San Diego Bike Trails Map 2026: Where eBikes Can Ride

1,407.6 miles of trail and path · 313 named trails of a mile or more · 674.7 miles open to a Class 1 e-bike · 77 passages quoted from the bodies that wrote them · Rules read November 7, 2026

Verified November 7, 2026: every rule here is quoted from the body that wrote it: the California Legislature; the City of San Diego's code, parks pages and Police Department; the County's code, fact sheet and trail file; the Port's code; the River Park; State Parks; the Fish and Game Commission; four federal land agencies; and every other city whose rules could be read. Each stretch of ground counts once.

Quick Answer: A Class 1 or 2 e-bike may ride County park trails open to bicycles, San Dieguito River Park trails and Poway's network; a Class 3 is barred from both park systems' trails. No e-bike may ride Port bayfront paths, Ocean Front Walk, Bayside Walk or unposted state wildlife land. On City of San Diego open space, follow the sign.

Every e-bike we sell ships free to San Diego and everywhere else in the contiguous United States. Browse our e-bikes, or use our San Diego e-bike guide to match a bike to your neighborhood, your hills and the coast.

The Lake Hodges bicycle pedestrian bridge on the Coast to Crest Trail, where Class 1 and 2 e-bikes ride and Class 3 does not, in a scene generated with Playcut from a photograph of the bridge by Sam Litvin.

California hands the trail question to whoever runs the trail: a city, county or public agency "may prohibit, by ordinance, the operation of an electric bicycle or any class of electric bicycle" on a hiking or recreational trail it governs (Veh. Code § 21207.5(b)). San Diego County's managers have used that power in different ways, so one e-bike can be welcome on one side of a park boundary and barred on the other.

This map shows which of San Diego County's 1,407.6 mapped miles of trail and off-street path your e-bike may ride, class by class, on the rules read November 7, 2026, and who says so. It ties 8,423 trail pieces from the managers' own files, like the County's park trail file, to the body that runs each one wherever a file read names it. Every piece is a row in the trail register.

You will find California's own e-bike rules, from helmets to the class labels, on California e-bike laws, and every state's line sits in electric bike laws by state. The state's other trails are on the California e-bike trail atlas, and Los Angeles's trail map reads the same Vehicle Code a hundred miles north.

For a test ride near you, see the San Diego e-bike shop directory or California's shop directory. Our other city atlases cover Phoenix, San Antonio, Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York City; the state atlases are listed in e-bike trails by state, and e-bike trails near me explains the federal and state park rules in plain terms.

In this guide

• How to read the map
• Who decides on each trail in San Diego County
• The state rule, and who can change it
• Mission Bay, Ocean Front Walk and the beach walkways
• The Bayshore Bikeway, agency by agency
• City of San Diego parks and open space
• County parks: Class 1 and 2 where bicycles ride
• The San Dieguito River Park and the Coast to Crest Trail
• Cleveland National Forest
• State parks: roads, with two exceptions
• Wildlife land, refuges, BLM land and the bases
• Other cities' e-bike rules
• What could change before your next ride
• San Diego bike trails riders ask about
• San Diego County trails, area by area
• Where riders get caught out
• Streets, bike lanes and sidewalks
• Choosing an e-bike for San Diego's trails
• The bottom line
• Frequently asked questions
• How we verified this map · Limitations · Source register

How to read the map

Each line is a stretch of trail or off-street path, colored by what an e-bike may do there under the rule of the body that holds the ground.

San Diego County: 1,407.6 miles of trail and path; 276.2 every class, 378.7 Class 1 and 2, 19.8 Class 1 only, 283.9 read two ways, 274.2 closed, 174.8 not established.

Green takes every class and blue takes Class 1 and 2. Purple takes Class 1 alone, which on this map means San Onofre State Beach. Amber marks a rule, or a pair of the managers' own records, that can honestly be read either way, and the red dashed lines are closed. Gray lines sit on ground whose rule could not be read: ride them only where a posted sign says you may.

The class is printed on your e-bike's label. A Class 1 bike helps only while you pedal and stops helping at 20 mph, a Class 2 adds a throttle that also stops at 20 mph, and a Class 3 helps while you pedal up to 28 mph (Veh. Code § 312.5). Your class decides more of this map than the brand does.

Who decides on each trail in San Diego County

The body that runs the ground you ride on makes the rule: a County park trail follows the County, a beach walkway follows the City, a bayfront path on the tidelands follows the Port and a forest road follows the Forest Service.

The table's two middle columns show where the classes part ways. If you ride a Class 3, you keep the Forest Service's motorized routes, Ocotillo Wells, Poway's network and Oceanside's paths, and you lose nearly every County, River Park, Carlsbad and Encinitas trail.

The state rule, and who can change it

In California an e-bike starts from the same footing as a pedal bike: "An electric bicycle is a bicycle" (Veh. Code § 231). Its motor "does not exceed 750 watts of power," and its pedals are "fully operable" (§ 312.5(a)). Where a bicycle may ride, your e-bike starts with the same right, until the body that runs the ground says otherwise.

Three statutes let it say otherwise. A local authority or public agency may close "an equestrian trail, or hiking or recreational trail" to e-bikes, or to one class, by ordinance (§ 21207.5(b)). State Parks may close "any bicycle path or trail within the department's jurisdiction" (§ 21207.5(c)).

