Pacific Coast Bike Tour

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

Day 2 · Sunday, September 6

Santa Cruz → Monterey

Distance
47.7mi76.8km
Elevation gain
1640ft500m
Elevation loss
1440ft439m
Max elevation
289ft88m
Santa Cruz → Monterey Switch basemap (elevation / vegetation / plain) top-right; click any point for Google Maps, Apple Maps or Street View.
Download GPX — Day 2 Open in Google Maps Open in Apple Maps

The day at a glance

The Pajaro Valley behind Watsonville is one of the largest strawberry and cane-berry districts in the country; the low ground either side of the road is berries under plastic for much of the year. Nearer the coast it turns to artichokes and brussels sprouts, and at Moss Landing the route passes Elkhorn Slough, a tidal estuary and one of the better bird sites on this coast.

Worth looking up for

  • Flat coastal day along Monterey Bay, the gentlest climbing of the trip at 1,640 ft.
  • Moss Landing sits right on the route at roughly halfway — a good lunch stop.

What to watch for

  • Nothing steeper than 3.5% anywhere on the route — the least climbing of the whole trip at 1,640 ft.

Towns along the way

  1. 0 Santa Cruz 0.6 mi off
  2. 5 Capitola 0.9 mi off
  3. 8 Seacliff
  4. 12 Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley 1.2 mi off
  5. 15 Ellicott
  6. 21 Pajaro Dunes 1.1 mi off
  7. 27 Moss Landing
  8. 32 Morocojo 0.7 mi off
  9. 43 Sand City
  10. 46 Monterey

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 6

Shops & markets 8

Food & coffee 6

Tasting rooms & bars 4

Parks 3

Restrooms 6

Historic 4