Ride the beachfront path north from the Santa Ana River and it runs out near Warner Avenue. That's also about where Pacific Coast Highway's continuous bike lane starts. Today the coast's two bike routes meet at that single intersection, and south of it a rider picks one and stays on it. The beach path is fine for an easy roll past the pier. The highway is faster, but for most of its length in Huntington Beach it has no striped lane.
That arrangement is ending. Caltrans is now building Class II bike lanes in both directions on PCH from the Santa Ana River Bridge to Anderson Street, which covers the full Huntington Beach coastline up to the Seal Beach side of Sunset Beach. When the work is done, the city will have two continuous coastal routes. They will run side by side, and they won't share the same rules.
Where the Road Has No Bike Lane Today
The project's environmental document describes the highway as it looked before construction. Caltrans prepared it in October 2021, and the description matches what anyone who rides PCH knows. Heading north from the river on the road, the bike lane comes and goes:
- Santa Ana River Bridge to Huntington Street. No designated bike lane on the highway.
- Huntington Street to 7th Street. Striped Class II lanes in both directions, a short stretch through the downtown approach.
- 7th Street to Warner Avenue. No designated lane again, apart from a brief northbound bit of lane leading off Warner.
- Warner Avenue to Anderson Street. A continuous Class II lane through Sunset Beach.
The same document puts the Huntington Beach Bike Trail, the paved Class I path along the sand, from the Santa Ana River Bridge to near Warner Avenue. Lay the two routes over each other and the pattern is plain. The beach path covers the stretches where the road has no lane, and it ends right where the road's lane gets reliable. North of Warner, through Sunset Beach, riders were already using the highway lane, since the path doesn't go there.
So the project doesn't add a route along the coast. One already exists. It finishes the second route, the one on the road, which until now has worked only at its two ends.
What Crews Are Changing on PCH
PCH has no spare room. To fit a bike lane in each direction, Caltrans is taking width from the middle of the road and rebuilding the edges. According to the Caltrans project page, the work includes:
- Narrowing the existing raised median between Twin Dolphin Drive and Beach Boulevard
- Installing a new concrete median between Seapoint Street and Warner Avenue, the Bolsa Chica stretch
- Widening right-turn pockets and rebuilding ADA facilities at selected intersections
- Moving traffic signal and lighting poles
The estimated cost is $10.7 million, paid for by the state's 2024/25 State Highway Operation and Protection Program and the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Caltrans says the finished route will connect key points along PCH for cyclists riding between Huntington Beach and Seal Beach. LAist describes the corridor as a 10-mile stretch popular with cyclists and places the project within Caltrans' Complete Streets program, which aims to make state highways safer for people walking, biking and taking transit.
Drivers will notice the turn pockets first. Last spring, crews were working on the median between Beach Boulevard and Twin Dolphin Drive and on the right-turn lanes at Magnolia, Brookhurst and Warner, and HeySoCal reported on April 21, 2026 that street parking was affected during that phase.
The Beach Path Keeps Its Own Rules
When the road lane is finished, it won't take on the beach path's character. The two routes fall under different authorities, and their rules come from different codes.
The city sets the path's rules. The Huntington Beach Police Department's bicycle safety page lists a 10 mph maximum on the Beach Bicycle and Pedestrian Path and 5 mph when pedestrians are present, under HBMC 13.08.280(c)(1). Riders must walk their bikes when the yellow lights flash, and riding on the sand, the beach service road or the pier is not allowed.
The paved trail through the state beaches adds a second set of rules. California State Parks' e-bike page lists Class 1 e-bikes as allowed on all trails open to traditional bicycles at Bolsa Chica State Beach, with nothing listed under Class 2 or Class 3. The Orange Coast District's posted orders, dated May 19, 2023, permit Class 1 e-bikes and expressly prohibit Class 2, Class 3 and unclassified e-bikes on district trails. State Parks policy also says e-bikes are generally allowed on public roadways.
The road is the one stretch of coast where those park-trail rules don't apply. The city code still does, though. HBMC 10.84.140 counts riding faster than 25 mph, or faster than conditions safely allow, on a bike path, bike lane or sidewalk as unsafe riding.
| Beach path | PCH bike lane | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Class I, separated from traffic | Class II, striped on the highway |
| Extent | Santa Ana River Bridge to near Warner Avenue | Santa Ana River Bridge to Anderson Street, once complete |
| Posted speed for bikes | 10 mph, 5 mph with pedestrians present | Unsafe-riding rule covers speeds above 25 mph or above what conditions safely allow |
| E-bikes on State Parks trail segments | Class 1 only | Public roadway, outside the park-trail rules |
| Shared with | Walkers, runners, skaters, scooters | Highway traffic |
Riders who end up downtown have one more ordinance to know. Ordinance 4344, adopted November 18, 2025, limits bicycle and e-bike riding on sidewalks in downtown business districts, on pedestrian overcrossings and where posted. Where sidewalk riding is allowed, riders must yield, give an audible warning when passing and keep to 10 mph or less, slowing to 5 mph when overtaking or near a hazard. These rules can change and the details matter, so check the linked code sections directly. This post is general information, not legal advice.
Living With the Work Zone Until It Opens
Caltrans runs two shifts. Daytime work goes Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. behind k-rail, which keeps lanes open during business hours. Overnight work runs from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and may close lanes. Caltrans also says parking along PCH in construction areas may be affected.
That parking warning applies along most of the project. The 2021 environmental document places designated 8-foot parking in both directions starting north of Beach Boulevard, running on and off to Goldenwest Street, then picking up again at Warner and continuing to Anderson Street. Those are the curbside spaces beach visitors use, and they are in or next to the work zones.
The schedule has slipped more than once. In March, the Orange County Register reported that Caltrans had paused turn-lane work near Brookhurst and Magnolia to protect nesting birds. In August, LAist wrote that the project was expected to wrap up by December. The current Caltrans project page lists construction as in progress, with an open year of Spring 2027. Caltrans' own date is the one to plan around, which means the k-rail will likely still be up through the holidays and into next year's beach season.
Sunset Beach Is Where the Two Routes Join
The road route already works north of Warner. Sunset Beach has had a continuous Class II lane from Warner Avenue to Anderson Street, and the beach path has never reached it. The new concrete median between Seapoint Street and Warner sits just south of that stretch, along Bolsa Chica, and it connects the new lanes to the ones already there.
For someone in Huntington Harbour or Sunset Beach, the practical change shows up on the ride south. Right now a trip toward downtown or the river means one of two things. A rider can drop to the beach path near Warner and keep to its 10 mph limit, or stay on a highway that has no bike lane for long stretches. Once the project is finished, the highway lane will run unbroken from Anderson Street to the Santa Ana River Bridge, and the beach path will stay what it is now: a shared path with a speed limit, where people walk dogs and push strollers.
Construction along PCH also affects listing photos, showings and the weekends buyers spend driving the coast. If you're thinking about the timing of a sale or lease near PCH, or just want to know what your home is worth right now, Doug Merlino and the BeachPointe Properties team can walk you through it. Get your instant home valuation and start with a number.
