Solvang Cycling Travel Guide

The Solvang region of central California is a lovely area to spent a week cycling around. Trek Travel offers a 7-day, 6-night Ride Camp experience many weeks throughout the year. Ride Camps are focused on cycling with more miles and less elaborate non-riding opportunities. 

This style suits us (and our wallets!) and this was our 2nd ride camp in two years. We decided to stay in the US this year (after visiting Girona and Barcelona last year) and ventured to central California to soak up the sun! The Solvang region is filled with cyclists, wineries, and a decent amount of rough roads!  

Here is our Solvang Cycling Travel Guide itinerary: 

Day 1: Travel + Exploring Santa Barbara

• Arrival at Santa Barbara Airport (SBA)
• Stay at Courtyard by Marriott Downtown
• Explore downtown Santa Barbara
  • Stroll down State Street (main street of Santa Barbara)
  • Pier Santa Barbara
• Explore The Funk Zone
  • Dinner at Lucky Penny (highly recommend; postcard of the outdoor California casual dining scene with great wood-fired pizza)
  • Post-dinner drinks at Validation Ale (highly recommend; great vibe with one of the best tasting seltzers I’ve had)

Day 2: Trek Travel Solvang Ride Camp 

• Santa Barbara breakfast at Renaud’s (highly recommend; lovely little french cafe with amazing croissants) 
• Ride-Share transportation to Solvang
• All week lodging at Hotel Corque
• Trek Travel Ride Day One I Ballard Canyon Loop
• Group dinner at Industrial Eats 

Day 3: Trek Travel Solvang Ride Camp 

• Trek Travel breakfast at Brekkies (highly recommend; great counter-ordered to server-delivered spot with delicious hearty breakfast options) 
• Trek Travel Ride Day Two I Foxen Canyon
• Dinner at Clean Slate I Curry Night (highly recommend; the chef / owner creates a new menu each night and we had a special treat in dining on Curry Night – yum!)
• Post-dinner drinks at Bit O’Denmark back bar

Day 4: Trek Travel Solvang Ride Camp

• Trek Travel breakfast at Brekkies
• Trek Travel Ride Day Three I Jalama Beach
• Group Dinner at Whiskey ‘N Rye Smokehouse (recommend: great outside patio space with classic bbq food)

Day 5: Trek Travel Solvang Ride Camp

• Trek Travel breakfast at Brekkies
• Trek Travel Ride Day Four I Rest Day
  • Stroll around Solvang, shopping, massage, pool time
• Dinner at Toscana Italian (while the company was great at this group dinner, I didn’t love the restaurant and cannot recommend) 

Day 6: Trek Travel Solvang Ride Camp

• Trek Travel breakfast at Brekkies
• Trek Travel Ride Day Five I Drum Canyon
• Dinner at Mad & Vin (highly recommend; our “fancy” dinner of the trip with beautiful interior, great people and suburb food)
• Post-dinner drinks at Draughman’s Alehouse

Day 7: Trek Travel Solvang Ride Camp

• Trek Travel breakfast at Brekkies
• Trek Travel Ride Day Six I Camilo Cielo
• Group Dinner at Craft House at Corque (recommend; our last night of the trip and we enjoyed a great meal while recalling the memories we made)

Day 8: Departure

• Ride-share Transportation to Santa Barbara Airport