Any public agency, too, "may adopt rules or regulations to restrict, or specify the conditions for, the use of" e-bikes "on public property under the jurisdiction of that agency" (§ 21113(g)).

If you ride with children, age is set in two layers. "A person under 16 years of age shall not operate a class 3 electric bicycle" anywhere in the state (§ 21213). A pilot law written for this county lets its cities and the County bar riders under 12 from Class 1 and 2 bikes (§ 21214.7), and cities including San Diego, Chula Vista and Escondido have adopted it, each on its own date.

From January 1, 2027, AB 2346 lets a city or county set a speed limit of 15 or 20 mph on a bike path, or 10 mph "in limited areas with high pedestrian volumes or sight distance challenges" (AB 2346, new § 21214.8). Watch for new speed limit signs on the bike paths you ride after that date.

Mission Bay, Ocean Front Walk and the beach walkways

You may not ride any e-bike on four San Diego walkways, because the City makes it "unlawful for any person to operate any motorized transportation device in the following locations," and its definition says a motorized transportation device "includes: shared mobility devices, electric bicycles, motorized bicycles" (SDMC § 84.18; § 84.18(a)).

Mission Bay and the beach walkways: 14.2 miles of trail and path; 0.3 Class 1 and 2, 3.5 read two ways, 10.5 closed.

The four places where you walk your e-bike, in the code's own order:

1. Ocean Front Walk, from the South Mission Beach Jetty north to its end at Ocean Boulevard and Law Street in Pacific Beach.
2. Bayside Walk, on the west side of Mission Bay Park, from San Diego Place to Corona Oriente Road at the end of Crown Point Park.
3. The east side of Mission Bay Park, from De Anza Road south to the South Shores Boat Launch and Park.
4. The La Jolla Shores boardwalk, from Avenida De La Playa north to the northeast corner of Kellogg Park.

The rule does not apply to "any physically disabled person using a motorized transportation device in these locations" (§ 84.18(c)). On the map, Ocean Front Walk and Bayside Walk carry 7.4 closed miles and the east side's closed reach 3.1. The La Jolla Shores boardwalk is not drawn on the map, so walk your bike there.

Bayside Walk follows the bay shore from San Diego Place around Sail Bay to Crown Point, where the City's bike path file calls it the Crown Point Bike Path, and the map closes it as far as Corona Oriente Road (§ 84.18(b)(2)). On Crown Point's east shore, past where the walk meets that road, the code's "to Corona Oriente Road" can mean either end, so 0.7 miles there read two ways.

The City counts "close to 14 miles of bike paths along Mission Bay" (City of San Diego). Off the four named stretches, the paths you ride fall under the park code's bicycle rule, which reads two ways for e-bikes (City parks, below).

Near the beaches you also meet a speed limit: "It is unlawful for any person to exceed 8 miles per hour" on Ocean Front Walk, on the pathways of Mission Bay Park's north and west sides and around Bonita Cove, Ventura Cove, Bahia Point and Sail Bay, and "This limitation applies to all wheeled methods of transportation" (SDMC § 63.0109).

Signs back the code on the east shore. The City told its Mission Bay Park Committee that "The bike path from De Anza Cove to Fiesta Island has signage that clearly notifies users that no motorized vehicles, scooters, bicycles, devices are allowed on the bike path," and that the Mike Gotch Bridge "is posted with City signage that prohibits motorized vehicles" (Mission Bay Park Committee, September 1, 2026).

Fiesta Island's loop is a road, and a road open to cars stays open to your e-bike.

The code names only these four stretches: nothing in it reaches Mission Bay's south shore or Crown Point's path beyond Corona Oriente Road.

The Bayshore Bikeway, agency by agency

The Port calls the Bayshore Bikeway an "Iconic, 24-mile bike route along San Diego Bay," and Chula Vista reports that "Eighteen (18) miles of the bikeway have been built to date" (Port of San Diego; City of Chula Vista). Where it runs on the street, you may ride it on any e-bike as a bike lane; its off-street pieces split by agency.

The Bayshore Bikeway's off-street pieces: 27.3 miles of trail and path; 4.2 every class, 3.3 Class 1 and 2, 8.5 closed, 11.3 not established.

On the Port's tidelands your answer is no, whatever your class. "No person shall ride or otherwise operate or cause to be operated a Motorized Pedicab or an MMD in or on any Sidewalk, Promenade, Multi-Use Pathway, Nature Trail, Plaza, Public Parking Garage, Pier, or Park" (Port Code § 8.07(c)(1)), and an MMD is "A mobility device, such as an EPAMD, Electric Bicycle" or similar (§ 8.07(b)(9)).

A multi-use pathway is any path "intended or suitable for more than one mode of travel" (§ 8.07(b)(12)), which takes in the bayfront paths on Port land, among them the Embarcadero path, North Harbor Drive's bike path, Coronado's Tidelands Park and part of Chula Vista's bayfront greenbelt.

The Port's own summary says where you may ride: "MMDs are allowed to operate on roadways, parking lots, bike lanes, drive isles and streets" (Port of San Diego). On tidelands, "No person under the age of sixteen (16) years old shall operate an MMD" (§ 8.07(c)(14)), a stricter line than the state's.

