The 1 or the 5?

[1Maddie2]

Thanks all for your input, I will come up route 5 then and save route 1 for later as I am pretty tired now from driving. I am now in New Mexico and have 3 more legs to go and hope to be landed in San Francisco by Saturday. I feel so blessed to have had superb weather along the way, with not even a raindrop - it seems I've had a week window that has worked perfectly for this move. I am really grateful to this website - I've been reading it for about 6 years and learning from others posts, and from those willing to take time from their day to help others like me - you all rock!! Thanks again!

One new California resident!

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Woo hoo! Welcome!

Getting into SF will be exciting without getting on Hwy 1, too. Pretty views of the bay.

If you weren't going to be too tired, I was going to suggest cutting over from I-5 above Fresno, through Los Banos to get to 101. Then you can cut over to Hwy 1 to Monterey and head up from there to Santa Cruz and either continue north or cut over Hwy 17 back to San Jose. Would definitely be a side trip, but if you just really were excited to see the Pacific, it would be an option.

Driving very far on Hwy 1 is beautiful, but very windy/curvy. There are also a lot of cliffs that can be scary, and random loose grazing cows on the hwy as you turn a corner and nearly run off a cliff lol! That's north of SF, though. It's tempting to drive like a race car driver around those turns, but you never know what will be around the corner. Not kidding about the cows :-)

I once drove Hwy 1 from the Bay Area all the way to Washington State. Once. It's really only good for weekend visits to a particular place not too far away, in my opinion. All that winding road and cliff business gets me too white knuckly and/or car sick.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by 1Maddie2

superb weather along the way, with not even a raindrop

Too much rain has not been a problem for CA this year. Much the opposite, actually.

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

I once drove Hwy 1 from the Bay Area all the way to Washington State. Once. It's really only good for weekend visits to a particular place not too far away, in my opinion. All that winding road and cliff business gets me too white knuckly and/or car sick.

We once drove it from GG all the way up to Port Angeles, WA and then took the ferry to vancouver island from there and kept going. One of the best road trips I've ever taken. But we had it broken up into really short driving segments of no more than 5 hours per day.

[pch1013]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

I once drove Hwy 1 from the Bay Area all the way to Washington State.

Not to be picky, but Highway 1 actually ends in Leggett, CA. From there northwards the coast highway is designated as US 101 all the way.

But yes, it's a beautiful drive. IMHO the Sonoma County stretch, especially between Jenner and Sea Ranch, is almost as spectacular as Big Sur.

Also, BTW, another way to get from I-5 to SF while avoiding bridge tolls is to take CA-152 from I-5 over to Gilroy. It's a freeway most of the way. The Casa de Fruta is a nice (if touristy) place to stop, stretch your legs, buy fruit, etc. Then, instead of taking 101 all the way into The City, take 85 north to 280 north -- much more pleasant and only a few miles longer.

Welcome to San Francisco! I hope you have lots of money. I mean, lots.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by otterprods

We once drove it from GG all the way up to Port Angeles, WA and then took the ferry to vancouver island from there and kept going. One of the best road trips I've ever taken. But we had it broken up into really short driving segments of no more than 5 hours per day.

That's the way to do it!

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by pch1013

Not to be picky, but Highway 1 actually ends in Leggett, CA. From there northwards the coast highway is designated as US 101 all the way.

Yep, that's right, I forgot. So it was really just HWY 101 we took all the way up, after Legget. And I agree that some of the section north of Marin county are comparable in beauty ti Big Sur… and a lot less crowded.