Death Valley Weekend
A 325 km loop
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Why this ride
A rider’s loop: clean exit, memorable middle, calm return. 325 km round from El Segundo - plan on about 5 h 54 of riding. It goes by way of Beverly Hills, Scenic stretch near Sunland and near Acton. The climb of the day is Las Flores. It tops out at about 1,300 m.
Roadbook
- Fuel stop near El Segundo
fuel
Fuel at 0 km.
- Las Flores
pass
Las Flores Canyon Road climbs straight up from the Pacific Coast Highway into the Santa Monica Mountains, so steep in places that it feels like riding up a wall, with tight hairpins, broken edges and views back over the ocean that get better with every metre. It connects to Rambla Pacifico and the ridge roads above Malibu, and it is a favourite of local riders who know it, and a nasty surprise for those who do not.
Las Flores is a small community in eastern Malibu, strung along the coast between the highway and the beach, with houses perched on stilts above the sand. The area has been hit repeatedly by wildfires, which sweep down the canyons in the dry season, driven by the Santa Ana winds, and by landslides and floods after the winter rains. Recent fires have devastated parts of this coast, and rebuilding is ongoing.
The beaches along this stretch are narrow and rocky, with surfers and seals, and access is limited by private property. The Getty Villa, a reconstruction of a Roman villa housing a collection of ancient art, is a few kilometres east, near Pacific Palisades.
The Pacific Coast Highway is a scenic but busy road, with heavy traffic, speeding cars and sudden stops. Watch for pedestrians, cyclists and cars pulling out of driveways. The canyon roads above are narrow, steep and winding, with variable surfaces and debris.
Fuel in Malibu is scarce and among the most expensive in the state, so fill up in Santa Monica or the Valley before you come. Ride Las Flores uphill rather than down if you are new to it; the descent, on a hot day with soft brakes, is not where you want to learn how steep it is.
- Near Beverly Hills
finish
Beverly Hills is a city within a city, an enclave of palm-lined streets, mansions and luxury shops surrounded by Los Angeles, and this finish lies just south of it, between Beverly Hills, Century City and Culver City. The towers of Century City, built on the old backlot of 20th Century Fox, rise to the north, and the studios of Culver City, where MGM once made its musicals, are a short ride south.
Rodeo Drive, a few blocks away, is the most famous shopping street in the city, with designer boutiques and luxury cars. The Beverly Hills Hotel, the pink palace on Sunset Boulevard, has been a haunt of Hollywood stars since the 1910s. Greystone Mansion, a huge Tudor-style house built for an oil heir, is now a public park with gardens and views over the city.
Coming back from Death Valley, the lowest, hottest place in North America, the final stretch crosses the desert and the mountains on the interstates and arrives in the LA basin through the endless suburbs. The traffic in this part of the city is heavy at all hours, and the boulevards are lined with traffic lights. Lane splitting is legal in California, but do it carefully.
Two days ago the loudest thing around you was the wind across the salt flats; now it is a leaf blower, a siren and a Lamborghini downshifting at a red light. Give yourself a moment before you take off the helmet. Then go and eat: within a mile of here you can have Persian kebabs, kosher delis, Ethiopian stews or a forty-dollar salad, which is the real reward of finishing in Los Angeles.
- Scenic stretch near Sunland
scenic
Scenic stretch near Sunland, about halfway.
- Photo stop near Acton
photo
Photo stop near Acton sits at 199 km, about halfway.
- Near Los Serranos, on the way back
swim
The hot, dry winds that blow down from the deserts in autumn and winter, fanning wildfires across Southern California, are called the Santa Anas, and they are often said to take their name from the Santa Ana Canyon, where they funnel through the hills towards the coast. This stop lies right at the mouth of that canyon, near Yorba Linda and Corona, where the Santa Ana River cuts through the hills between Orange County and the Inland Empire.
The SR-91 freeway runs through the canyon, and it is one of the most congested roads in America, with traffic crawling in both directions at rush hour. Toll lanes offer a faster but expensive alternative, and motorcycles may have different rules on them, so check before you go.
There is no good swimming here. The Santa Ana River is a channel of concrete and sand, dry for much of the year, and the reservoirs nearby are not for bathing. The nearest real swimming is the ocean, about an hour's ride west, or Lake Elsinore, to the south-east.
Chino Hills State Park, to the north, is a wild area of rolling hills, oak woodland and grassland, with trails and views over the valleys. It is a surprising escape from the suburbs.
Coming back from Death Valley, the contrast is total. A day ago you were in the lowest, hottest, emptiest place in North America; now you are inching through one of its busiest freeway canyons, surrounded by commuters. Lane splitting helps, carefully done, but patience helps more.
Corona and Yorba Linda have fuel and every chain restaurant known to man. Yorba Linda also holds the birthplace and library of Richard Nixon, a small farmhouse his father built, which is an odd and interesting stop if you arrive with daylight and curiosity to spare. When the Santa Anas are blowing, ride with extra care: gusts in the canyon are strong, and fire crews may close roads with no warning.
- Food stop near Santa Ana
food
A break here at 299 km.
- Back to Death Valley
finish
After the heat, the dust and the silence of the desert, this is the city's edge: planes thundering in low over the beach, surfers in the water, and cyclists on the Strand, the paved path that runs along the sand.
El Segundo means the second in Spanish, and the town got its name in the early twentieth century when Standard Oil built its second California refinery here. The refinery is still working and its glowing towers at night add an industrial backdrop to the coast. Next to it lie the dunes of Dockweiler and Playa del Rey, where a small sandy preserve protects the El Segundo blue butterfly, a tiny insect found nowhere else. It is a strange thing to find at the end of a runway.
Manhattan Beach, a few kilometres south, is a polished beach town with a long pier, a lively volleyball scene and cafés full of people who look like they live on the sand. The sunsets here are excellent, and on clear evenings the sea turns to molten bronze. From here, Pacific Coast Highway runs south to the Palos Verdes peninsula, a rich, hilly district with ocean views, tight curves and cliffs, though the road is also crowded with cars and cyclists on weekends.
Traffic is the main hazard. Streets near the airport are choked in the late afternoon, lanes shift abruptly, and drivers are distracted. Allow plenty of time, and if you can, arrive after the evening peak. Everything is in easy reach: fuel, food, hotels, repair shops, car washes to rinse off the desert dust. There are fish tacos at stands along the coast, and the beach towns have a good range of coffee and bakeries.
Fog, known here as the June gloom, often blankets the coast in late spring and early summer, and the best weather comes in September and October. Ride out in the morning and enjoy the long, calm light on the water.