A couple of years ago, lockdowns had us all revisiting ways to enjoy our communities, and cycling benefitted as a result, with ridership increasing. Perhaps you are among the many individuals that bought a new road bike recently, or maybe you’re getting tired of the neighborhood loops that you’re used to—whatever the reason, it may be time to check out some new routes.
Here are three of my favorite San Diego treks that are easily accessible and accommodate choose-your-own distance routes depending on where you choose to start your ride.
Cabrillo Monument
Ride Length: Around 18 miles, out & back
Elevation Gain: 550ft
Effort Level: Moderate
The tip of Point Loma is home to San Diego county’s only national monument, Cabrillo National Monument, providing great views of the city.
Starting from the mouth of Fiesta Island on the Eastern side of Mission Bay, make your way to Old Sea World Drive and ride along the San Diego River to cross at the Sunset Cliffs bridge. Here you can decide to ride through Ocean Beach or along the newly protected bike lane on Nimitz.
If you choose Nimitz, please be careful crossing the often fast-moving traffic coming off I-8 into OB. Regardless of your choice, you’ll then connect up with Catalina Blvd—your fast track to Cabrillo. Catalina Blvd climbs over the next two miles to the gate to Naval Base Point Loma, here is where the best riding begins. Smooth rolling roads and untouched scenery await as you ride through the base.
Keep your eyes out to catch glimpses of scale radar ships, World War II bunkers, and breathtaking views of the Pacific. You’ll continue on through Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery before ultimately making it to the gates of Cabrillo Monument. To enter the monument grounds you will need to purchase a permit ($10 individual or $35 annually), or you can use an America the Beautiful National Parks annual pass.
Inside the monument you have the option to extend your ride to visit the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, tidepools, and park visitor center. Keep in mind that while going down that while checking out the tidepools is optional, climbing the .75 mile nearly 350ft gain climb back up afterwards is not. Though this can be a great and beautiful place for hill repeats if you are so inclined. Once back at the guard shack fill up your bottles and make your way back the way you came.
San Diego Bay & Silver Strand
Ride Length: Around 25 miles, loop
Elevation Gain: 300ft
Effort Level: Easy
San Diego has developed a lot of bike infrastructure in recent years, and one of the gems of this effort is the Bayshore Bikeway. When paired with the Coronado Ferry, the Bayshore Bikeway provides the ability to loop around San Diego Bay, enjoying endless views along the way.
Golden Hill Park makes a good spot to start your ride. From the park, ride down 25th St. to connect with Cesar E. Chavez Pkwy to ride through Barrio Logan. Once at Harbor Dr., take a left and begin your loop of San Diego Bay.
The bikeway stretch along Harbor is still in various stages of completion, and I look forward to how smooth this will be once completed. You’ll still have a nice bike lane through the area in the meantime though. At 32nd St. the bikeway picks up on the East side of Harbor Dr. and provides smooth, stress-free riding. After around 2.5 miles, the bikeway switches sides of the road back to the Western edge and onto Tidelands Ave.
Here you leave behind much of the busyness of San Diego Harbor and begin to enjoy more of the beauty of San Diego Bay. As you continue south, you’ll pass through San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Pier 32 and Chula Vista Marinas, before passing alongside the historic South Bay Salt Works.
Shortly after the salt flats you’ll turn west and follow along the southern edge of San Diego Bay. As the bikeway begins to turn north, it joins with the Silver Strand Bikeway taking you up into Coronado. From joining the bikeway after the salt flats to Coronado you’ll enjoy nearly nine miles of uninterrupted bikeway with the bay on your right and views of the ocean on your left.
Once in Coronado continue along the bikeway until it connects you to Glorietta Blvd. As you ride the route along Glorietta, take in the beautiful homes to your left and the Coronado Golf Course to your right with Coronado Bridge beyond.
Just before the road connects with the bridge, look for an entrance back onto the bikeway on your right, taking you under the bridge. From here, continue along until you reach the Coronado Ferry Landing—your trip back to San Diego. Currently the one-way ride on the ferry costs $7 and leaves hourly. Once back on the San Diego side, ride along the Embarcadero bike path through downtown and alongside the convention center, connecting back up with Harbor Drive. From here make your way back to Cesar E. Chavez Pkwy and back up to your starting point at Golden Hill Park.
