Touring - LA to San Diego

I am getting ready to do the pacific coast route, and I don't have the route from LA to San Diego.


Does anyone know if it is well signed down there, and I can just follow the signs?

Is the Pac Coast route down there complicated, or just kinda stay by the ocean?

If anyone has done that section, or has the ad cycling map I would appreciate some insight!

As I recall, it's very straightforward, save the part around Camp Pedleton. It's real easy to miss the turnoff (which will be on your right) that leads out of Pedleton and towards Oceanside. This turn off is to the "Old PCH". From what I remember, you go down a slight hill and after a small overpass, on your right will be some "parking" (there were cars parked here when I rode through) and just beyond that is the bike path. You follow that for a long while, and will lead you through the camp area and such. Once you get into the greater LA area, it get's a bit messier (if you continue through on the ocean-side bike path - [The Strand?]), but I guess that depends where in LA you actually want to end up.

Edit: Just realized you're going LA -> SD, so it's different than explained. Old PCH will just run into a road (after the fence and 'parking'), and you'll turn left.

A lot of it is straightforward, but there are some tricky parts. Getting through Marina Del Rey has a lot of turns, although there are signs. The "standard" route through Long Beach is PCH (which is nowhere near the coast for that section), but that kind of sucks and I think the AC map has a slightly better route. The section through Orange County is basically just Coast Highway. As mentioned above, near San Onofre and Camp Pendleton it's pretty straightforward. But once you start to get into metro San Diego, there are a lot of turns and you don't have the ocean as a visual cue. There are some very old signs every now and then. Personally I would try to get the AC map.

http://www.efgh.com/bike/old101.htm

Get the ACA map or the Bicycling the Pacific Coast Highway book. These have pretty good routes. Going through LA is mainly on the beach, but getting to and through Long Beach is a bit complicated and wanders through some dicey areas where you apparently don't want to make a wrong turn.

Bypassing Camp Pendleton can be troublesome. it will make the trip longer and can be difficult to find a nice route.

I came through Camp Pendleton yesterday, although it is legal to ride the freeway instead which is faster (there's a sign to tell you where you have to get off) which I did back in january. But the ride through the camp is very pleasant :) You have to have photo ID.