Los Angeles, California · ride
Rides in Los Angeles: the routes to bring your bike for
The rides locals in Los Angeles actually do, each with a public route page you can load on your computer. Real miles, real feet, where it starts, where the water is, and the line about what will get you hurt.
Best months: October to May. The coast rides all year; the canyons and Glendora Mountain Road are hot by late morning from June to September, so those start at dawn.
Bike routes in Los Angeles, listed
-
The beach path (Marvin Braude Bike Trail)
22 miles of paved path along the sand from Will Rogers State Beach to Torrance Beach, past Santa Monica, Venice, Marina del Rey and the South Bay towns. This is the ride for the day you land: flat, no cars, turn around whenever you want. The county keeps a map with mile markers and restrooms on its page.
Start: Will Rogers State Beach, north end of the path
Watch: The path leaves the sand through Marina del Rey on the Washington Blvd bike lane, and again from First Ave in Hermosa to the south end of Redondo Pier. At the north end, PCH from Chautauqua Blvd to Carbon Beach Terrace is a Caltrans fire-repair work zone: cones, 25 to 35 mph, single-lane closures 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays (Caltrans page and Santa Monica Daily Press, May to Sept 2026). Don't keep going north on PCH without checking the Caltrans page first.
-
Latigo Canyon – Mulholland – PCH loop (with Point Dume)
Up Latigo Canyon from PCH to its top at Kanan Road, a short jog onto Mulholland Highway heading west, then back down to PCH and home along the coast with a spur out to Point Dume. 44 miles and about 4,000 feet, per the RideWithGPS page. Helen's Cycles rides a 55-mile, 4,200-foot version from the Westside that comes back down Kanan. Mulholland Highway here is on the Mulholland ClimbFest course (April 10, 2027). The Rock Store on Mulholland Highway is the stop, weekends only.
Start: Civic Center Way near Pepperdine, Malibu
Watch: PCH from Chautauqua Blvd to Carbon Beach Terrace is a Caltrans fire-repair work zone: 35 mph with cones from Temescal Canyon to Sunset, then 25 mph with single-lane closures 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays from Sunset to Carbon Beach Terrace (Caltrans page and Santa Monica Daily Press, May to Sept 2026). Nothing published says what the shoulder is like for a bike. If you ride out from Santa Monica you go through it; go early. Topanga Canyon Blvd is closed from midnight to 5 a.m. with a 15 mph work zone by day.
-
Griffith Park and LA River loop
One loop that joins the two rides on this side of town: the LA River path through Elysian Valley, the Taylor Yard bridge, and Griffith Park's roads up past Cathy's Corner to Mount Hollywood Drive, which is closed to cars. About 26 miles and 1,300 feet, per the Komoot page. It's a loop, so start wherever you're staying along it. Spoke Bicycle Cafe sits on the river path in Frogtown, mid-loop.
-
Griffith Park loop from the Zoo lot
A counter-clockwise lap of Griffith Park from the free lot near the Zoo, past Travel Town and up to the Observatory. 13 miles and about 1,200 feet, per the RideWithGPS page. The shortest ride on this list; the one to do the evening you land if your legs want a hill.
Start: Free parking area near the LA Zoo, Griffith Park
-
Glendora Mountain Road (GMR)
The time-trial climb of the San Gabriel foothills: 8.6 miles and about 2,300 feet at a steady 5 percent from just above Big Dalton Canyon Road to the summit, the course Lightning Velo uses for its GMR Challenge. Measured from Sierra Madre Ave at the bottom of town it's 9.3 miles and 2,514 feet (CiclaValley). The pitch stays in the single digits the whole way. Past the summit the road runs five more miles north and down to the East Fork of the San Gabriel River; the Mt. Baldy loop in this guide carries it on from there. The Donut Man on Route 66 is the bottom-of-the-climb stop, open 24 hours per its listing.
Start: Glendora Mountain Road just above Big Dalton Canyon Road, Glendora
Watch: GMR is shut to vehicle traffic often, for fire prevention (CiclaValley); check the road status before you drive out. On the descent, watch for other riders. North of the summit the turns tighten.
-
Glendora Mountain Road to Mt. Baldy loop
The big day in the San Gabriels: 51 miles and about 6,850 feet, per the RideWithGPS page, out of Glendora up GMR and on to Mt. Baldy and back. The page gives the numbers and the town; it doesn't spell out the roads, so read the map before you ride it.
Start: Glendora
Watch: GMR is shut to vehicle traffic often, for fire prevention (CiclaValley); check the road status before you drive out.
-
The Donut loop (Palos Verdes)
The South Bay loop around the Palos Verdes peninsula, 28 miles and about 1,950 feet, per the RideWithGPS page, starting in Redondo Beach. It's the loop of the Donut Ride, the South Bay's group ride; the Donut Ride (Saturdays, 8:00 am) leaves Avenue I and Elena in Redondo Beach, per Big Orange Cycling's page; the no-drop Friendly Donut (Saturdays, 8:00 am, usually) leaves Miramar Park the same morning. Komoot has a 55-mile, 2,116-foot version from El Segundo Beach that adds the beach path both ways.
Start: Redondo Beach
-
Nichols Canyon – Mulholland (the La Grange Nichols ride)
Velo Club La Grange's club ride (Sundays, 8:00 am) from Raymond Fouquet Square in Westwood; open to non-members, and fast. East on Santa Monica Blvd and Sunset through Century City and Beverly Hills, three miles of steady climbing up Nichols Canyon to a 100-meter wall at the top, then about ten miles of fast rollers on Mulholland Drive west to Sepulveda, where the group regroups by the 405, and back down to Westwood. 27 miles per the club; about 1,950 feet per a RideWithGPS route of it. Ride it alone any day. With the group, sit at the back if a fast pack is new to you.
Start: Raymond Fouquet Square, Westwood Blvd & La Grange Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Watch: The club names them: cars coming down Nichols Canyon, and the crossings at Laurel Canyon, Coldwater Canyon and Beverly Glen on Mulholland. The club says new riders should not ride Mulholland alone.
Checked September 30, 2026. Roads close, trails wash out, and the numbers are the route page's. Ride your own ride.