Mount Soledad
Ride Length: Around 16 miles, loop
Elevation Gain: 850ft
Effort Level: Moderate
Mount Soledad stands over Pacific Beach and Mission Bay and provides a great local climb option, easily accessible from anywhere in town. There are many routes to climb, leading you to countless variations of potential rides. This happens to be my go-to option.
Starting from the mouth of Fiesta Island on the eastern side of Mission Bay, head north along E. Mission Bay Drive to De Anza Cove enjoying views of the bay, with the climb looming ahead of you. Just prior to passing over the bridge at Rose Creek, take the bike path along the western edge of the golf course, under Grand and Garnet before looping back on Garnet to connect with Soledad Mountain Road.
From here, the climb starts almost immediately and will continue nearly uninterrupted for the next three miles. You’ll eventually connect with La Jolla Scenic Dr, continuing your climb toward, and into, Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial Park. From the top you’ll be treated to 360-degree views of San Diego. On especially clear days you can see the Coronado Islands to the south, Cuyamaca Peak and the Laguna Mountains to the east, and Palos Verde and Catalina Island to the Northwest.
Once you’re done enjoying the view from the top, I tend to make my way back by descending La Jolla Scenic Dr. to La Jolla Mesa, a quick descent with great views. Ultimately La Jolla Mesa turns into Mission Blvd and takes you through the Pacific and Mission Beach communities. Traffic picks up as you go through here, so be sure to stay alert.
Make a left on W Mission Bay Dr., heading over the bridge, before turning right onto Quivara Way. Keep an eye out for the entrance to the Old Sea World Drive bike path on your left. Once on the bike path, ride back up along the San Diego River and make your way back to your starting point cutting through South Shores Park.
Mike lives in the Lake Murray neighborhood and has been an active cyclist and runner in the area since moving here 18 years ago. He currently works in the cycling industry and has spent time racing bikes on the road and track. Now you're likely to find Mike enjoying the great riding adventures and community the region offers.
This 100-mile county coastal route includes breathtaking views, challenging climbs and some hidden treasures along the way
By Bryan Pate
bike rides in san diego
San Diego has some pretty beautiful bike paths to explore, whether you’re interested in a quick trek along the Pacific Coast Highway for the afternoon or a much more challenging feat such as an 118-mile out-and-back ride.
Following along the entire western boundary of San Diego County, the latter is a great route for avid riders and one of my personal favorites. You’ll see the best of what coastal San Diego has to offer, including breathtaking views, challenging climbs and some hidden treasures along the way.
If a century ride isn’t in your wheelhouse, you can ride the route in sections or do it one-way and then connect to the trolley and coaster to get back to your starting point. However, if you have the time and gumption, completing this route in one go is a wonderful experience. Here’s how to do it:
Start at OCEANSIDE HARBOR with breakfast at Stratford at the Harbor where you can park all day for free in Parking Lot 1 (401 Riverside Drive, Oceanside). After fueling up, head south along Pacific Street and soak in the ocean views.
The first 25 miles are full of PCH’s ocean views, funky north county towns and gentle climbs before you reach TORREY PINES STATE RESERVE. For the tourists, Torrey Pines means beautiful cliffs and unusual trees, for you, it means a challenging 400-foot climb.
I recommend taking the “inside” route through the State Reserve (free for cyclists). At a 10% grade, it’s the steeper choice, but the scenery is worth it and you’ll get through the pain quicker!
torrey pines
Next up is UCSD and a long descent down GILMAN AVENUE to the completely rebuilt Rose Canyon Bike Path. This is a gorgeous separated bike path that goes all the way to Mission Bay Drive. After enjoying the sights and sounds of Mission Bay, the largest aquatic park of its kind in the country, you’ll cross over to Old Town.
By now, you’ll be ready for lunch. I suggest pushing on just a few more miles to The Crack Shack in Little Italy (2266 Kettner Blvd). Fried chicken sandwiches, fries and milkshakes are just what the doctor ordered after 40 miles of riding.