Coronado's stretch and the Silver Strand read gray. Coronado's own rule could not be read (Limitations), and State Parks names no paved-trail designation for Silver Strand State Beach, whose policy allows e-bikes on "paved (asphalt or concrete) bike trails used for local or regional commuting" only where a unit designates them (State Parks). Until a posted sign opens it, treat the Strand's path as unconfirmed.

City of San Diego parks and open space

The City's park code allows bicycles in four places and then bars "any other motorized vehicles" from everywhere else in its parks: "Motorcycles or any other motorized vehicles are prohibited except on roads designated and established for automotive traffic" (SDMC § 63.0102(b)(19)). Whether your e-bike, which the state calls "a bicycle," is one of those "other motorized vehicles," the code does not say.

Bicycles themselves may ride "where posted to authorize bicycle riding," "on any designated bikeway," on roads open to cars, and on fire and service roads "unless otherwise posted" (§ 63.0102(b)(19)). The Police Department's summary reads: "E-Bikes are allowed on bike lanes, roads, and most bike paths," adding that "Class 3 may have extra restrictions on bike paths" (San Diego Police Department). Neither page names e-bikes on open-space trails.

The County's 2022 e-bike briefing reads the City's rule one way: "City of San Diego allows Class 1 & 2 E‐Bikes on trails where a traditional bicycle is allowed, unless otherwise posted" (County of San Diego, 2022). That is another agency's account; the City has not published it as its own. So on 224.9 of the City's 234.5 park miles you will find amber lines for every class: the rule reads two ways.

Three City parks add their own words. Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve: "Bicycles are allowed only on designated trails, speed limit is 10 miles per hour as posted" (City of San Diego). Black Mountain Open Space Park: "Motorized vehicles are prohibited on all trails (CVC 38301)" (City of San Diego).

The San Pasqual Valley Trails page says "Note that bicyclists and equestrians are not allowed," while the City's trail file lists those lines for shared use (City of San Diego; trail file), so 7.7 miles there read two ways as well.

Mission Trails Regional Park, a park riders ask about by name, is a City park, and the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation "has served as the City's nonprofit partner at the park since 1988" (Mission Trails Regional Park).

Its 8,000 acres hold 37.5 mapped miles (master plan page), and its trails follow § 63.0102 like the City's other open space. The park's trail map marks each trail hiking-biking or hiking-only, and you keep every bicycle off a hiking-only trail.

The San Diego River Trail "is planned to be a 52-mile long trail" from the headwaters near Julian to Ocean Beach, built "in segments, when available land intersects with available funding" (Lakeside's River Park Conservancy). The map holds 12.5 miles of built path under that name, run by the City and others: in Mission Valley you ride City bike paths, open to Class 1 and 2.

County parks: Class 1 and 2 where bicycles ride

The County puts its rule in one sentence: "Class 1 and 2 electric bicycles are permitted on all County of San Diego paved pathways and trails where bicycles are permitted unless specifically restricted by DPR for safety and maintenance concerns" (County of San Diego, E-Bike Fact Sheet 2025).

If you ride a Class 3, the County has a separate line: "Class 3 electric bicycles are not permitted on trails but are allowed on park roads and must follow all motorized vehicle regulations" (fact sheet).

The County Code says the same in its own words, barring a bicycle or "E-bike" in a County park "except in areas designated for its use," with "E-bikes allowed pursuant to State law" (County Code § 41.130(b)).

The fact sheet lists five places "closed to use by all classes of electric bicycles": the Lindo Lake, Jess Martin and Valley Center Community Park skate parks, Ramona Grasslands' Old Survey Road 97 Trail, and Sweetwater Bike Park (fact sheet).

The County's own trail file goes further. It opens 166.2 miles of County trail to e-bikes and marks 33.5 miles of bicycle trail in 19 parks as closed to them, the largest in Tijuana River Valley Regional Park (13.8 miles), Mt. Gower Preserve (5.8), Santa Ysabel Preserve (3.9) and Dictionary Hill County Park (3.2) (County trail file).

The two records meet in only two parks, and there they disagree: the trail file (County trail file) marks Ramona Grasslands' Old Survey Road 97 trail and Sweetwater Summit's bike park trail open to e-bikes, which the fact sheet closes. The map follows the fact sheet where it names a site and reads the trail file's other closures two ways for Class 1 and 2.

Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, at the border, is a County park with 19.7 mapped miles, though part of the valley is national wildlife refuge with its own rule. In all, on a Class 1 or 2 e-bike you may ride 175.0 of the County's 213.3 miles; on a Class 3, keep to its park roads.

The San Dieguito River Park and the Coast to Crest Trail

The San Dieguito River Park opens its trails to the first two classes and closes them to the third: "Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are allowed on all SDRP trails where standard pedal bikes are allowed, unless specifically restricted for safety and maintenance concerns" (San Dieguito River Park). If you ride a Class 3, note that its prohibited list starts with "Class 3 PAS e-bikes."

The Coast to Crest Trail crosses several managers between the Del Mar lagoon and Volcan Mountain, and the map holds 52.4 miles under that name:

Del Mar's ordinance closes "Any trail or walkway within the confines of the San Dieguito Lagoon and River Valley, unless designated and signed as permitting Bicycle access, with the exception of the Coast to Crest Trail, which shall expressly permit Bicycles, including class 1 and class 2 Electric Bicycles" (Del Mar § 14.54.040).

Where the trail crosses the City's San Pasqual Valley Trails, the City's page (City of San Diego) and the River Park's rule (San Dieguito River Park) disagree, and the map reads it two ways.

