Needless to say, the number of dedicated bike paths/bikways in the LA. Basin is fairly limited, relative to total roadway mileage. But, that is slowly changing. One of the bike-paths that has been around for a few years is a little far from my place in Burbank--it's the
Ballona Creek bike-path that runs along the (mostly) concrete-sided path of Ballona Creek from near downtown
Culver City, rougly10 miles to the ocean, where the creek spills into the sea, between
Marina Del Rey and
Playa Del Rey, two seaside neighborhoods quite close the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
The hope for this day-trip was to make it all the way from Burbank, via subway and bike, to the ocean, and then, using the beach trail to skirt LAX, grab the metro rail at Aviation Blvd. back; however, as is often the case in the summer in Los Angeles, once I got within a half-mile of the beach, the coast began to fog over, and the temperature plummeted by about 20 degrees, from a pleasant 85 to a less pleasant 65, plus a stiff breeze, making it feel even chillier. Normally, I wouldn't care, but I was dressed very lightly for the higher San Fernando Valley temps.
The trip began with a quick bike ride to
Universal City station, a speedy seven-minute ride under the hill to Hollywood, and a series of streets recommended by the L.A. Bicycle Coalition to
Venice Blvd., on which I traveled along the capacious Venice Blvd. bike lane, southwest toward Culver City. One lovely salad from Trader Joe's later, I resumed the finding the
Ballona Creek trail -- even if you don't have a map, it's easy: just head south from downtown CC toward the
Baldwin Hills--you can't miss them, as they loom over CC. The creek runs along the northern edge of the hills. However, there are specific access points to the bike path--you must enter at one of those access points: I entered at
Duquesne, and rode southwest about 7 miles to Lincoln Blvd. (Route 1)--at that point, afternoon fog drove me back.
Turning around, I headed back the way I came. But at Venice Blvd., and Hauser Blvd., I turned north on Hauser into the Miracle Mile section, then headed east on Wilshire Blvd., for a very bumpy (slow lane is horrible condition) ride to Wilshire and Western, where I grabbed the Purple/Red Line subway, back to the Universal City.
Notes:
Do not use Wilshire when traveling east west--choose a parallel street to the north or south--most of which go all the way through. Wilshire is not that busy on a weekend, but the slow lane is full of patches and potholes, and you may break your bike...or your back. The creek trail is charming and flat, and eventually goes near/through what remains of coastal wetlands. It's as pleasant a ride as you will find, off the beach, in developed L.A. Excellent benches, rest areas and nature/historical signage along the way make this a worthwhile route to travel. You can, of course, put your bike on one of the numerous bus-lines that cross this route, and shorten the total length and time of the ride.
This was a much easier ride than I thought -- and it only totals just under 20 miles. Start at the Aviation Blvd. Green Line station. Elevator down; escalator will send you to a bike-unfriendly exit. I'd love to see them repair the bike lane on Imperial Hwy., which is basically shot. But, it's a nice ride along the beach, past Vista Del Mar, and then a quick lunch stop in Marina Del Rey, at the Riverside shopping complex.