Once finished, take Harbor Drive out of downtown and check out the murals as you pass through Barrio Logan, especially the NEW CHICANO PARK MURAL entitled “Brown Image.” It was created as a tribute to the low rider community and the car clubs from the 1970s and ‘80s.
Following Chicano Park is the Navy Base where you can hop on the beautiful Bayshore Bikeway. This will take you to Imperial Beach on a combination of separated bike path and low-traffic roads. When you get to the parking lot for the Swiss Park and Hall, depart the Bikeway and take the other bike path that leads to Saturn Boulevard.
chicano park mural
Madeline Yang
Keep heading south on Saturn and you’ll find yourself in “horse country” and the scenic TIJUANA RIVER COUNTY OPEN SPACE RESERVE. You can use the Tijuana Bullring as a navigation aid as you follow the windy roads to Friendship Park and the US/Mexico Beach Border. Soak up the views of miles of undisturbed coastline to your north and the beach clubs and parties to your south.
For the trip back north, take a left onto the Bikeway to enjoy 10 continuous miles of bike path on your way to the Coronado Ferry Landing. If you need a pick-me-up or any bike supplies, stop at Trident Coffee or Rad Power Bikes in their building that abuts the Bikeway.
Finally, cross the bay on the ferry and retrace your route north. To celebrate reaching the 100-mile mark, stop into Pizza Port in Solana Beach before pushing through the final miles back to Oceanside. After your hard-earned achievement, head to the “Top Gun” House near the Oceanside Pier to savor a dessert and your achievement.
You come home from your first day of school and your parents ask, “Did you make any new friends?” Maybe trading Lunchables or sharing a pack of Oreos helped you break out of your shell to strike up a conversation. Maybe you saw your classmate wearing a Padres hat and asked if his favorite player was also Fernando Tatis Jr. Maybe you’re a natural extrovert who has no problem inviting your entire class to your birthday party.
Making friends is an entirely different beast as an adult. You’re trying to balance your health, work, finances, family, and your sanity. And on top of that, a social life? Impossible.
Being a part of a bigger community—like a rec sports league—helps, but we all need intimacy. Witnesses to the exciting, mundane, shameful parts of our lives. Turns out, men don’t have that as much as women do, and the consequences of this are dire. Roughly 1 in 6 men say they have no close friendships, according to a 2021 American Perspectives Survey. Suicide rates in men are nearly four times higher than they are in women, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Those numbers are even higher for men above 55, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023).
In Carlsbad, Men’s Shed helps older men build friendships as the group contributes to construction projects across North County. “Men get lonely,” says Glenn Bernard, one of more than 20 members of Men’s Shed in Carlsbad. “This is a good way to bond, socialize, share skills, and have something to do that’s worthwhile. Purposeful.”
What started in Australia in the 1990s has grown into an international nonprofit with more than 3,000 chapters worldwide, including one that meets at Carlsbad By The Sea Retirement Community. Haley DiDonato, director of life enrichment at Carlsbad By The Sea, established California’s first and only public chapter in 2023. Members (aka Shedders) meet twice a month to discuss their projects and get to work.
They’ve built bikes for the local Boys and Girls Club, a raptor shed at the Agua Hedionda Lagoon, a small birdhouse outside Front Porch Gallery, and a gazebo at St. Michael’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, to name a few.
Trade experience isn’t required. David Gilson, the group’s leader, was a pharmaceutical consultant before he retired. Rich Greenamyer is a retired engineering duty officer who built ships in the Navy. When John Gardella wasn’t working sales at Dupont, he woodworked projects for his family at home.
“Men are so tied up in their work all their life,” Gilson says. “Their identity was their job. Suddenly, you retire on Friday, and on Monday they don’t remember you. Now what?”
Courtesy of Dad’s Corps
Marital status also affects how men interact with the community around them. Some Shedders joined because their “wives encourage [them] to be in Men’s Shed, to get out of the house for a couple hours every couple of weeks,” Gardella says. For some widowers in the group—such as Gilson, whose wife passed away eight years ago—Men’s Shed provides a sense of purpose and place. The outings Gilson organizes breaks up the monotony of staying at home with his dog. A 2024 study in the National Library of Medicine says widowers feel long-term levels of loneliness (higher levels than widows), and they were less likely than widows to form new connections after loss. This group is changing that.
