from san francisco to fort bragg, Hwy 1 or 101? (Santa Rosa, Ukiah: restaurant, eat)

[fumbling]

Planning a roadtrip from LA to Oregon to Nevada back to LA. For the part of the trip from SF to Fort Bragg, trying to decide between taking 101 and going through towns like Santa Rosa, Healdsburg and Ukiah, or taking Hwy 1 and having the ocean view. Any advice or preference from people who have tried both routes?

[Tulemutt]

Hwy 1 north from San Francisco is easily as beautiful as south through Big Sur. twisting and turning and through bucolic little hamlets and coastal farmlands. Not as sheer cliff dramatic. But just as challenging to keep your eyes on the roads and scenery at the same time. Go SLOW! terrific drive. Give yourself Lots of time to soak it all up.

[Mr5150]

Go up HWY 1. 101 north of the City is nice and quite beautiful, esp when you get north of Healdsburg. With that said, taking HWY 1 will be an unforgettable experience.

[pch1013]

Both routes are nice, especially Highway 128 from Cloverdale to Ft. Bragg.

But if you're looking for amazing coastal scenery, there's no substitute for Highway 1. Just expect lots of traffic between Mill Valley and Jenner (and even beyond).

If you wanted to get farther north a bit more quickly -- and past the Hwy 1 bottlenecks at Stinson and Bodega Bay -- you could go 101 -> 116 -> 1. That puts you right at the southern end of the most spectacular part of Hwy 1 north of SF, and gets you a nice ride through the Russian River redwoods too.

[Phil306]

I prefer Highway 1. More scenic in my mind. Driving through Jenner, et al.

[Curmudgeon]

Decidedly Hwy 1. But watch out for the birds gathering in Bodega Bay. If they're preoccupied and the restaurant hasn't taken another dive under water, stop for some chowder, salad and sourdough bread at the Tides.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

Hwy 1 north from San Francisco is easily as beautiful as south through Big Sur. twisting and turning and through bucolic little hamlets and coastal farmlands. Not as sheer cliff dramatic. But just as challenging to keep your eyes on the roads and scenery at the same time. Go SLOW! terrific drive. Give yourself Lots of time to soak it all up.

If you don't keep your eyes on the road you may find yourself soaking up the scenery literally! If you make it to Fort Bragg, check out Glass Beach.

[OwlKaMyst]

All the early cross overs have been mentioned. It comes down to time. After 128/Cloverdale there is 253/Booneville at Ukiah, or 20 at Wilits. You could hit hwy 1 early and take one of these back to 101. But you should know, that once past the cutoff to Willits, you will be on 1 until it takes you back to 101 and that is a time consuming but very beautiful drive.

[sourdough]

What kind of vehicle are you driving? Anything sporty, you want 1. Got a pig, 101.

[fumbling]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Decidedly Hwy 1. But watch out for the birds gathering in Bodega Bay. If they're preoccupied and the restaurant hasn't taken another dive under water, stop for some chowder, salad and sourdough bread at the Tides.

This is what I like to check out too, any good eateries along the way. Coastal Oregon had a few roadside stands selling smoked fish last time I was up there about 10 years ago, anything like that or any other local specialties along Hwy 1 north of Fort Bragg up to the California border and on the way to Bend Oregon?