An absolute classic ― easy, breezy, and with some of the most breathtaking views of the city you’ll find anywhere. Start along Marina Green at the intersection of Marina Boulevard and Webster Street. Heading west on the paved trail towards the bridge, you’ll pass the city’s swankiest yacht clubs and lots of kite-flyers. At Crissy Field, where the whole city gathers on fog-free days to wade in the bay and walk their dogs, transfer over to gravel paths and continue west.

laWhen the Parkway is completed, riders will roll 50 paved miles between Provo’s Utah Lake to the Great Salt Lake. But some of the best scenic stretches are already finished. The 8.5-mile section just west of downtown Salt Lake City has an urban skyline but is wonderfully rural, meandering along the river, sweeping through nine city parks and stately Rose Park Golf course, near wetlands teeming with birds.S

Stretching 23 miles from Pacific Palisades almost to the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the trail is a fossil fuel-free way to explore the best of Southern California. The route traverses the full range of beach life, from the eccentric funk of the Venice Boardwalk to the hard-bodied, hard-hitting world of South Bay beach volleyball courts. Tip: If you want to avoid crowds, get out early and finish by 11 ― after that, stretches of trail can bog down as surely as a So Cal freeway.

Plying the city’s best neighborhoods while following a rippling waterway, the 12-mile Cherry Creek Trail is the city’s own Tour de Denver. Beginning at Confluence Park ― a kayaker’s playground ― the paved sub-street-level trail scoots past LoDo and Capital Hill, past the tony Cherry Creek Shopping Center, before its rendezvous with Cherry Creek Reservoir.

With mountain views, garden scenery, and public art displays along the way, nothing says “Boulder” better than the 7-mile Boulder Creek Path. From the flatlands near Valmont Reservoir, the path gently climbs 600 feet while paralleling Boulder Creek and plumbing the town’s core. Eventually the pavement enters the chiseled Boulder Canyon, where low gears help you climb the remaining unpaved section that tops out at the Fourmile Canyon intersection

euqreuqublThe Paseo del Bosque Trail is a shady 16-mile corridor that follows the languid Rio Grande west of downtown. Don’t pass up a visit along the way to the Rio Grande Botanical Garden, a 20-acre desert oasis that includes a butterfly pavilion and is bordered by the world’s largest cottonwood gallery.a

Go for a spectacular spin through the artsy city of Ojai – 35 miles south of Santa Barbara and 73 miles of Los Angeles. Every June, the city hosts a music festival at the local amphitheater. Stop to rock out or continue onward to explore the Los Padres National Forest. Stay on path, which seamlessly joins the Ventura River Trail (6 miles), to hit the beach and cool off with a dip.

Sixty miles north of Phoenix, you’ll find this pair of crushed-stone trails (they make a rough “T”). Keep your smart phone handy for snapshots of the grandiose Granite Dells – weathered boulders that jut skyward from Watson Lake – and rusted, gutted old train cars. You may get winded at 5,200 feet, but taking your time means more photo opps.

Better name might be the Tour de Spokane County. On this ride, you’ll get a glimpse of the suburbs, Gonzaga University campus, downtown, and rural countryside. Simply pedal along the contours of the glistening river—at times, running parallel to I-90—from the Idaho state line to Nine Mile Falls (it’s a short, easy hike to the modest 50-foot falls) and Riverside Park.

(32 miles) You’ll find plenty of access points, mile-markers, maps, water fountains, and restrooms on this shady two-lane trail, which starts in Discovery Park in Old Sacramento and ends at Folsom Lake. Break for a swim, picnic in the park, or snack at a cute restaruant along the way. Tip: You won’t find solitude on this trail, particularly on weekends when walkers, skaters, and equestrians flock here.