The appearance and function of male friendships have been spotlighted since the 300s BC, when Aristotle discussed them in Ethics. Fast forward to the 19th century, and these dynamics have transitioned from heroic friendships—ones built on loyalty and nobility—to ones that better symbolized the Romantic Age: more affectionate in written language (like writing letters to each other) and body language (like draping their arms around one another). By the end of the 1800s, 1 in 3 American men belonged to a fraternal organization.
But when World War II brought a homophobic “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” suspicion around male bonding, friendships between men became more stoic. It wasn’t common for men to talk about their feelings with each other.
In 2026, though, we’re sharing our feelings. Dads Corps, a nonprofit organization through Social Advocates for Youth San Diego, offers classes, resources, and supportive services to fathers. Twice a week for six weeks, fathers practice how to actively listen, learn how to better communicate, and gain more skills that help them in their parenting journeys.
“When dads have kids, they lose their friends because it’s all about just the baby, the mom, and the family,” says Dads Corps director Laura Soto. “When they come to our classes, they get comfortable being able to share their struggles. It does reduce the isolation and help normalize them in that struggle.”
For dads who are new to San Diego, the program helps them navigate their way around the city. For single dads, they can meet other fathers who are raising children the same age to set up playdates. Oftentimes, dads graduate from their cohort and return to volunteer and mentor new attendees.
The program is as therapeutic as it is active. Group facilitators teach dads about healthy relationship practices, answer questions about how they can be more consistent in their children’s lives. It also hosts fishing trips, barbecues, and community service events to let dads practice their learnings with each other outside a classroom.
“It’s about acknowledging that we need to be heard about the concerns that we don’t ask help for as fathers,” says Jorge Narvaez, alumni manager at Dads Corps. “We live in a society where fathers have to look through crevices—go to a bar, go to a barbershop, go to all these different places—just to have interactions with other people. It feels like we finally, as dads at this program, have a space for us to talk.”
Photo Credit: Arlene Ibarra
But some men don’t want to only talk about their inner selves; they also want to talk about books. For Ronald Alsop, the New York City Gay Men’s Book Club was a place for him to meet local bibliophiles when he lived on the opposite coast. There was no equivalent in San Diego—until he started it in 2019. He created the Mission Hills-Hillcrest Gay Men’s Book Club as a way to meet other men and talk about authors like James Baldwin and Edmund White.
Whether it’s Andrew Holleran’s fictional coming of age Dancer from the Dance (the first book the club read) or George Chauncey’s non-fiction novel Gay New York, the books Alsop chooses share a common thread: Each carries some connection with gay culture.
“Traditionally, gay men were depicted in books in a tragic way,” says Alsop, who is also a freelance writer. “In more recent years, there’s been a more positive spin on it, a more wholesome outcome.”
Alsop initially promoted the group by putting flyers around the neighborhood bars and in Uptown News. He was nervous before the first meeting, afraid no one would show up. Now, there are roughly 35 people on his email blast, and the monthly meetups regularly see 12 to 15 people participate.
“The discussion’s always lively,” Alsop says. “I think it’s a way to get to know people better.”
Throughout the county, because of these groups, people are reading books (its own win, these days) and creating community. Dads and their children are getting invited to birthday parties from their fellow fathers. And in Carlsbad, some Men’s Shed meetings are taking place at Hennessey’s Tavern down the road over brunch. As friends.
Matt Eisenberg is an award-winning writer and photographer based in San Diego. A former ESPN editor, his work has also been published by CNN, Bleacher Report and the New York Daily News.
It was the summer of 1999. MTV, The Matrix, and first-generation PlayStation glowed on tube TV sets all over America. What a time to be alive. Smartphones weren’t yet stealing people from the moment. Cultural was a shared reality. During the last few minutes of the monoculture, Tony Hawk executed the first-ever 900 at X Games V in San Francisco. That’s two and a half aerial rotations with a side of the dizzies.
The time had run out on the Vert Best Trick competition long before the 11th attempt when he pulled off the fateful feat. Nobody cared. Not the judges, not the competition, and certainly not the crowd. “Let that bird fly,” they said. Once the trick was landed, they partied like it was 1999 … because it was.