Cleveland National Forest

The Forest Service treats your e-bike as a motor vehicle, so "Class 1, 2, and 3 e-bikes are allowed on motorized trails and roads on national forests and grasslands" (USDA Forest Service). Its directive "identifies e-bikes under three classes of motor vehicles" (USDA Forest Service).

You may ride a motor vehicle only where the forest's motor vehicle use map designates it, because "it is prohibited to possess or operate a motor vehicle on National Forest System lands" off those designations (36 CFR 261.13). On the map, 37.4 miles of the forest's routes are open to motor vehicles and so to every class, and 88.9 miles of its non-motorized trails are closed, Noble Canyon and Big Laguna among them.

The Pacific Crest Trail is "closed to motorized and mechanized travel (i.e., bicycles)" (Forest Service), so its 52.8 miles in the county are left off the map entirely. In designated wilderness, "Motorized equipment and equipment used for mechanical transport are generally prohibited" (Bureau of Land Management).

State parks: roads, with two exceptions

California State Parks' rule is short: "No person shall operate an e-bike in a park unit of the State Parks System, except on public roadways" (California State Parks), and "Public roadways are those roads open to public street legal vehicles use" (State Parks). On those roads you may ride any class: "Class 1, 2 and 3 e-bikes are allowed."

Two San Diego County units go further on State Parks' own list. Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area opens "All trail routes currently open to traditional bicycles" to every class, 66.0 mapped miles (State Parks). San Onofre State Beach opens the same routes to Class 1 only, 19.8 miles in this county (State Parks).

Cuyamaca Rancho and Palomar Mountain say it plainly: "E-Bikes are restricted to the pavement and are not allowed on trails" (Cuyamaca Rancho; Palomar Mountain). Cuyamaca's 71.1 mapped miles of trail and fire road are closed to you.

At Anza-Borrego, "Only street-legal vehicles are permitted in the park and must remain on designated roadways" (State Parks), and the district superintendent's Order 94 limits bicycles to "All park roads where motorized vehicles are allowed to travel" and three named exceptions (Order 94). The park's natural history association puts it simply: "Bicycles, including mountain bikes, fat tire bikes and e-bikes, are not allowed on any of Anza-Borrego's hiking trails" (ABDNHA).

That leaves the desert's dirt roads. OpenStreetMap draws 446.5 miles of track inside the park in this county, and which of them are open to street-legal vehicles on a given day is the park's call (Order 94), so the map leaves them off its totals. Ride only the roads the park shows open, and check its closures before you go.

Wildlife land, refuges, BLM land and the bases

State wildlife land is closed to your e-bike unless a sign opens it: "Electric bicycles and motorized transportation devices (including but not limited to motorized bicycles, scooters, and carts) are prohibited on all department lands except where posted as allowed" (14 CCR § 550(c)(4)). The 2026-2027 regulations repeat it for "all wildlife areas and ecological reserves" (CDFW).

That takes in Hollenbeck Canyon, Rancho Jamul, Crestridge, San Elijo Lagoon and the North County lagoons, 18.4 mapped miles. Batiquitos and Agua Hedionda add "No bikes allowed" of their own (Batiquitos Lagoon; Agua Hedionda Lagoon). The Department may open an area to e-bikes "based on the purposes for the department land" and staffing, safety and resources (§ 550(c)(4)), and a sign at the gate is how you will know.

On the San Diego, San Diego Bay and Tijuana Slough national wildlife refuges, e-bikes may ride a road or trail only "If the refuge manager determines that electric bicycle (also known as e-bike) use is a compatible use" there (50 CFR 27.31(m)), and no such finding was read, so those 11.7 miles are gray.

BLM routes recorded as motorized, the Wounded Knee and Ridge trails among them, are open to every class (BLM), and its offices "have the authority to identify which non-motorized trails could be used for e-bike use" (BLM).

At Cabrillo National Monument you may not take a bike on the Bayside Trail: "Pets and bikes are not allowed" (National Park Service). The bases, tribal land and the University of California set their own rules, which were not read, and Elfin Forest's water district bars "Motorized vehicles and equipment" past its parking areas, "( this includes e-bikes )" (Olivenhain Municipal Water District).

Other cities' e-bike rules

Seventeen other cities share the county, and the map holds lines in 16 of them; La Mesa holds none. Their rules run from Poway's open network to Del Mar's closed lagoon trails, so check the city you ride in.

Carlsbad allows Class 1 and 2 "wherever regular bicycles are allowed" and Class 3 only "in bike lanes or separated bikeways adjacent to the roadway," and "E-bikes are prohibited at Poinsettia and Pine Avenue Community Parks" (City of Carlsbad). On a city trail under five feet wide, you "must dismount" when a walker or horse is within 50 feet (Carlsbad § 10.56.020).

Encinitas allows "Type 1 and 2 e-bikes" on "all Encinitas trails and paths which indicate bicycles are allowed," and on bike paths "Type 3 are not allowed" (City of Encinitas; bike paths). That last line is the City's own: the state's § 21207.5, as amended effective January 1, 2023, leaves a Class 3 bar on a path to the body that runs it (Veh. Code § 21207.5).

