Best scenic route from San Diego to Temecula (Escondido, Santee: house, live in)

[thepinksquid]

My husband and I are thinking of taking a little drive up to Temecula tomorrow (or another time) to see the area as we've never been. On the way up I'd take to take a back road, and I'm looking for advice on which to take.

We live in Mission Valley, near the Qualcomm stadium.

Option 1: go up 67 near Santee and through Rosemont/Ramona and then follow 79 north all the way up

Option 2: take 8 west and follow 79 through Julian and the whole way up to Temecula

...or a better way I'm not seeing.

Which route is more scenic? Also, we'd prefer not to encounter any dirt/unpaved roads.

I did a little bit of looking on Google street view and both ways looks pretty interesting... I'd like to see a mix of desert and mountains, if possible. We'll probably be bringing our camera for a little bit of landscape photography if we see anything along the way.

Thanks!!

[Encinitan]

Originally Posted by thepinksquid

My husband and I are thinking of taking a little drive up to Temecula tomorrow (or another time) to see the area as we've never been. On the way up I'd take to take a back road, and I'm looking for advice on which to take.

We live in Mission Valley, near the Qualcomm stadium.

Option 1: go up 67 near Santee and through Rosemont/Ramona and then follow 79 north all the way up

Option 2: take 8 west and follow 79 through Julian and the whole way up to Temecula

...or a better way I'm not seeing.

Which route is more scenic? Also, we'd prefer not to encounter any dirt/unpaved roads.

I did a little bit of looking on Google street view and both ways looks pretty interesting... I'd like to see a mix of desert and mountains, if possible. We'll probably be bringing our camera for a little bit of landscape photography if we see anything along the way.

Thanks!!

I'd say 5 north to Via de la Valle or Lomas Santa Fe Drive (in Del Mar/Solana Beach), and take it east as it winds through the trees and estates in Rancho Santa Fe before it turns into Del Dios Highway, past Lake Hodges until it hits the 15 in Escondido, then it's straight up through Rainbow and into Temecula. A very pretty drive.

[thepinksquid]

Originally Posted by Encinitan

I'd say 5 north to Via de la Valle or Lomas Santa Fe Drive (in Del Mar/Solana Beach), and take it east as it winds through the trees and estates in Rancho Santa Fe before it turns into Del Dios Highway, past Lake Hodges until it hits the 15 in Escondido, then it's straight up through Rainbow and into Temecula. A very pretty drive.

Ohh I didn't even think of going on that side of 15... good idea. We've been through Rancho Santa Fe before (we were trying to find the house Heaven's Gate off'd themselves in... is that weird?) and it was simply a gorgeous area. Thanks!

[esmith143]

Del Dios Highway is definitely scenic. 15 north of Escondido isn't bad either. 79 is nice till Julian/Santa Ysabel, then it gets somewhat monotonous.

[Oerdin]

79 is nice but the 45 minute drive on the I15 turns into a three hour drive on the 79.

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by thepinksquid

Ohh I didn't even think of going on that side of 15... good idea. We've been through Rancho Santa Fe before (we were trying to find the house Heaven's Gate off'd themselves in... is that weird?) and it was simply a gorgeous area. Thanks!

You've probably already done the trip (we were away for 10 days). But even better than I-15 is the old highway 395 which runs alongside I-15 for much of the distance between Pomerado and Temecula. You have to use I-15 to cross Lake Hodges, though.

[thepinksquid]

Originally Posted by oddstray

You've probably already done the trip (we were away for 10 days). But even better than I-15 is the old highway 395 which runs alongside I-15 for much of the distance between Pomerado and Temecula. You have to use I-15 to cross Lake Hodges, though.

We actually haven't gone yet! Probably sometime later this week... thanks for the input.