That was the tipping point when the skateboarding world exploded, going from counterculture to a national phenomenon. Shortly after that, “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” video game came out, introducing millions of kids to what skate culture looked like. Oh, the game had a killer punk soundtrack, too.
We can all thank Hawk for the globalization of skateboarding. But we can also recognize his local influence and how San Diego County continues to be a hub for skateboarders young and old, for competitors and street skaters. To see it all, go to Park De La Cruz in City Heights—or, heck, any other skatepark in the county—which, at 19,000 square feet, is about twice the size of the average skatepark and has signature features like an M-shaped transition ramp. The amount of talent that continues to evolve in this county is a testament to deep-rooted skate culture and world-class athletes supporting the next generation.
Photo Credit: Casiel Sanchez
The Skatepark
I’m a little early for a skate lesson with pro skater Mike Owen when I get to Linda Vista Skatepark. In the 2010s, Owen ranked as one of the world’s top bowl riders. He’s the founder of San Diego Skateboarding and has “helped thousands of kids, teens, and adults learn to skate safely, confidently, and with style,” the company’s site says. And now it’s my turn. We start the lesson on the nearby tennis courts, getting my basic foot mechanics down. Safety before style.
In terms of street plaza features, the massive Linda Vista Skatepark is loaded with rails, stairs, manuals, and ledges. There are more bowls than you can get from Cava: a flow bowl, backyard-style pool, and vert bowl. The main feature is a full pipe for advanced line riders. It’s a hell of a park, even if somebody just wants to watch the action from the 100-foot-long pedestrian skybridge overhead.
Right now, San Diego has over 50 public skateparks scattered throughout the county. “There are now more [skateparks], more resources for them, and more terrain,” Owen tells me. “Now, they’re offering different competitive style skateparks that help for competitions. The best parks have a variety of different terrain where you have things for beginners and bigger transitions. Not every town has that.”
San Diego, luckily, does. But despite the bounty, Owen believes there should still be more—public skateparks are safe spaces for all to learn and develop on-board skills. Without them, a huge portion of San Diego’s culture withers. Encinitas could be the next city to add a skatepark to the county’s roster: In early July, the Encinitas City Council appointed 12 local skaters and community members for the newly established Skate Feature Committee. In partnership with two councilmembers, the committee’s purpose is to design a working skatepark or feature for the city.
But like any big project, Owen says, it’s a long process to add another skatepark to the community.
“I wish it were easier,” he says. “When there are different contractors for different things, [there’s only] a certain amount of time to build. It gets tricky.”
Then there’s the matter of funding the actual construction and development of the skatepark. That usually comes from grants, fundraisers, and donations. For reference, Linda Vista Skatepark was built on a $4.46 million grant from the California Department of Housing and Community Development in 2014. With an additional $40,000 donated by the Tony Hawk Foundation, the park opened in 2018 and is the largest in San Diego’s Parks and Recreation system. The best way to get a skatepark in your neighborhood, Owen says, is to start a petition and reach out to your city.
Photo Credit: Blair Alley
The Street Skaters
Jordan Thrower’s first street skate sesh at San Diego City College in 2003 ended with a police chase. The campus was swarming with skaters riding rails, jumping stairs, and grinding tricks on benches, curbs, and ledges. When the cops got on their loudspeaker telling them not to run, everyone obviously ran. Back then, cops would give tickets and confiscate boards. The vibe has loosened since. “Now, the police don’t really care,” Thrower says. “They just make you leave. It’s not anything crazy.”
Street skating is when riders use real-world urban obstacles, rather than pristinely designed bowls or ramps—such as in college campuses, downtown areas, corporate buildings, and malls. Abandoned mini-golf courses and construction sites do the trick, too.
Thrower says the street skating hub here isn’t as huge as it once was. Thanks to modern technology and social media, skaters aren’t tied to any certain place to create skate videos. You know, those videos that could have been taken this year but have the low-fi vibe of 2004, where skaters carve down stairwells into parking lots, over mailboxes, or across park benches. The silver lining: Even though there are fewer street skaters than there once was, those who stayed in San Diego are still tight.
“Everyone skates with each other and knows each other here,” Thrower says. “In LA, it’s not really like that. It’s small there, but not everybody knows each other, and they don’t really skate with each other too much. They just have a lot of little crews.”
