Ride Costa Mesa: Self-guided bike tours
Costa Mesa Alliance for Better Streets volunteers have been helping plan routes for the City of Costa Mesa's monthly bike rides (started & hosted by Council Member Arlis Reynolds) since they began in 2019. Each ride is typically in the 7-10 mile range, and is designed to tour a different part of the city. Most rides require some riding on city streets, though we try to minimize riding on high-volume streets as much as possible.
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If you're interested in bicycling around the city, we hope that these might give you a few ideas for rides. As with any published directions, please independently check them (things may have changed; we may have made a mistake) and always ride within your own abilities and comfort level.
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If you have any questions, or suggestions for other routes, please send them to marc@cmabs.org.
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Westside Parks
Route sheet: GoogleDoc
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The ride that started it all! 8 miles round-trip starting at Marina View Park (on 19th) and visiting Canyon Park, Talbert Regional Park, Fairview Park, the OC Model Engineers, and Vista Park. Very family-friendly - most of the ride is on off-street trails. Some of the trails are dirt, so narrow road bike tires may have problems and trails may be muddy after rain.
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Mesa Verde Parks
Route sheet: Annotated Map / RideWithGPS
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7-mile tour of Mesa Verde's parks, starting at Balearic and visiting Fairview Park, Moon Park, Smallwood Park, Mesa Verde Park, and Estancia Park. Very family-friendly - most of the ride is on off-street trails or very calm residential streets.
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Eastside Parks
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8-mile tour of Costa Mesa's Eastside parks starting at Heller Park and visiting Pinkley Park, Harper Park, Jordan Park, Brentwood Park, the Del Mar Community Gardens, the new park at University / Santa Ana, and Upper Newport Back Bay. There's even a convenient FroYo stop at the end! Almost all of this ride is on Eastside streets, so it's moderately family-friendly.
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North-Central Parks
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6.5-mile tour of Costa Mesa's north-central (District 2 & 3) parks, starting at Tewinkle Park and visiting the Orange Coast College Horticulture Gardens, Gisler Park, Paularino Park, and the site of the proposed Paularino Channel Trail. Advanced riders can take a detour to Shiffer Park. Almost all of this ride is on city streets, some of them fairly busy (Fairview and Baker), so it's not kid-friendly.
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Parks North of the 405
Route sheet: GoogleDoc
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10-mile tour of Costa Mesa's parks north of the 405, starting at SoCo and visiting South Coast Plaza, Noguchi Garden, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Neptune Water Spouts, Unity Bridge, Wakeham Park, Wimbledon Park, the potential site of One Metro West, and Moon Park. This ride is on extremely busy streets that have sub-par bicycle infrastructure; it is for advanced riders only and not recommended for children.
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Historical Sites in Costa Mesa
Route sheet: GoogleDoc
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7-mile tour of a few of Costa Mesa's historical gems, starting at the Costa Mesa Historical Society building and visiting Save Our Youth, Costa Mesa Playhouse, Ketchum-Libolt Park, the Fairview Park Historical Mural, the Diego Sepulveda Adobe in Estancia Park, Fairview Park, the Freedom Homes Tract, and Costa Mesa's early industrial area. This ride is mostly on Westside residential streets, with a bit of riding on Placentia's buffered bike lane; it's moderately family-friendly.
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Fire and Police Stations: Three route options!
Route sheet: GoogleDoc
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Our 2019 holiday ride where we delivered cookies to all the police and fire stations in the city. Riders can choose from three routes, which all begin and end at Tewinkle Park:
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2-mile family route: Visit one police station and one fire station and ride around the OC Fairgrounds. This ride is entirely off-street, and thus suitable for riders of all ages and abilities.
9-mile intermediate route: Visit three fire stations (stations 3, 4, and 5) and two police stations (Main and the Westside Substation). This route is on mostly residential streets, and is moderately family-friendly.
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19-mile advanced route: Visit all six fire stations (stations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) and all three police stations (Main, Westside Substation, and South Coast Plaza Substation) on this epic ride through the city. The last 7 miles of this ride require riding on extremely busy streets that have sub-par bicycle infrastructure; it is for advanced riders only and not recommended for children.
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Donut Shops
Route sheet: GoogleDoc
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8-mile tour of a selection of south Costa Mesa's donut shops, starting at the Donald Dungan Library and visiting Famous Donuts, Miss Donut & Bakery, Newport Donut, Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee, Oh Those Donuts, and Fill Bakeshop & Creamery. Add on Victor Donuts to extend the ride about a mile or so. This route uses mostly residential streets, but does include an extended portion on Wilson, a busy street with sub-par bicycle infrastructure, so it's moderately family-friendly at best.
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