Del Mar: "In Del Mar, it is illegal to ride bicycles or e-bikes in parks, preserves, sidewalks in commercial areas, and on most trails around the San Dieguito Lagoon" (City of Del Mar), with the Coast to Crest Trail kept open to Class 1 and 2. Oceanside bars bicycles and mobility devices "upon the Municipal Pier" and asks riders to dismount on narrow trails near walkers or horses (City of Oceanside; dismount).

Poway's rule keeps e-bikes to "sidewalks, bike trails, pathways and roadways," and "Any signage prohibiting or regulating the use of bicycles applies to e-bikes as well" (City of Poway; signs). Its 73.6 mapped miles, from Lake Poway to Iron Mountain, are yours on any class where the sign allows bicycles.

From November 15, 2026, when Escondido's new Chapter 5 takes effect, "Mobility devices, such as electric bicycles and motor vehicles, are prohibited from operating on any sidewalk in the City," and riding is banned wherever a sign prohibits it (Escondido Ordinance No. 2026-07; § 5-5(a)). Escondido's ordinance also bars riders under 12 from Class 1 and 2 bikes from November 15.

The same Escondido ordinance amends § 28-122 from November 15, 2026, to require written permission to ride a mobility device "upon any public property, which is not held open to the public for any vehicular use and which is not subject to the provisions of the Vehicle Code" (§ 28-122).

The text does not say whether a park trail is such property, so Escondido's park and reservoir trails read two ways, while its Class I bike paths stay open. Daley Ranch already bars "Private motorized vehicles" (City of Escondido), and its trails read two ways as well.

Chula Vista's e-bike chapter, in force since September 4, 2025, sets ages and sidewalks rather than trails: "Children must now be at least 12 years old to operate Class 1 and 2 e-bikes," and "Class 3 e-bikes are banned from sidewalks citywide" (City of Chula Vista). Solana Beach bars "any motorcycle or power cycle" from its riders' trails without naming e-bikes, so those trails read two ways (Solana Beach § 10.44.080).

What could change before your next ride

Three dates matter to you. Escondido's new chapter takes effect on November 15, 2026. From January 1, 2027, a city or county may set a 15 or 20 mph limit on its bike paths under AB 2346 (AB 2346). And the San Diego pilot that lets cities bar riders under 12 runs until January 1, 2029, and the City of San Diego's own under-12 rule with it (SDMC § 84.19).

The City of San Diego could also settle its park question by naming e-bikes in § 63.0102, and the County could bring its fact sheet and its trail file into line. Either change would turn amber lines green, blue or red.

San Diego bike trails riders ask about

These are the places riders name in the searches and ranking pages read for this map, each with the miles the map holds and what you may do there on an e-bike.

Lake Hodges sits inside the San Dieguito River Park, so you may ride its trails on a Class 1 or 2 and not on a Class 3 (San Dieguito River Park). Lake Murray's path runs through City parkland and reads two ways like the City's other park paths.

The Inland Rail Trail between Oceanside and Escondido and the Coastal Rail Trail along the North County coast are paved paths whose verdicts follow each city they cross, and the Inland Rail Trail's San Marcos stretch reads gray.

The longest named trails on the map, with the miles you may ride on each on a Class 1 and on a Class 3 e-bike:

San Diego County trails, area by area

The county's 92 places, 54 City of San Diego community plan areas, 16 other cities and 22 County plan areas, sit in SANDAG's seven statistical areas: find your place below, with the trails it holds.

Central

Central: 65.3 miles of trail and path; 2.1 every class, 12.4 Class 1 and 2, 24.0 read two ways, 14.0 closed, 12.8 not established.

North City

North City: 342.7 miles of trail and path; 73.2 every class, 67.8 Class 1 and 2, 183.5 read two ways, 14.3 closed, 3.9 not established.

South Suburban

South Suburban: 149.4 miles of trail and path; 32.1 every class, 16.0 Class 1 and 2, 22.7 read two ways, 6.7 closed, 72.0 not established.

East Suburban

East Suburban: 128.7 miles of trail and path; 14.0 every class, 61.6 Class 1 and 2, 18.5 read two ways, 14.9 closed, 19.7 not established.

North County West

North County West: 178.1 miles of trail and path; 18.2 every class, 120.3 Class 1 and 2, 19.8 Class 1 only, 0.4 read two ways, 11.3 closed, 8.1 not established.

North County East

North County East: 113.6 miles of trail and path; 12.0 every class, 44.7 Class 1 and 2, 30.1 read two ways, 26.8 not established.

East County

East County: 429.8 miles of trail and path; 124.6 every class, 55.9 Class 1 and 2, 4.8 read two ways, 213.0 closed, 31.5 not established.

Where riders get caught out

Five rules here are easy to miss, so check them before you ride.

• The east shore of Mission Bay. The path from De Anza Road to South Shores is closed to your e-bike, though the paths on either side of it read two ways (SDMC § 84.18).
• The bayfront. On Port tidelands you stay on the road, the bike lane or the parking lot (Port Code § 8.07(c)(1)).
• A Class 3 on a County or River Park trail. Both bodies bar Class 3 from their trails; on a County park road you are fine (County fact sheet).
• A state park trail. Outside Ocotillo Wells and San Onofre, State Parks keeps your e-bike to public roads (State Parks).
• Young riders. Under 16 may not ride a Class 3 anywhere, and under 12 may not ride Class 1 or 2 in the City of San Diego, Chula Vista and other cities with the rule, Escondido among them from November 15, 2026 (§ 21213; SDMC § 84.19).

