Help me plan a California Highway 1 road trip

In My Humble Opinion
1

For the past several years I’ve always traveled overseas for my summer vacations. But last year I bought a new Mazda MX-5 Miata, and ever since I got it I’ve dreamed of driving it down Highway 1 with the top down. So I think for my vacation this year I will change things up and stay in California and do just that. I’d do it at a leisurely pace, driving just a few hours per day, stopping to see sights along the way, go on hikes, enjoy the beach, or whatever, then stop somewhere for the night. I’ll be starting in the Sacramento area and probably ending in Santa Barbara. I’d want the trip to last at least a week, but I’m sure I’ll have enough vacation days to stretch it to a slightly longer trip if I want.

So, I’m looking for advice on some good things to see along the way, where to stop each night, and where’s the best place to start Hwy 1. My first instinct was to just start in San Francisco, but in Beckdawrek’s “traveling west” thread last week Senegoid suggested going south from the Russian River.

So I’m thinking maybe something like this:

Day 1: I-80 west to CA-12. Take 12 through wine country up to Santa Rosa, then CA-116 over the mountains to CA-1. I see Sonoma Coast State Park is right there at the mouth of the Russian River. Is that worth a stop? Perhaps I’ll stop there for a hike, or maybe head south and go hiking at Point Reyes and then maybe visit the Muir Woods. Although the Muir Woods is usually crowded and there are other places to see redwoods along my route. That’s probably enough for one day, allowing time for hiking and whatnot. I’ll probably get a hotel or AirBnb in the Sausalito area. Or do you think that’s even too much for one day? Maybe spend the first day just enjoying wine country and spend the night in Santa Rosa, then head to the coast on day 2?

Day 2 (or 3 if I split Day 1 into two days): Cross the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco. Should I follow the signed CA-1 route through SF, which I know is pretty much just urban streets, or head west on Geary Blvd. and take Great Hwy. and Skyline Blvd. until they intersect 1 south of the city? I’m not sure if there’s any place I’m interested in stopping at in San Francisco; I’ve been there plenty of times. Well, maybe the California Academy of Sciences or the Botanical Garden. Then drive south to Santa Cruz. Where are some good places to stop along that route? Is Mori Point worth a stop? Maybe a detour over to one of the many state parks in the mountains. Maybe Big Basin Redwoods? Or stick to the coast and stop at Año Nuevo State Park. Do I have time for both? I’m debating whether to spend the night in Santa Cruz or head on to Monterey. I’m leaning towards Santa Cruz because then I can spend the evening enjoying the Boardwalk.

Day 3 (or 4): Drive to Monterey if I chose to stay in Santa Cruz the previous night. Visit the aquarium and maybe some other sights in town, then Point Lobos. Then drive down to Big Sur, where I’m guess I should probably spend the night because there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of lodging between there and Cambria. Or just stay in Monterey.

Day 4 (or 5): Do some hiking in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. Then drive south, maybe tour Hearst Castle, stop in Morro Bay or San Luis Obispo, go enjoy the beach.

Day 5 (or 6): Drive to Santa Barbara. Do touristy stuff in Santa Barbara.

Day 6 (or 7): Drive home via the fastest route.

How does that sound? Am I trying to pack too much into each day? Like I said, I can stretch this out over more days if I need to. Any major sight worth seeing that I missed?

2

If you’re not interested in SF, then it really doesn’t matter much - just take the fastest way to pick up Hwy 1 to get to Pacifica. Personally I’d take 19th ave to 280 to 1, but that’s me. From there, through the tunnel to a reasonably spectacular coastal drive that drops fairly quickly down near the water. The stretch from Pacifica to Santa Cruz is pretty pastoral for the most part. You might stop in Half Moon Bay or the cute towns of San Gregorio or Pescadero. At Ano Nuevo state park there’s often a ton of seal lions, depending on the time of year, so worth a hike if there’s viewing open. Pigeon Point has a cute lighthouse. Panther beach and (duh) Natural Arches have arches; Panther is a bit of a hike, Natural Arches isn’t. I always thought Davenport was a cute place, and the ocean view quite good, though stay back from the cliff edges, we always lose someone that way.

3

You should check Google or some other traffic service about the best way to get through SF. What might be a breeze one day, or at one time of day, could be stop & go at another time. I drive Hwy 1 (which Google Maps amusingly pronounces “Pacific Coast Wee”) between SF and the San Mateo coast quite frequently. Usually the recommended route is down 19th Ave. but sometimes it will take you another route. It rarely recommends you go all the way to Great Highway, but sometimes I do it anyway because the drive is more pleasant. If you just want to get through the city as fast as possible, use a map app.

