Recommended time of year to drive along Central California Coast (Hwy 1) between SF and LA (Santa Cruz: camping, safe)

[pbergen]

my friends and i are planning to do a road trip down california highway 1 from san francisco to los angeles in early 2010. we did that drive earlier this year and had a great time taking in the amazing scenery.

the thing is, we went in february, which is part of the rainy season in coastal california. we were fortunate to have avoided most of the rain during the big sur portion of the drive (the sun actually came out just as we were heading south out of monterey), but it was raining fairly heavily between sf and santa cruz and then again from santa barbara to LA.

my question is, is there a month or season of the year which has ideal weather conditions for this drive? what i'm looking for is a time frame with a relatively low chance of rain and morning/afternoon fog as well as a greater likelihood of partly to mostly sunny skies. i don't mind a few clouds, but it'll be a little bit of a bummer if it's totally gray and overcast for the entire drive.

i'd initially assumed that summertime would be perfect, but an acquaintance mentioned to me that the fog can be really bad that time of year, especially in big sur.

how are march, april, or may? it seems that there might be far less chance of rain than dec/jan/feb along with less chance of fog than jun/jul/aug. is this correct?

also, is there a time of year in which wildflowers and other seasonal florae are particularly abundant along the central coast (and within hiking distance of highway 1)? any recommended spots to check out for this? my friends and i want to do more than just driving and snapping photos from the pullout areas this time around; we'd like to get out of the car and do a little bit of hiking, and it would be great if our trip coincided with one of those small windows of opportunity when certain seasonal plants have begun to bloom.

thanks in advance.

[coyoteskye]

To be on the safe side, go in May at the earliest.
Last year there was some unusual rain at the very beginning of May but, generally speaking, by May the rain is done.
Anytime between May and October would be good although if you want the blooms of spring, then ..... well, go in the spring ... June is wonderful.
Fog you cannot predict although mid-summer (when the temps are hot) would probably be a good time to avoid if you don't like a lot of fog but it is a natural and frequent thing on the central coast.
October is a beautiful time of year but no bloom of spring flowers and the days are shorter and the weather is a bit cooler.
I'd spend some time in Big Sur ... maybe settle in there for a night or two.
Morning and evening fog is typical but during the daytime, warm and sunny.
Big Sur Chamber of Commerce, Big Sur Lodging, Accommodations, Camping
Sometimes that Big Sur link doesn't work but if you google Big Sur you'll be able to access it from there.
For some reason when i link to this site, weird pages appear at times.
Also, you may want to spend some time in Nisene Marks state park in Aptos which is in Santa Cruz county ... about an hour and a half north of Big Sur.
The Forest of Nisene Marks SP
Happy Trails.

[MtnSurfer]

Yeah,

Spring is a gorgeous time to be out and about along the Central Coast. And the nice thing is Spring starts early depending on what type of flowers you like to see. Here are the calla lilies in Feb last year at Garrapata in Big Sur:



But for the most flowers I would say April is probably best. May might be a little late but still you'll find some blooms. The poppies are my favorite this time of the year in Big Sur. But there is a lot of color, some of which I don't even know the names of.





The coast between Sand Dollar and Nacimiento Ferguson Rd is especially nice. I camped there last April with my son and it was a blast:










Nacimiento Ferguson Rd is really nice in April. Start at HWY 1 and drive up the road a couple of miles. It is well known for wildflowers:



Derek

[coyoteskye]

beautiful pictures as usual.
aren't may and june still good for wild flowers?
i lose track of time but i thought it was in may and june when i've seen the wild flowers on the way to big sur.
no?
and april is still potentially rainy but the wild flowers may be worth some less than perfect weather.

[CA central coast]

April and May, I guess to be safe with the rain. You just never know. At the end of the drive, here in Morro Bay, Jan. & feb. can be the nicest time of year. We had 100 degree temps last January. It's hard to say. Just don't go during the summer. The waterfalls might still be flowing good in April as opposed to May, but I'm not 100% on that.

[MtnSurfer]

I found April to be peak. But yeah, some flowers are still around in May, not so much June. The weather along the central coast anytime in the Spring is usually mild. Heck even the Winter months don't get that much rain usually. Of course there are exceptions like El Nino years. But overall Spring is very pleasant. This is Generally speaking of course. But the majority of rain occurs in the Winter months along the coast as the rule. Although I find the Winter to be my favorite season because of the beauty and variability.

Here is Feburary after a good rain. I saw at least 4 separate rainbows on this day. It was awesome!





Also Coastal Iris start in March:



Derek

[pbergen]

thanks so much for the tips, coyoteskye, mtnsurfer, and ca central coast. and derek, those photos look amazing! much appreciated. i'm definitely going to have to swing by nacimiento ferguson rd on the way down the coast.

btw, i don't necessarily have any specific types of wildflowers in mind - i guess i'm just looking for quantity, variety, and lots of color more than anything else, so it seems that april would work best for me, or perhaps late march or early may.

would i be correct in assuming that early april generally has a greater chance of rain than the latter part of the month, but at the same time there will be a more abundant/colorful range of wildflowers in the big sur area? or would it not really matter either way?

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by pbergen

would i be correct in assuming that early april generally has a greater chance of rain than the latter part of the month, but at the same time there will be a more abundant/colorful range of wildflowers in the big sur area? or would it not really matter either way?

Glad you liked the pictures. Every year the weather varies too much to say in any particular month when it might rain most if at all. Sometimes I just like to split the difference and go in the middle. But it is kinda like throwing a dart at a dart board at that point.

Your best bet is to stay for a few days in the nicer areas and enjoy a variety of weather that might roll through. The more days you stay the better. If it is a one day kamakazi run then wait until you get closer to that time and watch the forecasts.

Flowers also vary a bit each year. For a good resource checkout the wildflower hotsheet. And look back over this past year - Carol Leigh's Wildflower Hotsheet

Derek

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

Glad you liked the pictures. Every year the weather varies too much to say in any particular month when it might rain most if at all. Sometimes I just like to split the difference and go in the middle. But it is kinda like throwing a dart at a dart board at that point.

Your best bet is to stay for a few days in the nicer areas and enjoy a variety of weather that might roll through. The more days you stay the better. If it is a one day kamakazi run then wait until you get closer to that time and watch the forecasts.

Flowers also vary a bit each year. For a good resource checkout the wildflower hotsheet. And look back over this past year - Carol Leigh's Wildflower Hotsheet

Derek

thanks again for the advice and the wildflower website.

i'm trying to convince my buddies to make this into a 3-4 day trip so that we can do plenty of hiking and/or really explore a few of the central coast towns and maybe hearst castle, but so far they only seem interested in a 1.5-2 day drive due to time constraints (we all have different schedules, and some members of the group have a limited number of vacation days compared to the rest of us).

last time, we actually completed the drive in 1.5 days, which is what they're expecting again (maybe 2 full days at the most, since they realize that even a very light hike will require a couple of hours). we left sf in the late afternoon, got to santa cruz a little bit after sunset, and then stayed there overnight. the next morning, we left super early and then drove all the way down to LA.

in the end, things worked out and we had a great time, but it was far too rushed IMO. hopefully this year will be different.

[MtnSurfer]

Yeah,

I would try for more days if you can. Another option would be to drive a bit further down and stay in Monterey/Carmel or better yet Big Sur itself. Then you can catch the best part of the day, sunset and sunrise (for those who are morning people ).

Big Sur Sunrise at Garrapata (just south of Point Lobos):



Derek