Biking On Heaven’s Door – Mission Bay, San Diego, CA
Since we’ve been here in Mission Bay we’ve been on a mission of sorts (I know, I know, the play on words is genius). Our mission has been one of beer…specifically finding the absolute best beer (IPA & stout) in San Diego. Given that this town has over 100 brewing locations (!!!) it’s a rather ambitious task and has involved {ahem} a tad more beverage consumption than we usually partake of. It’s going to take a few more weeks before we complete the process and do a blog “reveal”, so in order to ensure that our pants don’t explode in the process (and create a whole different kind of “reveal”) we’ve been balancing our beer with exercise.
Thankfully we’re in a spot where that kind of thing is as easy as stepping out the door, and for the purposes of our month here our exercise of choice has primarily been the bicycle.
Outside of hiking, biking is my absolute favorite outdoor pass-time especially the kind that involves easy, stress-free trails and good views. I have no problem with distance, but as a confirmed zen-biker I’m not looking for rocky trails or slippery see-your-life-flash-before-your-eyes drops. Besides I’m just not aerodynamic enough (ain’t no spandex on this gal, I assure you). No, I’m looking for a comfortable cruise where I can paddle along in my comfy hiking pants & large hat, sweep up the sweet ocean breeze, ogle some views (both natural and…well…natural) and perhaps (bike gods willing) taste a brew or two.
That’s my kind of biking, and for that purpose I currently find myself on heavens door.
You see one of the many reasons we love the big asphalt parking lot that is Mission Bay RV Resort (the term “resort” is loosely used here) is that it sits RIGHT next to fabulous Mission Bay and it’s equally lovely bike/hike trail. In less than 30 seconds I can take my bike directly from my site and find myself on a green, waterfront trail….and I can follow that trail for ~12 miles around an incredible 4,200 acre park of land and water, surrounded by 27 miles of shoreline and sandy beaches. Parts of the trail are by the road, but the vast majority is along pleasant, meandering paths shored by beach and deep, blue water. At times it’s so quiet and relaxed you’ll be hard-pressed to remember you’re in the middle of a big city.
Given the subject of our mission (and the short time we have to complete it) it’s an added bonus that we can multitask too.
When we feel compelled to stop for a bite to eat or a thirst-quencher, the path has easy side-trips to Ocean Beach (on the south side) and Pacific/Mission Beach (on the north) that both offer endless options for exploring breweries and eating spots. Since we’ve been at the park we’ve been biking (and tasting) almost everyday to the point that we’ve extended trips 14 miles or more just because it’s so enjoyable. Our RV buddies Hector& Brenda, as well as Todd&Russ have been joining us on many of these outings, sometimes just for a sunset view, other times for lunch, farmers markets & brews.
And you’ll be happy to know our pants are still in-tact.
To ensure we stay honest we’ve taken to using the free cycling app Strava to track our bike miles and ensure our calories aren’t getting out of whack. I love the way it tracks your bike trail on a map, pauses whenever you stop (e.g. when you admire a handsome errmmm…bird…say) and gives you a summary of your speed & elevation changes. Pretty darn cool App if I say so myself.
We plan to continue our biking/brew experiment until our wardrobe self-implodes or our time here is up, whichever comes first. Given San Diego weather is near darn perfect (can you say mid-70’s and sunny every day???) there’s no reason to think we will encounter any barriers to success. I’ll drink to that, for sure 🙂
Our favorite Mission Bay Bike Trail Thirst-Quenching Stops:
Mission Beach -> Draft. Pricey, but right on the water with awesome brew-list. Also, Amplified Aleworks**. Good beer list, nice water views & tasty food at reasonable prices.
Pacific Beach -> Both PB Tap Room and next-door techno-snazzy Barrel Republic have outstanding beer lists and are just a short bike off the main trail. If you need to shop Trader Joe’s and Sprouts are both on the very same block.
Ocean Beach -> OB Noodle House**. Great Phở and a huge (fabulous) beer list. A total combo winner!
** These spots offer dog-friendly outdoor seating areas
Related Links & Posts:
- Mission Bay bike/hike trail -> Link to trail info HERE and HERE.
- Biking Trails Around San Diego -> Downloadable PDF map HERE and see bike trips HERE.
