Looking for tips and recommendations on what to do, where to eat and good LBS in and around Laguna Beach. We are going down for a bike camp for a week in mid Jan. Saw lots of post on where to ride (Santiago Canyon etc.) but not the really importatant stuff like where to get good Mexican food and other essential stuff that make bike camp even more fun.
On the topic of riding, what is the latest on riding on PCH through Dana Point? I read a while back there was talk of banning bikes along certain stretches.
You will be fine and dandy riding from Laguna Beach through Dana Point. You can ride on the Coast Highway (has a defined bike lane), or there is a seperate lane for runners/cyclist from Capo Beach to the south side of San Clemente. Be really careful in and around Laguna. FOR A GOOD PORTION OF THE COAST HIGHWAY, THERE IS NO BIKE LANE AND YOU WILL BE SHARING THE ROAD WITH CARS ON RELATIVELY NARROW ROADS. I AVOID THIS AREA LIKE THE PLAGUE…
Once you get to the South end of Laguna, there is a decent bike lane. Be VERY careful!!!
I forgot the name of the place, but it is a counter only with some tables on the sidewalk. It is kind of hard to find - over near the library near Glenneyre St. 1/2 block in from Glenneyre.
I would call it a hole-in-the-wall, but Laguna Beach style. It is the best I have had in Laguna in 10 years of vacationing there. And I am pretty picky. Good fish tacos!
Dude, you are going to be in Laguna Beach…in the heart of Southern California. You can find REAL Mexican food on just about every block. ________________________________________
Especially with breasts and hair color, I find it difficult to find anything real in Laguna Beach.
Everyone will have a suggestion for Mexican food, but Javier’s is one of the marquee spots. If you want good, cheap, authentic…find Pedro’s. There’s one off Ortega Hwy. in San Juan Capistrano and two in San Clemente.
As others have said, there is a designated bike/ped path through Capo Beach now, but that ends at Camino Capistrano, one mile north of San Clemente.
blasphemy!! as a lifelong socal resident and of mexican descent…I can assure you that good mexican food is abundant. For the best to go to spanish-speaking areas (of which there are plenty). South OC is pretty blanco if you know what I mean…but a good place close to Laguna Beach would be san juan capistrano (huge mexican population).
Try El Maguay across from the basketball courts just north of the mission. The beef birrea is off the charts and the chicken mole is awesome as well.
WE jsut rode through Laguna Canyon an hour or so ago. There is a great stretch just opened from LAguna that will take you up into Irvine. It gets a little urban on your way to Santiago, but if you ride on a weekday during the day, you can drop by Felt Bicycles for a visit.
If you want a lunchtime tour guide, drop me a line, we get out 3-4 days a week on the road, occasionally the Shimano guys join us and you get to see some cool stuff from Felt AND Shimano all in one ride!
Dave, did they open Laguna Canyon past the 133 split? What route did you take to get back to the office? (as I live just around the corner at El Toro and Normandale, I’d probably take a similar route back from the beach)
blasphemy!! as a lifelong socal resident and of mexican descent…I can assure you that good mexican food is abundant. For the best to go to spanish-speaking areas (of which there are plenty). South OC is pretty blanco if you know what I mean…but a good place close to Laguna Beach would be san juan capistrano (huge mexican population).
Try El Maguay across from the basketball courts just north of the mission. The beef birrea is off the charts and the chicken mole is awesome as well.
Yeah! and I bet you won’t set foot in most of what passes for ‘Mexican Restaurant.’ I can find it, but not ‘on every block.’ Besides, even then, the best I get out here is when a coworker’s mother or aunt from Juarez or Chihuahua make a real relleno (sin ese salsa que usen aqui) or tamal (con bastante carne y poco maza), or a red enchilada that doesn’t have tomato in it, or whatever. When I find a good Mexican restaurant, it’s usually a hole-in-the-wall ‘mom and pop’ place and usually in a Mexican neighborhood.