Back in 2015, Thrower started his own street team and brand that sells boards and shirts called Tantrum. The Tantrum team is split between San Diego and San Francisco. It doesn’t take much to be a part of a skate team. You just have to be a good hang.
“The way I pick people [for the team] is if I can get along with them,” he says. “It doesn’t even really matter if they’re that good. If you’re likable and funny, you can pretty much be on the team.”
Photo Credit: Marc Wierenega
The Future
Running it up to North County, a Vista-based nonprofit organization called Exposure Skate has been shaping up the youth since 2012. Its mission is to give more opportunities to otherwise underrepresented women, girls, and non-binary individuals by offering classes and camps. This, to build up confidence and community. We could all use a little bit of that, eh?
Thanks to Exposure Skate, 13-year-old Joey Yarbrough has found herself competing in the LA Olympic trials. (Her first time on a skateboard came at just 18 months old at an Exposure Skate Rising event.)
While competing for Team USA in Rome in June of this year, she finished 13th at the first Olympic qualifier for LA28. Currently ranked 21st in the world and 5th among American women, the young prodigy is blooming. And she’s in good company and mentorship from her biggest influence, Bryce Wettstein.
“She taught me at the first Exposure Skate Rising when I was little,” Yarbrough recalls. “I compete and skate with her all the time now, and it’s super fun. [At Exposure,] it feels so good to have someone there to help me whenever I need it. They’re like my family, always encouraging me and always there for me.”
Yarbrough will be just 15 years old when the Olympics go down in LA. She’s following the Olympic torch carried by other locals such as Wettstein, Ruby Lilley, Jordyn Barratt, and Exposure Skate’s Amelia Brodka.
“I’m working my hardest to get there,” she says. “I’ll also work my hardest to go higher in the Olympics, maybe on podium. That’s just my dream. So, hopefully it’ll come true.”
Jake Peterson is a San Diego-based journalist and culture writer. His work explores the city’s music scene, sports, local characters, and the offbeat corners of San Diego’s subcultures.
The Best Gym in San Diego Isn’t Really a Gym Anymore
Earlier this year, Fit quietly dropped "athletic" from its brand, from Fit Athletic Clubs to simply Fit, and started calling itself something new: a social wellness club.
There’s a version of San Diego that lives in two extremes. On one side, the 5 a.m. crowd: biohackers, marathoners, people who’ve already logged a cold plunge before your alarm goes off. On the other, the after-dark crowd, the ones chasing sunset happy hours and late dinners with friends. Everyone seems to be either optimizing or unwinding, and most of us feel like we’re failing at both.
Fit, San Diego’s reigning Best Gym for the third year running, has built its entire identity around erasing that divide.
Walk into one of Fit’s three San Diego locations on a Tuesday afternoon and the lines blur fast. Someone’s mid-set on the squat rack. Someone else has a laptop open at a café table a few feet away, half-working, half-people-watching. A group is trading plans for the weekend’s event by the recovery lounge. Nobody’s in a rush to leave.
“We’re not competing for the same people,” says Emily Waybright, Public Relations Manager at Fit, addressing the arrival of a national luxury gym chain in San Diego this year. “We don’t really feel like we’re in the gym category. It’s this unique thing.”
That unique thing has a name now. Earlier this year, Fit quietly dropped “athletic” from its brand, from Fit Athletic Clubs to simply Fit, and started calling itself something new: a social wellness club.
It’s a small wording change with a bigger idea behind it. Fit was never built around escaping the workday. It was built around the people who genuinely like what they do, and who want workouts, work, and friendships to happen in the same place instead of three separate ones. Because sometimes red light therapy with a stranger turns into weekend plans.
Fit’s philosophy traces back to its founder, who started the brand nearly two decades ago after failing to find a gym he actually wanted to belong to. He looked instead to the old-school country club, where people came for a shared interest and stayed for the community. His version was made for a younger generation, minus the golf, plus the loud music.
Which makes it a little ironic that the very award putting Fit back in the spotlight this year is Best Gym.
