Touring *

From Interstate 5 southbound, follow the signs to the San Diego Airport exit. Take the one-way street below the freeway for a mile and a half. Turn right onto North Harbor Drive, still following the signs for the airport. After you pass the airport interchange, look to the left for entrances to Spanish Landing Park, where there is plenty of free parking. The trail begins under the bridge at the far west end of the park.

Skate the Embarcadero to saturate your senses with the seaside ambiance at the heart of beautiful San Diego. This tour starts at Spanish Landing Park, a pretty stretch of landscaped lawns and trees with 10-foot-wide pink sidewalks right on the water's edge. From this northern vantage point, you can fully relish the fantastic views of Coronado Island behind a row of spiky masts and the downtown San Diego skyscrapers just across the channel. Colorful maps posted at intervals along the trailside describe what you will see in the harbor.

The Spanish Landing sidewalks follow North Harbor Drive east for one mile. At every main parking lot entrance, they detour onto the smooth asphalt pavement, offering an irresistible opportunity to stop and play when cars are few and far between. At the Harbor Island Drive/Airlane intersection, turn right and skate down the sidewalk a short way to cross near the Sheraton (watch for cars) and continue on the bike route. A diversion presents itself here. If you don't mind skating on a three-foot-wide sidewalk (or in the street), you can tour the length of Harbor Island Drive. The reward is 1.4 miles of tidy landscaping and great views. Skating is only allowed on the sidewalk on the north side.

Continuing on the Embarcadero path next to North Harbor Drive's noisy airport traffic, the next mile is virtually pedestrian-free and great for fast skating. The wide concrete path is graced with trees and street lamps, and the only interruptions are raised cracks and rough asphalt where it crosses two or three Coast Guard driveways. After passing the grounds of the U.S. Coast Guard station, the route curves to the south toward downtown San Diego, offering another opportunity for taking some photographs. This is the official start of the Embarcadero.

Slow down to enjoy the cruise past the tuna fleet docks and up to the Maritime Museum with its Star of India and America's Cup display. From here on, crowds of tourists congest the Embarcadero, especially on weekends. The Coronado ferry departs on the hour from between the B Street and Broadway Piers. (Round-trip fare is $6. Remove your skates to board.) The Navy Pier is paved in concrete, which makes for a fun diversion. Oftentimes, a ship will be docked there for close inspection. The Tuna Harbor and commercial fishing pier are next on the route. Here the skating surface becomes unpleasant, forcing you to negotiate pebbled aggregate, lumpy brickwork and pitted asphalt. Grin and bear it. The tile and aggregate promenade takes you into Seaport Village, where skating is not allowed. Instead turn left to loop around through the outer parking lots.

For a fun sidetrip when crossing the main Seaport Village entrance, take a right on the short, somewhat rough public access street back toward the bay to enter the northern lobe of Embarcadero Marina Park. There you'll have your choice of wide cement pathways wending out and back from the end of the marina breakwater, with great views of the bay and Coronado island. Heading back on the street through Seaport Village, take a right at the white fence at the outer parking lot and head down the short lane behind the Marriott Hotel. A quick jog toward the bay on a cement walkway will bring you back to the Embarcadero promenade on the south side of Seaport Village. Continue on the short leg to the end of the Embarcadero path.

One last diversion awaits up Marina Parkway to the right. Follow the street to the southern lobe of Embarcadero Marina Park where wide concrete paths and fitness stations encircle the lawns and reveal yet another harbor view. During the summertime, outdoor concerts are held here, but at the other end of the social spectrum, this is also a daytime hangout for local homeless people.