Pacific Coast Bike Tour

The "LA to LA" ride: Los Altos to Los Angeles.

Day 6 · Thursday, September 10

Oceano → Solvang

Distance
59.2mi95.3km
Elevation gain
2261ft689m
Elevation loss
1804ft550m
Max elevation
1578ft481m
Oceano → Solvang Switch basemap (elevation / vegetation / plain) top-right; click any point for Google Maps, Apple Maps or Street View.
Download GPX — Day 6 Open in Ride with GPS

Google Maps Apple Maps Neither opens this route — they take only a start and an end over a link, so each draws its own way between Oceano and Solvang. Use them for the lie of the land; the GPX and Ride with GPS have the line we ride.

The day at a glance

The wine day. Santa Maria around mile 18 sits in one of the state's biggest strawberry and broccoli districts, then Foxen Canyon is the spine of the Santa Maria Valley AVA — a cool, wind-exposed valley that opens west to the ocean, which is why pinot noir and chardonnay do well this far south. The last stretch into Los Olivos and Solvang crosses into the Santa Ynez Valley AVA.

Worth looking up for

  • The best day for small towns: Arroyo Grande Village, Nipomo, Sisquoc, Los Olivos and Ballard are all on or near the route.
  • Rides the length of Foxen Canyon through the Santa Maria Valley wine country — tasting rooms are the main thing open along the middle of the day.

What to watch for

  • No mapped tree cover anywhere on the route.
  • The longest stretch without anywhere to stop is 17 mi, from Santa Maria to the Riverbench winery. Between there and Los Olivos the stops are tasting rooms, whose hours are far less dependable than a shop.
  • Late climb at mi 43.5–44.4, 301 ft at 6.6%, when the day is nearly done.

Towns along the way

  1. 0 Grover Beach 1.0 mi off
  2. 3 Arroyo Grande 1.4 mi off
  3. 11 Nipomo 1.4 mi off
  4. 18 Santa Maria 1.8 mi off
  5. 22 Rex
  6. 29 Garey
  7. 49 Rancho Los Potreros 0.9 mi off
  8. 53 Los Olivos
  9. 58 Solvang

Stops along the way

Mapped in OpenStreetMap and carried in the GPX as waypoints, so they show on a head unit too. Distances are miles from the start. Tap a name for Google Maps, or the arrow for Apple Maps. Not verified on the ground — opening hours and whether a tap actually runs are anyone’s guess. Water and restrooms are not listed here, because they are long lists you find on the road rather than plan around — but they are in the GPX, so a head unit still shows them. A marks a stop somebody picked by hand and vouched for, rather than one the OpenStreetMap query happened to return. Everything else here is within a quarter mile of the line; the few that are further say how far.

Shops & markets 2

Food & drink 7

Worth a look 2

Restaurants in Solvang

Places to eat at the end of the day, gathered by hand rather than from OpenStreetMap, so these are not the same as the stops above and are not in the GPX. Most are a short walk from the hotel; where one is not, the address says so. Nobody has eaten at them. Opening hours are deliberately not listed — they change, and a stale hour on a page is worse than none — so tap through before you set out. A name with no link had none to hand.