enforcing it. good for cyclists-bad for motorists.
with younger kids, you will probably need to dismount at a couple of intersections-especially at the base end-but the streets are wide and the residents are used to seeing cyclists of all abilities cruising the streets. if you loop around to the ocean (west) side of coronado, there is a huge beach but it is a long
walk to water's edge with kids and/or bikes. however, there are plenty of places to find a well-deserved ice cream/gelato, munchie or lunch along orange avenue near the hotel del coronado.

don't really recommend the silver strand (southern) part of the coronado bike path unless you go to silver strand state beach-then it's close & perfect. it's a bit far for most kids to ride it from coronado, not as exciting for the young ones, usually has a discouraging headwind riding back, fewer bathroom facilities and no munchie stops.

mission beach (about a 5 minute drive from the sea world area of mission bay) next to the hard to miss
roller coaster park, has bathrooms, food and a decent, flat bike path that runs along easy beach access. the multiuse path is the most congested & can be tough for younger kids.

all 3 of the areas are best on a weekday between 9 am-2:30 pm if you can swing it. weekends during the summer bring the crowds & diminish the "family" experience. finding parking near mission beach on the weekend takes an act of god and congress.

given your parameters, it sounds like cycling mission bay for a bit then zipping over by car to mission
beach would make for a full & fun day. coronado on it's own is definitely a worthwhile day excursion as well.
either one is a win-win. have fun!

Sounds Great! We will try to go to Mission and Coronado Beach.
Somewhere on the state park website it says no bikes w/ more than two wheels.
Does that apply to our daughter's tag-a-long?
Our youngest still doesn't ride on two wheels, and it's much safer/easier to have her on it.
Thank you! Great advice!

Ooga- Booga, Great post! Thanks for the info.:thumb:

Sounds Great! We will try to go to Mission and Coronado Beach.
Somewhere on the state park website it says no bikes w/ more than two wheels.
Does that apply to our daughter's tag-a-long?
Our youngest still doesn't ride on two wheels, and it's much safer/easier to have her on it.
Thank you! Great advice!

I would argue that your bike has 2 wheels, and her tag-a-long bike has one wheel, hence you are AOK.

I'd definitely do week day versus weekend. It's San Diego, summer has begun. I lived there ten years. Another option is to try the paths near seaport village (maybe?)

+1 on the Mission Beach bike paths. Miles and miles of slow moving bicycles and pedestrians. I took my kids there many many times when they were beginner cyclists.

Hello everyone.
I had forgetten to come back and let you know about our experience.
We biked Mission Beach to Pacific Beach and back.
It was great. The kids got a bit tired on the way back. We told them they could play on the beach when we got back, so they pushed on.
We went on a Tuesday morning and it was packed. We drove by Monday afternoon, and it wasn't as full. We thought it wouldn't be that full.

Still had a good time, no accidents to report.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions.

glad you had a good and injury free time!:)