What a wrong turn can cost you

A ranger or officer can write you a citation under the rule of the ground you are on. In Chula Vista, the e-bike chapter lists "First conviction: $50 fine", then a $100 fine and fines of up to $250, and if the rider is a minor "the vehicle may be impounded" (City of Chula Vista).

From November 15, 2026, Escondido's park rangers and police "have the authority to seize and confiscate any property, thing, or device" used in violation in a recreational area (Escondido § 18-71). In the City of San Diego's parks, a park ranger may "arrest persons and issue citations" for violations that occur there (SDMC § 63.0108).

Your San Diego trail checklist, in five steps

1. Read the class on your e-bike's label before you pick a trail.
2. Find the trail on the map above and check its color for your class.
3. On an amber or gray line, read the trailhead sign and follow it.
4. Keep to 8 mph on Mission Bay's beach paths and 10 mph in Los Peñasquitos.
5. On the tidelands and in state parks, stay on the road.

Streets, bike lanes and sidewalks

On the street your e-bike rides as a bicycle, so you may use the roads and bike lanes a bicycle may use. The City of San Diego's police summary says the same, and lists the exceptions in one line: "Not on sidewalks, near businesses, or crosswalks (for pedestrians only)" (San Diego Police Department). The same page warns that "E-Motorcycles are not authorized to be ridden anywhere within the City of San Diego" (San Diego Police Department).

The City's code puts its sidewalk rule this way: no one may ride a bicycle "upon any sidewalk fronting any commercial business establishment unless official signs are posted authorizing such use" (§ 84.09(a)), and on any other sidewalk you yield to people walking (§ 84.09(b)).

Sidewalk rules can change at each city line. Chula Vista keeps Class 1 and 2 off sidewalks in business districts and where signed and bans Class 3 from every sidewalk (City of Chula Vista), Escondido bans every e-bike from its sidewalks from November 15, 2026 (Ordinance No. 2026-07), and Poway's rule lets e-bikes use its sidewalks (City of Poway).

Choosing an e-bike for San Diego's trails

The class you buy decides how much of this map you may ride: 674.7 miles take a Class 1 e-bike and 276.2 take a Class 3, a gap of 398.5 miles. Most of that gap is County and River Park trail, where you are welcome on a Class 1 or 2 and barred on a Class 3.

If you plan to ride Poway's hills, the Coast to Crest Trail or the County's backcountry, a Class 1 or 2 bike with a mid-drive or a strong hub motor and wide tires covers the most ground; our guide to e-bikes for mountains and our electric mountain bike guide set out the trade-offs.

For the coastal paths and the Bayshore Bikeway's bike lanes, a commuter e-bike or a fat-tire e-bike does the job, and our San Diego guide matches bikes to the city's neighborhoods.

Why buy your San Diego e-bike from us

• Free shipping to San Diego. We ship every electric bike free within the contiguous United States. Orders are dispatched within 1 to 3 business days of confirmation, and most bikes arrive within 5 to 10 business days after dispatch (shipping policy).
• We handle a damaged delivery. Note the damage with the carrier and email us photos within 48 hours of delivery, and we resolve it for you (refund policy).
• Warranty repairs go through us. A bike that will not power on or charge, shows an error code or has a faulty part on arrival is covered by its maker's warranty, and we coordinate the repair or replacement (refund policy).
• Real people answer. Email support@redtailebikes.com, which typically replies within one business day, or call (213) 444-4020 and leave a voicemail; every voicemail is returned (contact page).
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The bottom line

Ride a Class 1 or 2 e-bike and San Diego County opens up to you: 674.7 mapped miles on a Class 1 and 654.8 on a Class 2, from Poway's trail network and the County's parks to the River Park's Coast to Crest Trail and the Forest Service's motorized roads.

Keep your e-bike off the Port's bayfront paths, the four walkways of § 84.18, state park trails and unposted state wildlife land. On City of San Diego open space, the code reads two ways, so let the trailhead sign decide for you.

Find your e-bike or start with our San Diego e-bike guide.

Frequently asked questions

Are e-bikes allowed on the Mission Bay bike path?

Not on all of it. Every e-bike is barred on Bayside Walk and on the east side of Mission Bay Park from De Anza Road to South Shores (SDMC § 84.18). The rest of the bay's paths fall under the City's park code, which bars "any other motorized vehicles" without naming e-bikes, so they read two ways. Near the beaches every wheeled rider keeps to 8 mph (§ 63.0109).

How long is the Mission Bay bike path?

The City of San Diego counts "close to 14 miles of bike paths along Mission Bay." This map holds 14.2 miles of path under the names Mission Bay Bike Path, Crown Point Bike Path, Ocean Front Walk and Bayside Walk, each piece counted once, and 10.5 of them are closed to e-bikes.

How long is the Bayshore Bikeway?

The Port of San Diego calls it a 24-mile bike route around San Diego Bay, and Chula Vista reports that 18 miles have been built (Port of San Diego; City of Chula Vista). On its street stretches, any e-bike may ride as a bicycle does. Its off-street pieces split by agency: closed on Port tidelands, open in Chula Vista, and not established on Coronado's stretch and the Silver Strand.

How long is the San Diego River Trail?