South of the city, you might consider stopping at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve if that sort of thing interests you and you can time it to get there around low tide. Sam’s Chowder House is the best seafood restaurant in the area but you’ll need a reservation; depending on time of day maybe several days in advance. There are a LOT of nice beaches along the coast there, some with better water access, some with more spectacular scenery (waves crashing on rocks, etc), some with better hiking trails. This is the time of year for viewing elephant seals at Año Nuevo, which is pretty awesome but you have to make a reservation and go on a guided walk.

I probably would not recommend a side trip to Big Basin. It’s a good hour off Hwy 1 each way, and while the hiking there is nice, I don’t think it justifies the time.

Let me know if you want more info; I know the coast pretty well between San Francisco and Santa Cruz.

ETA: I just realized you didn’t say when you were doing this. If it’s after March or so there won’t be elephant seals at Año Nuevo.

4

It will definitely be after March. No set dates yet, but summer, definitely. Probably like July.

5

Right off the bat, you’re missing the best part of the coast. Skip the wine country; that’s an easy weekend or even day trip from Sacramento. Day 1 is head north on I-5 to Williams, and west on Hwy 20 to Fort Bragg. Head south 10 miles on 1 and stay in Mendocino. Hike the fern canyons at Van Damme and/or Russian Gulch. Check out the Russian Gulch headland.

On your way south, if you really want some wine, a 20 mile side trip on 128 will get you to the Anderson Valley.

Salt Point SP is a great coastal walk & view. If you’re there in May, don’t miss the Kruse Rhododendron Reserve.

Sonoma Coast SP is mostly rocky & beach access. Not a lot of hiking on that stretch as I recall.

Fastest way through SF if traffic isn’t an issue is Hwy 1 (19th Avenue). Will put you right on 280 & then back on 1 to Pacifica. If traffic is an issue, a great alternative is to turn right on JFK drive in GG park, then left on Sunset. Personally, I’d take either Fulton or JFK, rather than Geary, to Great Highway, unless you really want to visit the Cliff House. On the beach side of GG park, the Beach Chalet is great lunch stop. Great Highway to Skyline to 1, avoiding 280 entirely, is a nice bit of road.

South of SF, Butano SP is a short side trip with some nice redwoods. Stop at Duarte’s Tavern in Pescadero for artichoke soup and olallieberry pie.

I concur that Big Basin is too much of a side trip & not the best redwoods, compared to what you will have already seen.

Monterey area - definitely aquarium & Pt. Lobos.

6

I’ve driven the coast many, many times. Thing is, even at a leisurely pace, you can only see so much. Sometimes it’s good just to stop at places that look good and find your adventure as it comes. As far as the first part, down to Santa Cruz goes…

Along the Russian River–Armstrong Redwoods just outside of Guerneville has some nice short hikes and some impressive trees.

Bodega Bay–Spud Point Crab Co. has some *really *tasty clam chowder. Get some to go and drive up to Bodega Head and enjoy your chowder overlooking the bay. Just a little further down the road you can make a quick stop to see the iconic schoolhouse from The Birds.

Consider spending two days in the Point Reyes area. The scenery is wonderful and there are lots of hikes to choose from. If your budget permits, I recommend the Cottages At Point Reyes Seashore as a base camp for exploration. The Inverness Park Market deli makes *great *sandwiches.

The Marin Headlands are nice too. The hike out to the Point Bonita Lighthouse is really neat. If you time it right you can take a tour of the Nike Missile site. In Sausalito, the Bay Model is pretty cool.

If you decide to take the Great Highway along the SF coast, the Camera Obscura is worth a short stop.

South of Pacifica, there’s a multi-use trail along the old Devil’s Slide roadway if you want to stretch your legs. Mori Point is a bit further south…it’s okay, but not a must see.

As mentioned above, there are lots of nice beaches scattered along the way between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. Not all of them have signage, just parking areas with trails heading off towards the ocean. Just north of Santa Cruz, Wilder Ranch State Park has a coastal trail along some really scenic bluffs.

7

Twoflower, right off the bat, you’re missing the best part of the coast. Sure, take 20 to Fort Bragg, but don’t go left/south. Turn right/north. IMO, the prettiest part of 1 is from Fort Bragg to where it turns inland. From there to Leggett, it’s no longer scenic, but it does have about 50 sharp turns that are a riot in a Miata. I know.

