Escondido - Valley Parkway Bicycle Trail
 

I am staying at the Comfort Inn in Escondido, just west of I-15 at the Valley Parkway.

I noticed a well-built bike path right behind the motel - but not accessible directly, one must go up to the nearest street to access. The trail follows the flood channel, and I walked it a ways (I don't have a bike with me).

I was curious if anyone knows where this bike path goes going west. Does it intersect the trail coming from the Carlsbad area east towards Palomar Airport?

Just curious as sometimes I may have a bike with me or available.

No, it doesn't intersect. What you found is supposedly the beginning of a project that will eventually run all the way to Oceanside and compliment the Sprinter rail system, but that's still years in the making. Escondido and San Marcos were very quick to complete their portion of the deal, but Vista and Oceanside are notoriously slow with that sort of thing. I think it stops just west of Palomar college in San Marcos right now, or about 3-4 miles from where you are.

You should have seen Ocenaside's sorry attempt at their portion of the super duper coastal rail trail. It's basically a glorified sidewalk with a painted centerline. Not impressive.

Not sure what trail you are referring to that comes from C'bad to Esco, as there currently isn't anything of the sort. I recommend you avoid the pathway in Escondido. It is littered, very poor pavement conditions, gravel and broken glass on occasion, and always homeless and migrants workers camping out having beers. Lots of pedestrian traffic and kids on skate boards that ignore everyone. I know because I've hit a few of them. That said, have at it. It goes east through town then ends. Where you are is pretty much at the western end. It goes about two miles west then ends behind the autopark area, essentially going, well, no where. If you go east, it will take you to the transit center and then goes through town.

Where is a nice place to ride down there?

Everywhere, except the bike trails in Escondido and Oceanside.

I think the bike trail he is talking about is not the one you are thinking of chuckles. The rail trail runs along the tracks but this one runs along the flood channel and I believe it goes all the way to LW road. I would never ride it. Broken glass. Hobos sleeping in the middle of the trail. It is fenced in so if some people try to rob you, then you are basically screwed and I am sure there has been dead bodies dumped there.

I noticed that after dusk, they close it and it becomes a prison!!

I didn't say it went from Carlsbad to Escondido, I was asking if it did.

There is a trail that my wife and I have ridden that takes off, as best I recall, near Carlsbad, and heads east, and I have been told that it goes to Palomar Airport. Wish I could recallmore, but it has been some time. It goes under a bridge, across the railroad track, and definitely heads east. I believe it takes off somewhere between Carlsbad and Oceanside.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Lui...iver_bike_path

The San Luis Rey River bike path is an easy, 7-mile paved class one bicycle and pedestrian trail that follows the San Luis Rey River in Oceanside, California. The trail is relatively flat and straight, and there aren't any stop signs, traffic lights, or street crossings on it.

Contents [hide]
1 The Route
2 Cautions
3 Entry Points / Parking
4 Ownership and Contacts
5 Future Plans
6 References
7 See also
8 External links



[edit] The Route
See "http://www.efgh.com/bike/redroute.htm#oceanside" for a map of the route with detailed pictures.
Mapquest.com Here is a map showing the Western trailhead/main entrypoint.
From Neptune Way on the east side of the train tracks, enter the trail. Follow it to the end. Turn around and come back to complete the ride. Wind usually blows in from the ocean so expect to battle the wind on the ride back. During Santa Ana wind season the wind will blow from East to West.

[edit] Cautions
Parking is available on the city streets but be aware of the street sweeping signs. The City of Oceanside gives out citations to cars parked on the street during posted street sweeping periods. During street sweeping, use the pay parking lot behind Pappy's Market on Surfrider and Cleavland. The lot costs $1 per day. Contact Parking Enforcement at (760) 435-5195 for more information.

[edit] Entry Points / Parking
Mapquest.com Here is a map showing the Western trailhead/main entrypoint. Parking is available on the city streets but be aware of the street sweeping signs. The City of Oceanside gives out citations to cars parked on the street during posted street sweeping periods. During street sweeping, use the pay parking lot behind Pappy's Market on Surfrider and Cleavland. The lot costs $1 per day. Contact Parking Enforcement at (760) 435-5195 for more information.
There are numerous entry points along the trail. Most of these can be found at points where a road crosses over the trail.
The west end of the trail is within a few blocks of the Oceanside Transit Center. Commuters can board the Coaster, Metrolink trains or NCTD Busses, many of which can accommodate bicycles. Contact http://www.metrolinktrains.com and http://www.gonctd.com. For more information and a map to the Oceanside Transit Center go to http://www.gonctd.com/rider/otcparking06.pdf.

[edit] Ownership and Contacts
This section requires expansion.

City of Oceanside Neighborhood Services - Parks & Recreation
E-mail contact: Stisdale@ci.oceanside.ca.us
See the next section of this article entitled "Future Plans" for additional contacts

[edit] Future Plans
This section requires expansion.

12/6/06 at 7PM and 1/18/06 at 7PM at Libby Lake Community Center in Oceanside there will be meetings held to discuss extending the trail from College Blvd. to N. Santa Fe Ave. See [1] for more details or contact Nathan Mertz at (760)435-5619 or Megan Crooks at (760) 435-5048. If you are unable to attend but would like to e-mail comments or questions please send an e-mail to Recadmin@ci.oceanside.ca.us

http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/parks/...pcondensed.pdf San Diego County's San Luis Rey project page

The SLR bike path goes from NW Oceanside to NE Oceanside. It starts 3 miles north of the Carlsbad city limit. It goes past the Oceanside Airport.

There is no bike path that goes to Palomar Airport. There is a 1/2 mile path that goes behind Legoland so you can go from Cannon Rd to Palomar Airport Rd but it's pretty hidden.

OK, I knew it was SOME airport!!:D

Thanks for all the responses, everyone.

Normally, I hang out in Colorado. Used to live in San Diego, but that was a long time ago.