The San Diego River Trail is planned to run 52 miles from the river's headwaters near Julian to Ocean Beach, and it is being built in segments (Lakeside's River Park Conservancy). This map holds 12.5 miles of built path under that name; the paved stretches in Mission Valley are City bike paths open to Class 1 and 2 e-bikes.

Are there bike paths in San Diego?

Yes. The map holds 1,407.6 miles of off-street path and trail, among them Mission Bay's paths, the Bayshore Bikeway's off-street pieces, the San Diego River Trail, the Coast to Crest Trail, the Inland and Coastal Rail Trails and the SR 56 bike path. Which of them an e-bike may ride depends on the body that runs each one, and the map colors every piece by class.

Can you bike to Coronado Island?

Yes. The Bayshore Bikeway travels through San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and Coronado, reaching Coronado along the Silver Strand. On Port tidelands an e-bike keeps to the road and the bike lanes, and on Coronado's own paths and the Strand's path the rule could not be read, so follow the posted signs there.

Where can you ride an e-bike in San Diego?

On roads and bike lanes open to bicycles, on the City's bike paths outside its parks, on County park trails where bicycles ride (Class 1 and 2), on San Dieguito River Park trails (Class 1 and 2), on Poway's trails, and on the Cleveland National Forest's motorized roads. Avoid the Port's bayfront paths, the four walkways of SDMC § 84.18, state park trails and state wildlife land.

Are e-bikes legal in San Diego?

Yes. California treats an e-bike as a bicycle, and the San Diego Police Department confirms that no driver's license, registration or insurance is needed (San Diego Police Department). If you are under 16, you may not ride a Class 3, and in the City of San Diego riders under 12 may not ride a Class 1 or 2 until January 1, 2029, under the county's pilot law.

Are e-bikes allowed in California state parks?

Only on public roads, in most units: "No person shall operate an e-bike in a park unit of the State Parks System, except on public roadways" (California State Parks). In San Diego County, Ocotillo Wells opens its bicycle routes to every class and San Onofre to Class 1. Cuyamaca and Palomar keep e-bikes to the pavement, and Anza-Borrego to roads open to motor vehicles.

Are e-bikes allowed on mountain bike trails in San Diego?

It depends on who runs the trail. County and River Park trails take Class 1 and 2 where bicycles ride. On the Cleveland, the Forest Service's rule (USDA Forest Service) opens its motorized routes to e-bikes, and its non-motorized trails, the Noble Canyon and Big Laguna trails among them, are closed. City of San Diego open space, including Mission Trails, reads two ways, and state park trails are closed.

Why are e-bikes not allowed on some trails?

California lets the body that runs a hiking or recreational trail close it to e-bikes by ordinance (Veh. Code § 21207.5(b)), and some do. The Forest Service treats every e-bike as a motor vehicle, so on the Cleveland its non-motorized trails are closed to them. State Parks keeps e-bikes to its roads, and Fish and Wildlife land is closed unless a sign opens it.

Is Mission Trails a state park?

No. Mission Trails Regional Park is a City of San Diego park, run by the City with the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation as its nonprofit partner since 1988 (Mission Trails Regional Park). It is not a state or national park, so the City's park code decides where an e-bike may ride there.

Can you ride an e-bike on the sidewalk in San Diego?

Not in front of a business. San Diego's code bars a bicycle, e-bikes included, from "any sidewalk fronting any commercial business establishment unless official signs are posted authorizing such use" (§ 84.09(a)); on other sidewalks you yield to people walking (§ 84.09(b)). Elsewhere, Chula Vista bans Class 3 from every sidewalk, Escondido bans every e-bike from sidewalks from November 15, 2026, and Poway allows them.

How we verified this map

Every number on this page is read from a saved file, and every rule is quoted from the copy saved on the day it was read, so you can check any line of the map yourself.

• Lines. 8,423 pieces of trail and off-street path, 1,407.6 miles, from the managers' own trail files (the County's park trail file, the City of San Diego's open-space trail file, the San Dieguito River Park's, Chula Vista's, Poway's, Encinitas', Escondido's and Carlsbad's trail files, State Parks' route file, the Forest Service's trail file and the BLM's), SANDAG's bikeway file for off-street paths, the County's General Plan trails, and OpenStreetMap (Geofabrik's Southern California extract of November 6, 2026). Each stretch of ground counts once, the managers' own files first, and every piece is cut into runs of a quarter mile or less before it is placed. Every mile figure is the register's sum rounded once, to a tenth of a mile, so a table's rows can add up to a tenth more or less than the total printed above them.
• What is left out. 4,473.9 miles of line the files carry are not on the map: 2,301.8 planned or proposed and never built, 2,004.5 bike lanes, routes and sidepaths that belong to the street, 88.3 not established as public, 26.3 where no file establishes bicycle use, and 52.8 on the Pacific Crest Trail, which the Forest Service closes to every bicycle.
• Places. Each piece is placed by the land that holds it: the California Protected Areas Database for the managing agency, the federal PAD-US for the military, the Port's tidelands boundary, then the Census Bureau's county and city boundaries. Its area is one of SANDAG's seven Major Statistical Areas; inside the City of San Diego, one of its community plan areas, and on unincorporated land one of the County's community plan areas. A piece on an edge that no plan area covers is counted in the nearest one (1.3 miles).
• Rules. 92 passages from the bodies that govern the ground, each quoted from the copy saved when it was read on November 6 and November 7, 2026, 77 of them quoted on this page. California's statutes were read in the Legislative Counsel's own database of the codes, the copy dated November 2, 2026.
• What readers ask. 3,627 questions and search phrasings harvested from 3 kinds of source (search suggestions on two engines, the headings of the pages that answer them, and an AI search panel); 814 are answered on this page and the rest are logged with the reason they were set aside.
• Sources. 69 sources are linked, each saved as it was read. Seven cities' codes sit with publishers that answer a bot challenge or a 403 to an identified research client; see Limitations.
• Names. Each stretch counts once, under the name its source file gives it; a section of a trail is listed under the trail, and a spelling is changed only where the manager's own file or page shows it.
• The data. Every trail is a row in the register (CSV) for each place it crosses, with its manager, its verdict for each class, the rule behind it and the names the files give it; the same rows are published as JSON.
• Cover. The cover scenes of the Lake Hodges bicycle pedestrian bridge were generated with Nano Banana Pro on Playcut (playcut.ai) from a photograph by Sam Litvin (Flickr, CC BY 2.0); their type was set in-house.
• Byline. Researched and written by Milad Ghobadibeygvand, BScN (Western University, 2014), for Redtail eBikes; corrections to support@redtailebikes.com.

