WATERFRONT PARKS OF SAN DIEGO BAY-TIDELANDS & CORONADO LANDING

"MY BIKE"  -  ARNOS ROBINSON
        CORONADO TIDELANDS PARK

There are 21 public parks along the San Diego Bay, all with beautiful views. My goal is to visit, photograph, and write about each one—riding my bike along the way. Most are located on the 24-mile San Diego Bayshore Bikeway.

The more than 240 acres of parkland are managed by the Port of San Diego which provided a list and map on their website to guide my journey.

On-leash dogs are welcome and alcohol is not permitted without a special permit. Hours are 6:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. All require permits for groups of 25 or more. Additional amenities vary at each location and may include: picnic tables, play equipment, exercise stations, fishing piers, boat launches, concessions, and bike paths—see individual websites for details.

CORONADO FERRY LANDING

The Coronado Landing Park, 1201 1^st Street, is located at one end of the of the San Diego Bayshore Bikeway; this is where I will begin. It sits adjacent to the Coronado Ferry Landing Pier which is the arrival and departure point for ferries that transport hundreds of visitors and commuters daily between downtown San Diego and Coronado. It is the park with the most spectacular view of the downtown skyline and is usually busy, especially on weekends. There are a couple of benches, concrete walls, and grasslands for sitting with a nice view. It's a good place for people-watching; visitors come from all over the world and speak many languages. The 377-foot pier is popular for fishing.

The Landing offers many shops and restaurants, as well as an area with a waterfall, palm trees and tables to enjoy a meal or snack. A farmer's market is held here every Tuesday from 2:30 to 6:00 pm. This is also the setting of free Sunday afternoon concerts. They are held year-round, featuring a variety of local musicians and venues from jazz to pop.

CENTENNIAL PARK 

For a little more serenity and history, take a short walk north to Centennial Park, site of the original Ferry Landing Terminal. Although not officially part of the Port of San Diego parkland, it has a great view and is more peaceful and comfortable, with more seating available, to enjoy the panorama of downtown. I sometimes savor a morning coffee here with the fragrance from the spring-blooming Japanese mock orange filling the air, watching the boats pass, and listening to the birds chirping.

At the Orange Avenue entrance, there is a lovely rose garden where the shrubs are just starting to bloom. Next to them, is a historical landmark: the original Coronado Ferry Ticket Booth. The park sits in the original site of the Coronado Ferryboat Terminal which operated ferries between San Diego and Coronado from 1886 until the opening of the bridge in 1969. The ferries accommodated passengers, horses, buggies, and later, automobiles. Riding these ferries was a way of life and is a fond memory for many who lived here at that time. In 1987, the old car ferries were replaced with passenger ferries that now depart from the Coronado Landing Pier.

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For another great view and park, stroll south about one-half mile toward the Coronado Bridge. This waterfront path is one of the prettiest walks in San Diego. Here you will find a spectacular bridge view and the 22-acre Coronado Tidelands Park, 2000 Mullinex Drive, the largest San Diego Bay park.

CORONADO TIDELANDS PARK

The park is famous for its great view of the Coronado Bay Bridge which is particularly stunning at sunrise with the Laguna Mountains in the background. Adding to the photographic scene are the about 40 small sailboats that are moored here.

The park, being the largest along the bay, is especially popular on weekends when hundreds of people gather for picnics and sporting events. There is rarely a time that you can pass this park without seeing some activity. It also has an exercise station where I usually stop for push-ups when passing by.

A fascinating kinetic sculpture of a bicycle that rotates with the wind; sitting high up on a pole overlooking the bay, is a wonderful addition to this park. “My Bike” by Arnos Robinson is one of the many interesting, outdoor works of art along the bay.

ROSE GARDEN -  CENTENNIAL PARK

      

CORONADO FERRY LANDING

CENTENNIAL PARK
ORIGINAL FERRY LANDING BOOTH

SAN DIEGO SKYLINE
CENTENNIAL PARK

CORONADO TIDELANDS PARK

 CORONADO BRIDGE
TIDELANDS PARK

                                                   

BAYSHORE BIKEWAY--CORONADO TO SAN DIEGO

*LOEWS CORONADO BAY RESORT

  It's another warm sunny morning in California. I decide to head out for a ride on my newly tuned-up bicycle. I started at our apartment which is near the Coronado Ferry Landing and continued on the Bayshore Bikeway down the Silver Strand Boulevard. I made a stop at Loews Coronado Bay Resort to enjoy a cup of coffee with a pleasant bayview and then treked over to the Pacific Ocean for a short beach walk. At this point I was about three miles from Imperial Beach—still not sure how far I was going to bike.

I checked with the doorman at Loews about possibly continuing my bike ride to Imperial Beach and then taking the loop around the bay—ending up in downtown San Diego. He said someone he knew biked the 25 mile loop all the time and recommended it. I decided to continue.

SAN DIEGO BAY VIEW FROM PATH

SAN DIEGO BAY VIEW FROM PATH

I have considered this bikeway many times, but I must confess that I have been uneasy about the fact that over half of it is a bike lane shared with motorized traffic. In addition, I wasn't sure about the 25 miles and the route sounded a bit confusing—depending on whom you talked to.

Once on the San Diego side, the bike path turned into a bike lane—shared with motorized vehicles and the sounds of Freeway 5. I am pretty much a bike-path-only kind of biker, so this definitely placed me out of my comfort zone. It was reasonably well-marked, even though there were a number of turns. Also, because the route follows the bay it would be difficult to go totally off in the wrong direction.

I found a very interesting stop on Bay Boulevard called Artesanos Gamez, Inc. It is a rather large building filled with hundreds of items produced in Mexico. I especially liked the bright multi-colored pots and some of the small wooden chests that would be perfect at the side of our bed. It is a wholesale company that is open to the public. No one ever came out to help me, so I'm not sure about the pricing but it was a much appreciated break.

I continued on and took the detour into the very beautiful Chula Vista Park. There were a couple of restaurants near the park which I passed on and regretted soon afterwards because I was starting to get hungry. The industrial area ahead did not look very promising for food. After a few more miles, I came across the Waterfront Grill at Pier32. This time I stopped and leisurely enjoyed my lunch sitting on the outside deck with a harbor view.

HARBOR DRIVE - BIKE LANE

Up until the point where Tidelands Avenue intersects with Harbor Drive in San Diego, I would unequivocally recommend the bike route. Even though there wasn't always a bike trail it was quite interesting and the traffic was light. Once on Harbor Drive, however, the next five miles were not very enjoyable because of traffic, many busy intersections, and a bumpy bike lane.(I recommend taking this route on a weekend when there would be less traffic.)

Once I arrived at the Convention Center, the bike trail started again. I boarded the 3 p.m. ferry back to Coronado. It was a good experience and one that I had been trying to get up the courage to do for awhile, so I felt good about my accomplishment. I allowed a full day for the trip and I was glad to travel at my leisure and stop along the way—traits of a Vintage Traveler.

I just returned home—Ron said he wants to go out for Happy Hour. We'd better head out quickly, because if I sit down on the living room chair I might not move again until morning. 



FINAL STRETCH --BIKE TRAIL

*Photo from Loews photo collection