California Wine Country – Solvang Cycling
6 days
From $ 3109
Duration6 days
book now
  • Etepia
  • California Wine Country – Solvang Cycling

Relish 6 days of sunny rides and SoCal wine country beauty, sampling Santa Barbara, Solvang, Santa Ynez, Los Olivos and Ojai. A nearly perfect locale for cycling, Santa Barbara and the Santa Ynez Valley offers spectacular weather, award-winning wine country, stunning beaches, meandering bike trails and iconic architecture throughout the region. Although you could spend weeks visiting the wineries of the Santa Ynez Valley, strolling around the city streets and along the many beaches of Santa Barbara, cycling through some of the most beautiful countryside of California, and climbing up to some of the most spectacular vistas along the Pacific Coast, we have condense your cycling journey to the best of the best in the area, including some of the most well known and more remote destinations. A perfect way to take in the Southern California sunshine. Your itinerary will include an extended cycle along the Pacific Ocean along a non-motorized vehicle bike path, an extended ride into Los Padres National Forest as we explore the resort community of Ojai and a visit to an old western saloon nestled into the mountains around the Santa Ynez valley. In addition to Santa Barbara and Ojai, we will initially center our journey in the Danish inspired town of Solvang, where the holiday season never ends. Come spend your cycling vacation in Southern California’s cycling mecca. Step into the Oscar-winning film Sideways.

This tour is operated by

  • Duration: 6 days
    Service level: Standard
  • Physical Grading: Demanding
  • Ends in: Park Shore Waikiki
    Ages: 18+
California Wine Country – Solvang Cycling - Tour Map

Itinerary

Expand all
Day 1: Vineyards, Marigold Fields & Local Varietals Tasting on Santa Rosa Road
Your guides will get you fitted to your bike and conduct a brief before your first ride. Lightly-trafficked Santa Rosa Rd is an ideal cycling route, offering gentle grades and vast stretches of vineyards, farmland and bright fields of marigolds. Along the way you’ll visit a tasting room to sample the varietals featured in the area. The next two nights we’ll be based in the Danish-inspired town of Solvang, you may see some familiar landmarks from the Paul Giamatti movie, Sideways. A film that put the region on the map in a rather entertaining way. Lunch and Dinner included.
Cycling: 39 mi Elevation Gain/Loss +1919 ft / -1762 ft; Transfer: 1.5 hours.
Meals: D
Day 2: Figueroa Mountain Loop & Free Time in Solvang
Surrounded by horse ranches and hillside vineyards, you’ll experience a quiet and thoughtful contrast to the typical bustling wine route. The warmer temperatures in this region welcome Bordeaux and Rhone varietals. After the ride, you’ll have time to further explore Solvang before we gather for a group dinner in the evening in Solvang. All meals included.
Cycling: 48 mi Elevation Gain/Loss: +5131 ft / -5132 ft.
Meals: B, L, D
Day 3: Foxen Canyon & Heaven Road
Today’s ride takes you through the Santa Maria Valley on scenic Foxen Canyon Road. The Santa Maria Valley produces complex wines with exceptionally balanced natural acidity and intense flavors. After our loop ride through wine country, we shuttle to an old mountainside western saloon along the appropriately named Stagecoach Road. we’ll saddle up and head uphill to the famed Camino Cielo or “Heaven Road” that undulates along the ridge line of the Santa Ynez mountains offering the opportunity for amazing panoramic views of the city down below and on clear days out to the Channel Islands. We’ll roll down Gibraltar road, past the historic mission and into the heart of the “American Riviera”, Santa Barbara. All meals included.
Cycling: 52 miles, Elevation Gain/Loss: +4312 ft / -4417 ft.
Meals: B, L, D
Day 4: Ride Santa Barbara to Ojai
Today offers you the chance to pedal along the Pacific Ocean where you can observe the ocean fauna and sandy beaches as you enjoy the nearly flay, easy riding to Ventura, CA. We’ll grab a bit of lunch around town before we begin a gradual climb along a beautiful bike path to the charming resort town of Ojai nestled in a valley in the Topatopa Mountains. Ojai is complete with artists shops and an eclectic aura. Breakfast and dinner included.
Cycling: 42 miles, Elevation gain/loss: +1596 ft / -864 ft.
Meals: D
Day 5: Wheeler Gorge, Oceanview Picnic & Los Padres National Forest
Our ride today is a straightforward climb from Ojai into Los Padres National Forest, named for the priests of the Spanish missions that traverse the state. You'll ride through Wheeler Gorge on your way up into the mountains. After a roadside stop and picnic lunch with an amazingly spectacular valley and Pacific Ocean view, you've earned the right for a fun, winding 3,000 ft descent back to Ojai. All meals included.
Cycling: 34 miles, Elevation gain/loss: +3547 ft / -3546 ft
Meals: B, L, D
Day 6: Valley to Shore
Finish late morning. Today offers you the chance to pedal back down into the valley along a scenic country road and through the upscale community of Montecito, home to many of the Hollywood elite. You’ll pedal through pastoral landscapes past avocado farms and along bike paths with the opportunity to head back to Santa Barbara along the Pacific Coast. Breakfast and Lunch included. After you bid goodbye to your new-found friends you can extend your stay and spend some time walking around Santa Barbara or you can take an optional shuttle to the Santa Barbara airport in Goleta for an early evening departure or an overnight. Breakfast and Lunch included.
Cycling: 36 miles, Elevation gain/loss: +2344 ft / -3067 ft; Transfer: 30 minutes (Optional).

End place: Park Shore Waikiki

Meals: B, L

Inclusions

Included

  • Five nights accommodations
  • all meals as noted in the daily itinerary
  • bikes or ebikes (limited availability)

  • Accommodation

    Lodge or cottage accommodations, 5 nights

Save up to 50% on tours! Get exclusive access to members-only deals by email.

Subscribe to our newsletter