Limitations

1. City of San Diego park trails read two ways. The park code's bicycle and motor-vehicle rule (SDMC § 63.0102(b)(19)) bars "any other motorized vehicles" from park trails, and no City page read for this map names e-bikes on open-space trails. The County's 2022 e-bike presentation says the City allows Class 1 and 2 "on trails where a traditional bicycle is allowed", but that is another agency's account. So 224.9 miles of City park trail read two ways until the City says which.
2. Seven cities' rules could not be read. Coronado's website and code host, and the code hosts of National City, Imperial Beach, El Cajon, Lemon Grove, La Mesa and San Marcos, answered 403 or a bot challenge to an identified research client, and archived copies were not used. San Marcos's own pages state no path rule for e-bikes. Their 36.4 miles read gray. A search engine's snippet of Coronado's own FAQ points riders to the Bayshore Bikeway; it is a lead, not a read, and the Coronado pieces stay gray.
3. Chula Vista's file does not record bicycle use on most of its lines. The City's trail file marks bicycles "Unk" on 57.3 miles, and the City's e-bike ordinance, read on its own pages, sets ages, passengers and sidewalks but no trail rule. Those lines read gray.
4. Two County records disagree. The County's fact sheet lists five closed sites, and its trail file marks 33.5 miles of bicycle trail in 19 parks closed to e-bikes. The page prints both and reads those trails two ways for Class 1 and 2.
5. Anza-Borrego's dirt roads are not counted. Order 94 keeps bicycles to park roads open to motor vehicles, and the park's own route file draws only some of them; OpenStreetMap draws 446.5 miles of track inside the park in San Diego County, which this map shows as mapped track, not as open miles, because which of them are open to motor vehicles was not read road by road.
6. Other holders not read. Military installations, tribal land, the University of California, the national wildlife refuges and most water districts and conservancies decide for their own ground, and their rules were not read, so their lines are gray. A refuge opens a trail to e-bikes only where its manager finds them compatible (50 CFR 27.31(m)); no such finding was read for the San Diego refuges.
7. Lines no file assigns. 30.1 miles of lines, most of them OpenStreetMap paths on unincorporated ground, carry no manager in any file read; they are gray.
8. Posted signs can change a verdict. Several rules on this map turn on a sign: the County may restrict a trail, Poway's signs for bicycles reach e-bikes, Fish and Wildlife land opens only "where posted as allowed", and Carlsbad and Oceanside require a dismount on narrow trails near walkers or horses. A sign at the trailhead outranks this map.
9. Surfaces come from the files. A piece's tread is the surface its own record gives, or, where it gives none, the surface most of five sample points share with nearby recorded lines.
10. Slivers are dropped. Where two drawings overlap, the register keeps one, and the leftover piece is dropped when it is shorter than 50 m, or 20 m where both drawings come from the same file: 6.5 miles in all, 0.3% of the 1,872.8 miles of input line, which the map's totals leave out.
11. Mapped miles are line miles. The register counts every mapped line once, connectors, loops and parallel paths included; it is not a measure of any single route's length. Where a page states a route's length, the figure comes from the body that publishes it, named beside it.
12. Search volumes are not stated. The paid keyword instrument returned no data on the day of this build, so this page makes no claim about how many people search for any phrase.

When to re-check this map: after November 15, 2026, when Escondido's new rules take effect; on January 1, 2027, when AB 2346 lets a city or county set bike-path speed limits; whenever the City of San Diego amends § 63.0102 or § 84.18; when the County updates its fact sheet or trail file; and before January 1, 2029, when the San Diego under-12 pilot (Veh. Code § 21214.7) is set to end.

Source register

Every rule on this map comes from these sources, grouped by the body that issues them, each retrieved and read November 6 and November 7, 2026, and each linked to the deepest page that states it:

T1 is the rule's own text at its publisher, or the body's own copy of its code or order; T2 is the managing body's own page, record or summary, or, where marked in the text, another agency's or a riders' group's account. The trail lines come from the data publishers named in the method. News reports, retailers' pages and other guides were read as leads only and are not cited.

References

These are the documents this page quotes, in the order of the source register, each with the section quoted, the date it was read and its address: