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Bike Along San Diego's Very Low-Traffic S-2

Several factors conspire this time of year to make the bicycle ride down the whole length of Highway S-2 one of the easiest, most carefree and exhilarating experiences you can have in San Diego County. The route, when followed from Highway 79 near Warner Springs to Ocotillo at Interstate 8, drops 2400 feet over 64 miles. There are a couple of non-trivial climbs, to be sure — but mostly you’ll descend in a leisurely stair-step fashion, as the elevation profile printed here suggests. Highway S-2 is seldom busy and has smooth, wide shoulders over most of its length. April’s strong, prevailing winds trend southeast — exactly the direction you’ll go.

All these good things are balanced, as they are for any long, one-way bike trip, by the necessity of some kind of transportation assistance. Ideally, you can recruit a driver with a “sag wagon” who can rendezvous with you at various spots along the way.

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Highway S-2’s alignment, which bridges a gap between the hot desert floor and the cooler mountains, was once an important link in the Southern Emigrant Trail, an all-season route into California. In just four or five hours of pedaling and coasting, you’ll travel (on silky pavement and in the opposite direction, of course) the final dreaded passage faced by ragtag settlers on their way to the coast well over a century ago.

Only a few outposts of civilization punctuate the lonely S-2 route: the tiny store at San Felipe, just past Teofulio Summit; Shelter Valley and its store, past Scissors Crossing (Highway 78 crossing); the Butterfield Ranch resort, just before the frightening drop of Campbell Grade; the Vallecito Stage Station; and Agua Caliente Springs, where you can stop for an agreeable soak. Beyond Agua Caliente, you face 26 waterless miles of open road. Take lots of water — early spring time temperatures can climb into the 90s.

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Several factors conspire this time of year to make the bicycle ride down the whole length of Highway S-2 one of the easiest, most carefree and exhilarating experiences you can have in San Diego County. The route, when followed from Highway 79 near Warner Springs to Ocotillo at Interstate 8, drops 2400 feet over 64 miles. There are a couple of non-trivial climbs, to be sure — but mostly you’ll descend in a leisurely stair-step fashion, as the elevation profile printed here suggests. Highway S-2 is seldom busy and has smooth, wide shoulders over most of its length. April’s strong, prevailing winds trend southeast — exactly the direction you’ll go.

All these good things are balanced, as they are for any long, one-way bike trip, by the necessity of some kind of transportation assistance. Ideally, you can recruit a driver with a “sag wagon” who can rendezvous with you at various spots along the way.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Highway S-2’s alignment, which bridges a gap between the hot desert floor and the cooler mountains, was once an important link in the Southern Emigrant Trail, an all-season route into California. In just four or five hours of pedaling and coasting, you’ll travel (on silky pavement and in the opposite direction, of course) the final dreaded passage faced by ragtag settlers on their way to the coast well over a century ago.

Only a few outposts of civilization punctuate the lonely S-2 route: the tiny store at San Felipe, just past Teofulio Summit; Shelter Valley and its store, past Scissors Crossing (Highway 78 crossing); the Butterfield Ranch resort, just before the frightening drop of Campbell Grade; the Vallecito Stage Station; and Agua Caliente Springs, where you can stop for an agreeable soak. Beyond Agua Caliente, you face 26 waterless miles of open road. Take lots of water — early spring time temperatures can climb into the 90s.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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