What does the best traditional gym look like when the definition of a gym is becoming less traditional? It’s a fair question, and Fit’s answer is that the fitness industry itself is shifting. The 45-minutes-in, 45-minutes-out model is giving way to something closer to a genuine third space, the kind of role the office and the bar used to play before remote work and changing nightlife habits rearranged how people spend their time
For Fit, community isn’t a marketing add-on to fitness. It’s the through-line. Members aren’t just paying for a treadmill; they’re paying for an entire day of social wellness that’s built on performance, recovery, connection, and a plan for the next event on the calendar. That’s a much harder membership to walk away from.
Ambition and ease aren’t opposites here, they exist side by side, where passion and play share the same morning. On September 12, Fit is hosting Sol, a full day wellness festival at Fit Social. The morning focuses on wellness classes and vendors and then the evening is a full party with multiple DJ sets and an open bar. Think of it as a kick-off to locals’ summer in San Diego.
Ready to see what a social wellness club actually looks like? Visit fitclubs.com, or follow along at @thefitclubs on Instagram.
A Rare Look Inside Callaway Golf’s San Diego Test Center
The Ely Callaway Performance Center is where tour-level fittings, cutting-edge technology, and golf equipment you can’t buy yet all come together
Courtesy of Ely Callaway Performance Center
By Tina Mickelson
“Come test something.”
Those are quite possibly my three favorite words in the English language—all due respect to “I love you” or the highly underrated “you were right.”
I’ve been a PGA Golf Professional since 1994, and yes, full bias disclosure, a Callaway Golf Ambassador for 18 years. One of the bonuses that comes with that combo is access to the Ely Callaway Performance Center—a place so exclusive it gives “velvet rope” vibes.
Originally opened in 2006 as a highly functional (yet not exactly breathtaking) test facility, the ECPC got a serious glow-up in 2018 when Gil Hanse (along with partner Geoff Shackelford) turned it into what can only be described as a fully engineered golf playground. Hanse is no stranger to golf course renovations. In 2024, he completed an extensive redesign of the Omni La Costa North Course in Carlsbad, so it could host the NCAA Division 1 Golf Championships. He also worked on acclaimed courses like Winged Foot, Merion Golf Club, and Oakmont Country Club.
In just two months, it went from a standard test center and R&D lab to a fully dialed-in golf playground.
Courtesy of Ely Callaway Performance Center
What was once purely practical is now intentionally designed to be both precise and inspiring. The targets are staggered with purpose—forcing creative shot-making while also calling you out on your actual distances (no more “that’s my 150-yard club … ish”).
Add a massive hitting area, bunkers and greens that mimic real on-course conditions, a “Himalayas” putting green (named for its roller-coaster undulations), an upgraded indoor putting lab, and a 120-decibel sound system blasting a very golf-appropriate playlist, and suddenly it’s a rare blend of high-performance testing facility and “don’t mind if I stay here all day” energy. Since this isn’t exactly open to the public, SDM asked me to take you behind the curtain.
As the iron gates part, it feels less like arriving at a practice facility and more like being granted backstage access at a rock concert—if the bandmembers were made entirely of launch monitors and perfectly manicured turf.
There are no mats. No guessing. No “I think that one felt good?” Just conditions that mirror exactly what tour players see in competition. Because when you’re testing equipment at this level, accuracy isn’t a bonus—it’s the whole point.
Even the sand matters. Different textures. Different densities. Because bunkers have personalities, too, and they are often unfriendly. And the golf balls? Brand. New. Not the usual “these have seen some things” range balls. New balls mean consistent spin, truer trajectory, and no surprises. The older a golf ball gets—and the more it’s been baked in the sun, scuffed, or generally lived a full and complicated life—the less reliable it becomes. Think of it like this: fresh ball, predictable performance; old range ball, slight chaos with a side of mystery.
I’m escorted to my personal hitting bay—basically a pop-up shaded oasis stocked with enough equipment to make a gear junkie weak in the knees. Shafts in every weight and profile imaginable. Heads lined up like they’re waiting to be drafted by their favorite team.
Courtesy of Ely Callaway Performance Center
Toptracer technology was patiently waiting to track every one of my swings, each shot instantly delivering ball speed, launch, spin, carry distance, and dispersion (a polite way of saying consistency, or lack thereof), so there’s no guessing—just data telling the truth, whether I like it or not.