- Blog Post -> Hangin’ In Nature’s Playground – Mission Bay Park, San Diego, CA
- Blog Post -> RV Park Review – Mission Bay RV Resort, San Diego, CA
- Blog Post ->Paw Friendly & Off-Leash Beaches – San Diego, CA
NOTE/ DOGS around Mission Bay -> Most of Mission Bay (including Pacific Beach & Mission Beach) have a rather strict policy on dogs. They are allowed within the park & on the beach only *outside* the hours of 9am-4pm (Nov 1 – Mar 31), or 9am-6pm (Apr 1 – Oct 31st). As a result we only walk/bike with Polly in the bay early AM and/or late PM . For lunch-time we either take her around the ~1-mile path next to the RV park or go to one of the many off-least doggie areas in the vicinity. Fiesta Island (in the very middle of Mission Bay) and OB Dog Beach are our two absolute favorite off-leash areas and are both within 5 mins drive of our RV park.
Read more about San Diego doggie beach spots HERE.
What an awful boring life you two leave. Can you just image what some people who work their rears off each day must say about your challenging life style. I think I know…”You two live the life that everyone wants!” Keep on keeping on!
We try to keep it as boring as possible 🙂
Nina
I love Mission bay, and it looks like you are staying in the perfect spot. Have you ever thought about a bike trailer for doggie? We have one and it’s nice to take the pooches along sometimes.
Polly is not much of a “sitting around” dog. We often take her biking but she prefers to be running alongside the bike. Same thing at the beach. If we’re sitting around she looks at us like we’re crazy “why aren’t you moving?”. I guess it’s the herding DNA in her. She ALWAYS likes to be on the move.
Nina
That first photo “from the beach” of the homes and palm trees at sunset is just exquisite – what a shot!
Thanks! I was actually photographing the sunset when I turned around and saw the light reflected in the houses and realized that was FAR more interesting. It was fun to capture.
Nina
Hi Nina – we took your advice and visited Fiesta Island with our pooch on Sunday… We had a great time! Hope you guys have time to meet up for lunch this coming week. We’d be happy to treat you and Paul! Beer included! 😉
You know this trip is ending up waaaay busier than we imagined. We have family coming in tonight and staying with us (in the RV) for a week so we may be entertaining pretty heavily most of this coming week. I’ll try to see if it’s possible.
Nina
Pho with beer? That’s a lot of liquid!
But oh-so-tasty. And thankfully there are many public rest room stops on the bike trail 🙂
Nina
Haha – being that I’ve reached the age of frequent “rest” stops, I was thinking that very thing imagining I might have to take a “swim” every so often to lighten the load so-to-speak while biking around the bay. And as long as I’m thinking about it, do you know of any apps that show where restrooms are located sort of like the Gas Buddy app shows you where fueling stops are?
Ha! No I do not. I know there’s a rest area finder app, but not one that finds restrooms everywhere.
Nina
There’s an app called “Sit or Squat” restroom finder. I have an iPhone…don’t know about Android.
You are right!! I had no idea the App existed!
Nina
We love San Diego, especially our 15 year old toy poodle, Reilley who loved his visits to Ocean Beach. As old as he is, a trip to the beach puts a spring in the step of our blind, deaf old fella.
Nina, I emailed you back in early January to ask if you had any suggestions for RV body repairs in the Palm Springs area. Pleased to report that we did find someone and we are all fixed up and today is our first day back on the road…freedom!!!
I’m sure there is not much we can add that you have not already experienced in the San Diego area, but we sure did enjoy our day in La Jolla and our stop in Mount Soledad…what an amazing view!
But being born and bred east coast Canadians, the call of the ocean is always with us. We love walking the California beaches. Maybe someday you will come to east coast Canada and experience our amazing coastline. Safe travels!
So glad you found a good repair shop there! Repairs on the road are never easy. And yes, one day I DO want to come to the east Canadian coast.
Nina
Now you’re talkin’ my husbands talk. He said to tell you to go to Stone Brewery (if you haven’t been there). It’s in Escondido, very close to SD.
Stone is on the list for sure! I’ve already tasted a few of their stouts at the pubs, but have yet to visit the actual brewery.
Nina
Where can I find the best fish tacos in San Diego?
Gooooood question…and worth a blog post all in itself. My personal favorite is Blue Water Seafood Market and Grill. Been going there for years!
And then there’s this:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/04/best-fish-taco-san-diego_n_5607927.html
And another view:
http://www.thrillist.com/eat/san-diego/local-experts-surfers-rank-best-fish-tacos-in-san-diego
Nina
South Beach Bar & Grill in OB -end of Newport Ave. has a great happy hour fish taco (grilled!), shrimp cocktail, oysters, and Ocean View!!–get it to-go and enjoy alfresco dining at the flagpole.
