Is it possible to take the I-5 to Sonoma County?

[WannaBNorCal]

Originally Posted by ImRandy

Flying on the other hand saves you at least 6-7 hours of driving depending on where you are down there and it only take ~45 minutes. Might make things easier if you have a lot of places to look at. Many of the rental cars also have GPS navigation options now. Handy if you don't have a GPS navigation device or GPS enabled phone.

Thank you!
That 101 scared the bejeezus outta me over that Cijos pass--whatever it was called, and I'm pretty brave. So, from your post, it sounds as though this Altamont Pass is dangerous terrain to drive? It seems that the 101, to me, was only so beautiful from Santa Barbara, once I got out of LA---dang!
GREAT idea about renting a car with a GPS.

[ImRandy]

No, Altamont is a piece of cake... just a whole lot of cars and trucks use it to get from the Bay Area to the Central Valley so it can get quite backed up. 5 going through Tracy and Lathrop often turns into a parking lot. Just mentioning it in case you follow 5 up and use 12 to head West.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by ImRandy

It is congested most of the day regardless of what day it is. Personally, I would take 101 because it is much more pleasant and you avoid the Altamont Pass and the Tracy/Lathrop area congestion all together. If you do go this route I would also suggest switching to 280 in San Jose rather than 101 all the way up.

Flying on the other hand saves you at least 6-7 hours of driving depending on where you are down there and it only take ~45 minutes. Might make things easier if you have a lot of places to look at. Many of the rental cars also have GPS navigation options now. Handy if you don't have a GPS navigation device or GPS enabled phone.

EDIT: This "Cijos" you're talking about wouldn't be the Cuesta Grade would it? Coming out of SLO? It used to be kinda freaky years ago but they widened 101 so it's a rather mild drive now.

I don't know about coming up all the way on 101. The problem with cutting over from 5 to 101, which would otherwise be nice since he expressed an interest in seeing the Bay Area without dealing with the hairy parts of 101, is that the most 'direct' route is via 152, the Pacheco Pass. It's a goat path compared to 580, and the fatality rate is very high. I think 580 is busy because it's genuinely the best way to get from the interior valleys to the Bay Area.