We start with irons. Different heads, different feels, different results. When I miss a shot, the ball tends to leak right, so we check lie angle. A quick adjustment—2 degrees upright—and suddenly the clubface is consistently square at impact like it remembered its job. Effort level: down. Ball flight: improved. Confidence: creeping back.
Next we look at the different shaft options—because nothing says “fun afternoon” like realizing a higher kick point can change your entire golf identity. Shaft flex (how much the shaft bends during your swing) helps determine whether you get more height and distance or more control, while kick point (where the shaft bends the most) influences your ball flight—lower kick point for higher launch, higher kick point for a flatter, more penetrating shot. In other words, one small tweak and suddenly you’re hitting shots you’d normally only describe later, slightly exaggerated, over a glass of wine.
Then we move through the bag: hybrids, fairway woods, drivers, wedges. It’s a full rotation of “try this,” “now try this,” and “okay wait … THAT one.”
And yes—the new Quantum driver and fairway woods made an appearance. Without getting too deep in the weeds, they’re faster, more forgiving, and smarter (thanks to AI face mapping) than previous models. Translation: Even your mishits are now slightly less embarrassing. And they were not the only things getting tested. My patience was under attack because the driver and woods would not be available to the public for a good three months.
Courtesy of Ely Callaway Performance Center
Watching the fitting team work is like watching a Formula 1 pit crew. Clubs are swapped in seconds. Shafts tightened, adjusted, replaced. One minute you’re swinging something that seems “fine,” and the next, you’re holding a club that feels like it is a part of your DNA.
Then there’s the putter fitting. Drivers are physics. Putters are therapy. Inside the putting lab, sensors track everything—tempo, face angle, path—things you didn’t even know could be measured. Within minutes, my data politely informs me that my putter face is slightly closed at impact. Not shocking, but also not ideal.
A few quick adjustments—different head (with a bit more weight at the toe to discourage the face swinging closed at impact), shorter shaft (so I feel more over the ball, which helps my eyeline)—and suddenly the ball starts rolling exactly where I’m aimed.
Same stroke. Same golfer. Completely different outcome. If only the rest of life worked like that.
And then there’s the part that feels slightly classified. The ECPC isn’t “just” a performance center—it’s also where future equipment lives before the public even knows it exists. I’ve been there when certain clubs were basically under surveillance. Not “don’t touch,” but more “please keep phones in your pocket.”
It’s golf’s version of Area 51. Except instead of aliens, it’s drivers that won’t hit shelves for another year—and like I mentioned, waiting is not my strong suit.
Getting to test the newest equipment isn’t just a perk—it’s part of the job. It’s what allows me to stand in front of students and say, “I’ve tried it. I know what works and what doesn’t. And more importantly, I know why.” And if I happen to sprint to my car every time the phone rings and someone says, “Come test something” … well, that’s just professional courtesy.
Callaway isn’t the only place to get your swing analyzed and clubs fitted. You can stroll into big retail spots like The Golf Mart or Golf Galaxy, book a next-level session at a dedicated studio like Club Champion or True Spec Golf, test brand-specific gear at various manufacturing companies (many located in Carlsbad), or even combine a lesson and a fitting at GOLFTEC. And let’s not forget your local golf course, where fittings happen on actual turf, on a driving range you have some history with—many times with the golf professional who is familiar with your swing so they can give you valuable input. With this many options, there’s really no excuse, other than pride, to keep blaming your clubs.
Growing up, Laika Nur, MD, Scripps Clinic sports medicine specialist, loved watching beach volleyball when the Association of Volleyball Professionals tour came to her hometown of Chicago. A talented volleyball player herself, she remembers sitting in the stands all day, and once, even got a couple autographs. Years later, Dr. Nur was attending a professional event focused on women’s sports, and the discussion turned to a new professional women’s volleyball league. The general manager and coaching staff for San Diego’s team, the Mojo, happened to be in attendance, and Dr. Nur took the opportunity to ask them if they needed a team doctor. Flash forward to the Mojo’s inaugural 2024 season, when Dr. Nur officially became the team physician. Click here to read more about Dr. Nur and how she incorporates lessons she learned on the court into her practice.
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