Touring * Street * Historic * Slalom *

Approaching La Jolla southbound on Interstate 5, exit at La Jolla Village Drive and turn right. After three-quarters of a mile, turn left onto Torrey Pines Road and proceed about 2.5 miles to Prospect Street. Turn right onto Prospect and follow it around the north curve of the peninsula for another mile until you reach Draper Street. Turn left at Draper to park at the La Jolla Recreation Center. Approaching northbound on Interstate 5, take the Ardath Road exit at the Interstate 5/Highway 52 interchange. After one northwesterly mile, Ardath merges onto Torrey Pines Road. Turn left and follow the directions above when you reach Prospect Street. Map: The San Diego County Bike Map is available free by calling (619) 231-2453.

Downtown La Jolla has wide sidewalks that host sidewalk cafes, interesting shops, and some promenade-style walkways. The community is perched on a hilly peninsula that is bordered by steep drops down to the Pacific Ocean. For the intermediate to advanced skater, the opportunities in this area are rich and plentiful. From the Recreation Center, skate northeast up the sidewalk on Prospect, the main shopping street of downtown La Jolla. You may find yourself avoiding the many pedestrians on the sidewalk during prime business hours or on a sunny weekend afternoon, but that's all part of the scene. Pass the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art on the left, at the Girard Boulevard intersection. After another block of window shopping on Prospect, cross the street to turn left at the Silverado Street/Coast Boulevard intersection and take Coast, a one-way street, down the hill to La Jolla Cove, making judicious use of your heel brake. Boomer Beach is just around the corner. From this point, you can continue skating south and hugging the coast for another three miles to connect up with the Mission Beach Boardwalk (see page 415). To do so, take Coast Boulevard past Marine Street Beach, then work your way down three or four blocks on coastal streets to Neptune Place to skate next to Windansea Beach. Jog one block east on Palomar Avenue to reach Camino de la Costa and follow this all the way to Bird Rock. Take Chelsea Avenue until it makes a 90 degree turn inland (the shortcut across is Crystal Drive). Turn right on La Jolla Boulevard and right again at Loring Street to reach the southern section of Crystal Drive, which leads to the entrance of the north end of the Mission Beach Boardwalk at the end of Law Street. Back at Boomer Beach, take Girard Boulevard off of Coast Boulevard to return to Prospect. Cross Prospect and skate south on Girard's shopping blocks. At Pearl Street, turn right and skate one block to Fay Avenue. (For another diversion on this trip, you could continue on Pearl to explore La Jolla Boulevard, but it doesn't have the same downtown flavor as Prospect. What it does have, though, is more outdoor eateries where skaters are welcome.) Follow Fay Avenue south, either on the street, if the traffic is light enough, or on the historic sidewalks. Every few yards on the three-panel concrete sidewalk, you will see the dated signature of the paver. You are skating on a surface that was put down in 1914! Considering how long ago it was built, you have to admit that this sidewalk is aging rather well. Skate all the way to the southern end of Fay Avenue where it meets Nautilus Street (some street skating is required). Across the intersection you can see a little-known connection path that used to be a railroad line. Cross Nautilus to enter the asphalt path and enjoy its interesting views, rolling terrain, and trailside foliage. Unfortunately, it is only three-quarters of a mile long; otherwise, it would merit its own listing in this book. On your way back up the short asphalt path, look for a branch to the left halfway up near a wood fence. Exit the trail here onto the cul-de-sac at the end of Draper Avenue. From here, savor the thrill of the hill while skating back down Draper to the Recreation Center. The pavement between Prospect and Pearl is especially smooth, and traffic along the whole hill is low enough that you can relax in the roll.