Really looking forward to our first visit to San Diego, in Oct. I have a motorcycle rented for sunday, and am looking for some suggestions for some nice rides. I'm thinking go up the coast along the water to Oceanside, or further? A nice curvy road along the ocean would be perfect! We're good for 8-10 hrs including lot's of stops. Never really been in the desert either so that might be interesting. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. One destination mentioned in this post From Oceanside you can take Hwy 76 inland and cross I-15. From 76 you have the option to head up to Mt Palomar, or continue on to Lake Henshaw. At the intersection of 76/79 you can head up to San Felipe Road S2/S22 which eventually winds down the grade to Borrego Springs and Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Or go south on 79 to Santa Ysabel (stop in at Dudleys Bakery) and continue on to the apple pie town of Julian. From Julian you can continue on down to I-8 via Lake Cuyamaca or take the Sunrise Hwy S1.

Here's a "grand tour," which would take up a whole day, but you would see a lot of the back country. motorcycle shops danville kyStart early in the morning. motorcycle dealers in belleville ilFrom downtown San Diego, take G Street east, which becomes Highway 94. chopper motorcycles for sale san diegoStay on 94 through Dulzura to Campo. dirt bikes for sale yz 85At Campo take Buckman Springs Road north to Interstate 8 west. gta 5 new motorcycle helmet

You'll have to go through a Border Patrol checkpoint. Right after that, turn off the 8 at Sunrise Highway and turn right to go up Sunrise Highway. motorcycle machine shop spokaneDrive through the forested Laguna Mountain Recreation Area. best motorcycle helmet upright riding If you park along Sunrise Highway, you must display the National Forest Adventure Pass, which you can but for $5 for one day at the store at Laguna Mountain Lodge. I'm not sure how you display it on a motorcycle. If you just drive right through without stopping, no pass is required. You will have views of the desert on your right. At the junction of Sunrise Highway and 79, turn right to go to Julian. Before you get to Julian there is a viewpoint on the right side with sweeping views of the desert, and it's free - no pass required.

Eat lunch in Julian, your choice of where to eat. No matter where you eat, I'd recommend getting apple pie from the Apple Alley Bakery. Their food is ordinary, but their apple pie is really good, especially the crumb-topped one. And you can get a scoop of cinnamon ice cream with it. Leave Julian by going west on 78/79 to Santa Ysabel (with maybe a stop at Dudley's Bakery). Fill up your gas tank. Go north from Santa Ysabel on Highway 79, then at Morettis Junction take 76 west (Pala Road) and at Lake Hodges take East Grade Road to go up to Palomar Mountain. You can visit Palomar Mountain State Park if that interests you, or the Palomar Observatory if that interests you. The main telescope there, the Hale Telescope, was the world's largest at the time it was built in 1948, and it remained the largest until a larger one was built in Russia in 1976. If you're interested in astronomy that will be a must-see; if you're not that will be boring. Descend Palomar Mountain using South Grade Road, but be forewarned that it is very steep with many curves.

The views are great but it will be a white-knuckle ride. At the bottom turn right to take 76 west, just as far as Valley Center Road. Right there is Harrah's resort and casino, if you want to stop to eat or gamble. Continue south on Valley Center Road through Valley Center to the city of Escondido. Fill up the gas tank there. If you are hungry, I highly recommend the chicken soup at Lourdes Mexican Food at 650 S. Escondido Blvd. Most of their food is ordinary taco-shop stuff, but the chicken soup is worth going there for. From Escondido take CA Highway 78 west, a regular freeway, and it ends at the beach city of Carlsbad. There get on Pacific Coast Highway going south. You will go through Carlsbad, Leucadia, Encinitas, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Solana Beach and Del Mar, and you will be very close to the ocean at many points. It will be late in the day so you can stop and watch the sunset over the ocean and hope to see the legendary "green flash." Encinitas has a lot of nice restaurants.

You can continue south from Del Mar through the Torrey Pines area and into the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego. From La Jolla you can take Interstate 5 south to get back to downtown San Diego. This entire loop would be 230 miles; about 6 hours of driving time plus time spent at stops along the way. This loop does not include any time in the desert, though you can see the desert from Sunrise Highway. If you wanted to see Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, you would take 78 east from Julian, but the drive there and back, plus an hour in the park, would take up 3 hours, so if you did that you would have to cut something else out of the trip. You could cut out Palomar Mountain and just go directly from Santa Ysabel west on Highway 78 to Escondido and continue on to Carlsbad. Edited: 11:25 pm, September 26, 2013 8 destinations mentioned in this post Thanks for the detailed response's, really looking forward to exploring the area! -:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.

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