8

All the above is some beautiful traveling, fer sure. But I think adding all that to the OP’s plan is too much for one trip, and might even entrap him into doing a “whirlwind” sort of tour, and we don’t want that to happen.

I suggest that the entire Route 1 / Hwy 101 trip north of Santa Rosa and Hwy 116 is worth seeing, but is best done as a separate road trip unto itself. If OP wants to travel down the coast to Santa Barbara, I’ll stick with the suggestion to start at Hwy 116. Save Fort Ross, Ft. Bragg, Skunk Train, Willetts, Clovedale, Anderson Valley all for another day.

When you DO get into that quadrant of the galaxy, save some time to visit the Williams Soaring Center on Husted Road in Williams just a short way off Hwy 20. Go fly a glider! (Last I heard, requires reservation several weeks in advance, they are so busy!)

Hwy 20 passes Clear Lake, which may have some things to see. From there you can head west to Hwy 101 near Hopland (near Ukiah) or down to Calistoga at the top of Napa Valley, with several directions you can go from there.

CalPine energy company has a visitor center in Middletown (down Rt. 29 between Clear Lake and Calistoga). They have guided tour buses to the geysers geothermal fields.

A little farther down Rt. 29 towards Calistoga is Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, with a trailhead leading up to the top of Mt. St. Helena, with spectacular views out across Napa Valley.

But… We’re wandering away from your dream of driving Route 1. If you haven’t toured Napa and Sonoma Valleys already, that’s another day trip or several for another time. Visiting Anderson Valley could be a better fit with this trip.

Near Pt. Reyes is Marshall Station, small town on Rt 1. Stop there and kick around a bit. Little kitschy gift shops to buy knick-knacks to bring home for your friends. A bit south of Pt. Reyes, across Rt. 1 from Bolinas Lagoon, there’s the Audubon Canyon Ranch bird sanctuary, which includes a hiking trail. Be sure to check their hours before you go.

Two short videos with beautiful aerial photography over Bay Area, San Francisco, Marin County, Napa Valley, Point Reyes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggv5kkjqHrI 6 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDdnfIANUxU 4 minutes.

I think you can skip Muir Woods. You have to pay and IIRC there isn’t really a lengthy hiking trail there. Plenty of other redwoods in plenty of other places. blondebear suggested Armstrong Redwoods near Guerneville just off Rt 116, and I second that idea.

I also second the idea of seeing the Bay Model at Sausalito. It’s right on the waterfront near the north end of town.

Just off Hwy 101 just before it runs onto the Golden Gate Bridge you can get off at Alexander Avenue and drive up the mountain into the Fort Cronkhite Marin Headlands, past the ruins of several World War II fortifications, to a never-fully-completed big gun emplacement at the top of the mountain.

9

Big Basin itself isn’t right on the coast, and it’s a rather long detour to get there from Highway 1. However, there is a lengthy (30-some miles) hiking trail, the Skyline To The Sea trail, that runs the entire distance from the top of the mountain (junction of Skyline and Route 9), through Big Basin, right down to Rt. 1 at Rancho Del Oso, a little south of Año Nuevo State Park. You can stop there and hike part of the way (as far as you want) up the mountain.

Is Hearst Castle at San Simeon on your itinerary?

10

The fastest route is undoubtedly I-5, and also the most boring (with but a few minor exceptions).

You should drive home on U. S. 101 – A bit longer and slower than I-5, but much more varied and interesting, and much shorter and faster than Rt. 1. It’s a real good compromise of fairly-quick and fairly-interesting. You can stop for sightseeing side-trips as you wish, depending on how tired you are by them.

11

Yup, I saw you had mentioned CA-20 etc. in that other thread, but I decided against that route because I was afraid it would add too much time to the trip. I figured the wine country and CA-116 was a good compromise.

Fun fact: The very first project I worked on for my first real job after college (which was when I moved to California) was codenamed Guerneville, because one of the team members owned a house there.

Yes, see day 4 or 5.

I will take everyone’s advise and skip Big Basin. And probably skip the Muir Woods. I have family coming to visit at Christmas this year, I was thinking I’d take them on a Marin County day trip and I can visit the Muir Woods with them then.

12

Just North of Hearst Castle stop to check out the elephant seals on the beach. Make sure you make reservations for a tour at Hearst Castle. If possible time your visit to San Luis Obispo for a Thursday night - the farmers market is more of a street festival. If it’s the last Thursday of the month, half-drunk, costumed cyclists take over the downtown streets after 9pm. It’s a sight to behold.