Ranchos Cosina on Sunset Cliffs Blvd in OB has a cozy garden patio for dining w perros. (all the many seafood dishes are delicioso)
Nice tips. Cheers!
Nina
Well, I don’t know if San Diego is so much better than southwest Texas. Sun every day? Well, the sun came out here for almost 15 minutes yesterday! Biking every day? Well, I just washed our bikes after driving almost 200 miles through rain and over muddy roads! Restaurants? There’s a prime rib place right up the street from us (oops, I forgot it’s been closed down).
Oh, who am I kidding – you are in a fabulous place and we have to get out there next year! Your bike rides make me envious, and your beer stops make me thirsty – can’t wait for your report on the best stout! Thank you for your sacrifice in obtaining that vital information for your followers.
~Steve
Sure hope you find some sun soon. That muddy, rainy drive does not sound like fun!
Nina
Thanks guys I shared it on my FB Fan page I started.
Awesome! Cheers!
Nina
Sounds like heaven for real beer afficionados, especially when you mention 2 of my favourite beers – IPA’s and stouts. Even better if the pubs have options for what I consider a “full” pint(20 oz).
Looking forward to reading your future beer reviews.
It is totally beer heaven here. There is so much craft beer in the area (many breweries are local only) that you can pretty much get a good brew every single place you go. We’ve been overwhelmed by the high quality of the beer here.
Nina
You are so funny Nina–loved this blog! We have that problem with our clothes lately–too much eating and drinking while friends were here.
Those darn shrinking clothes! I know exactly what you mean. I’m hoping our exercise program keeps everything in check here, but if not I’m blaming the laundry.
Nina
I always appreciate your doggie friendly notes – a very important consideration for our location choices 🙂 Wonderful photos along the trail – love the speed limit sign and cuties Frances and Todd! It’s going to be so hot here this week I should head to SD to cool off 🙁
It’s definitely going to get hot inland. I’m super happy with our decision to come to the coast. Weather is just perfect here.
Nina a
Loved this post. Looks like so much fun! Does using Strava gobble up a lot of data (for those of us on limited data plans)?
So that’s a good question. I haven’t noticed a big data usage. It relies mostly on GPS and the maps (the drawing portion) is not super detailed. So, it doesn’t seem to be a big gobbler. I’ve been using it quite a bit and I’m still below 1GB (total on my phone, all usage) after 15 days of the data month.
Nina
We enjoyed Mission Bay RV Park, or I should say we enjoyed the location of the park, as a direct result of your blog, Nina. We had a great time taking Abby to all the dog friendly spots you spoke of. I have wonderful memories of our time there. Thanks, and I know new readers will appreciate all you have written about it this time.
So glad you enjoyed this area too!
Nina
Hi, I am changing my email and want to continue following you and get your updates. Old was: xxx
New one to use is: xxx
Thanks!
You’ll need to signup to my email updates with your new email address. Unfortunately I cannot do it for you. That should get you on the list.
Nina
P.S. I removed your actual e-mail addresses from the comment, for your own safety 🙂
We recently stayed at the Mission Bay Resort! Great location, albeit agree with your comments about its resort qualities.
While you are there, check out Stone Brewing – Liberty Station. Great brews, and fabulous dinner ambiance. The other brewing company I found is Ballast Point, and in particular their Sculpin IPA. Terrific!
Stone and Ballast Point are both most definitely on the “list”.
Nina
Hope you all are having a good time in our home town. If I can be of any help with info or ideas, please contact me.
On dog spots, assuming u have a towd for the gang, a close spot is Dog Beach in Ocean Beach “OB” where you’ll find a beach specifically for dogs, with plenty of four footers chasing balls into the surf. Just Google it’s location, it’s close to Mission Bay.
Up north there is another dog beach in Del Mar.
Expect a wet and sandy dog when done, so plan for that.
The two best bars for trying a well stocked assortment of San Diego brews, and mingling with the hilt of the SD Craft brew peeps are Monkeypaw on the east side of downtown, and Hamiltons east of there about ten minutes on surface streets by car. These are the nirvana spots for craft brew nuts coming to SD.
Lastly, while in OB try Pizza Port for the other best brews.
Enjoy, LD
Yup, I’ve blogged about all the dog beaches in the San Diego area. I even created an interactive map with every spot I know including both leash and off-leash beaches. This used to be our home town too 🙂
I linked in the post, but here you go again:
Paw Friendly & Off-Leash Beaches – San Diego, CA
And here’s the interactive map:
San Diego Paw Friendly Beach MAP
We’re “old friends” of Pizza Port up north of Del Mar (Solana) since that’s close to where we used to live back in the day. In fact just went there last week with some dogs & buddies. Haven’t been to Monkeypaw though so I’ll look that one up.
Nina
Overlooking the ocean and right now in full bloom of native plants–Sunset Cliffs Natural Park. It is dog heaven. Low tide is a very special beach walk then climbing the cliff to return.
Another dog friendly beach!
Imperial Beach. South end of Seacoast Blvd. Its a mile to the river. If its very low tide crossing the river will take you to the border fence another mile. Leave a lease on.
Yup, Imperial Beach was included in my doggie beach post and interactive map linked above.
Nina
Love that area too. For others reading the comments, La Jolla has the same hour limits on dogs as Mission Bay.
Nina
OK, now I see you’ve blogged Dog Beach – cool. In fact I now see you’ve got plenty of good SD info.
–
If you’re looking for a fun night out down in the Gaslamp, here’s something beer related to pivot off of down in that neighborhood.
A fun thing to see in person, have a bite and then go for a walk thru the Gaslamp.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/noble-experiment-san-diego
Check the Morena/Linda Vista Trolley station which is closest to you to connect to downtown and the Gaslamp without a car.
http://www.sdmts.com/trolley/trolleystationinfo.asp
Super cool. I did not know about the Noble Experiment. Cheers!
Nina
Trolley will take bikes (they seem liberal about dogs). A week/month pass makes it a no brainer at least when parking is at a premium.
love your site, been following for awhile, still 5 yrs to go till we hit the road 🙂
just wanted to mention some of my fav. spots/beers in san diego.
pizza port, and ballast point beers, stone brewery is nice also.
I prefer Coronado’s dog beach ,but no complaints on any of them.
We hit one of the Pizza Ports last week, but have yet to go to Ballast & Stone. Both are on the “list”
Nina
Love the dog friendly tips for the Mission Bay Area. I can see our day looking much like you guys…dog walks and great beer!
It’s gonna be tough for y’all to leave.
It’s what San Diego is MADE for 🙂 Love that this is a dog-friendly city too.
Nina
You guys are the best! Living on the road, biking and beer tasting. What a wonderful service to your fellow man. Seriously, you are a great writer. I laughed, sighed with delight and as always am very happy for you all and all others who are enjoying this type of living right now.
Why thank you for the lovely comment. Brings a smile to my face 🙂
Nina
Another very fun post! Perhaps we could get together for a bike and brew afternoon while we’re both in San Diego? I’ll email you to see about getting together. (Haha, no spandex in my wardrobe, either!)
The Guava Beach Bar in Mission Beach has a great happy hour along with several craft beers on tap that have great happy hour prices… this was a stop of our when we took some long walks on the beach…
Well, it seems you two have your priorities in check. We will have to get to the OB Noodle House, as this is the third time I have heard about how great it is. Looking forward to seeing you both this weekend. 🙂
Truly love OB Noodle House. Such a great little place with good food & beer at good prices.
Nina
I see no has mentioned Peanut Butter Stout by the Belching Beaver Brewery in North Park yet.
That is an absolutely incredible beer. I’m sure other people started doing Peanut Butter stouts first but there’s was the first one I’d ever heard of. It’s worth the trip up the hill plus there are a ton of other breweries all up and down the 30th street beer corridor!
Oh Belching Beaver is DEFINITELY on the list. I’ve tried their Peanut Butter Stout, which was good but actually not my favorite (their Horchata Milk Stout was better for my tastes IMHO). I’m looking forward to trying more of their beers.
Nina
As soon as I saw your title page my heart soared. We used to live in Mission Beach in the cutest little cottage on Santa Clara Place. I rode my bike everyday, morning or evening depending on my work schedule back then. We both had lived in the San Diego area several times and at this point in time I was determined to live on the beach. We both bought old VW’s, worked and lived the beach life. I think I literally woke up happy everyday there. Check! Off the bucket list!
Oh Sweeeeeeeeet! Those were the “golden days” I’m sure. Beach-side cottages are pricey now, but the charm is still all here. Love that you guys had VW’s too. Total surfer vibe!
Nina