13

Wildabeast, I went to High School in Folsom, back when it was primarily still an prison town and Aerojet was on the skids (the late 70’s). Prior to that, I lived in Colusa and went to the Fort Bragg area multiple times every summer to escape the heat. I have taken highway 20 from Williams to Fort Bragg dozens of times (back in the 60’s and 70’s)

You have a choice for one week: north or south. These are not the same country.
North is redwoods, fog, beaches and a lot less people and traffic.
South is sunshine, Missions and the odd traffic jam. And a lot more driving.
Maybe even a 3rd midway option of SF area/wine country/Big Sur

All of the above are great but very different. Pick your poison then we can help more. BTW, jealous you can do the trip. I took my family, by way of Seattle and seeing my mom in Sacto, down 1 from Monterey about 5 years ago. Wish we had budgeted a day and a half for San Luis Obispo…

14

They’re there more or less year-round, its just that the exciting breeding season will be over. But in July and August the big bulls are lolling around molting( females and juveniles molt more in the spring ). The con is you’re not going to see nearly as much activity - just almighty huge animals lazing around like giant slugs in the sand. Maybe a little light rough-housing between some late lingering juvenile males in the water if you’re lucky.

The pro is no guided tour with paid registration required. You can just walk on out and gaze at the big beasties. At closeish range they’re pretty impressive even taking a nap, especially the full-grown males.

15

They’re there more or less year-round, its just that the exciting breeding season will be over. But in July and August the big bulls are lolling around molting. The con is you’re not going to see nearly as much activity - mostly just almighty huge animals lazing around like giant slugs in the sand.

The pro is no guided tour with paid registration required. You can just walk on out and gaze at the big beasties. At closeish range they’re pretty impressive even taking a nap, especially the full-grown males.

16

Just adding that if you are in Folsom, I personally would skip all the Bay Area stuff and start with Monterey and/or Santa Crus and/or Big Sur as the first destination. Save Wine Country for a long weekend or something.

As I posted earlier, SLO is pretty cool and worth more than 1/2 a day. Moro Beach and Pismo are both good but one of those two is probably good.

For me, the Elephant Seals are a must see, but an hour or two is plenty.

Watch for the zebra herd(s) near Hearst Castle. My kids and wife thought I was messing with them, but there are Zebra herds out there. Weird but oddly cool.

17

I suppose we oughta ask: How long have you been in California, and in particular, how long in Folsom or anywhere around Sacramento area?

I’m starting to think more and more what I and others are saying: Don’t cram too much in one trip. For a long multi-day trip, head south. Maybe even skip Marin and Sonoma counties, like China Guy says, and start some place at or south of San Francisco.

Everything from San Francisco on north to, say, Willits or so is in the range of a one-day or possibly two-day weekend trip. You can visit those places anytime, and you certainly should, if you haven’t already.

I suggested Napa/Sonoma for a separate trip, but I am wondering: Have you already visited all those places? Anyone who has been in northern California for a while would view those areas as fodder for various weekend day-trips and not necessarily part of a long-haul road trip.

18

If you happen to be in San Luis Obispo looking for a place to eat breakfast try the Del Monte Cafe near the train station. It’s been there nearly forever. Good food, reasonable prices. And if you’re lucky a train will come by.

Edit: I am not a SLO resident nor affiliated with the cafe. But I always eat there if I pass through in the morning.

19

Some good hiking terrain in SLO county too if you want to take the time.

Route 1 merges with 101 at the northern end of SLO City and diverges again at Pismo Beach. Towards the southern end SLO City, right alongside 101 is the Madonna Inn, famous for having “fantasy suites” of various designs. Right behind that is a mountain with a big M on the side (which everybody supposes stands for Madonna, which is actually a big family name around SLO, but it actually stands for Mission, a local Christian school). Nearby is a parking lot and trailhead, so you can hike up Madonna’s Mountain.

On the backside of Madonna Mountain is Foothill Blvd and across the street from that is another mountain with several trails to the top.

Just a bit farther south on 101, at south end of SLO City is Los Osos Valley Road. Take that all the way to Los Osos and keep on going until you reach Montaña de Oro State Park. (Used to be free. Don’t know if it still is.) Continue until you come to beach parking on the right, ranger station on the left. That big mountain you see behind the ranger station with the zig-zag trail is Valencia Peak, a good 90-minute hike to the top.

A bit farther south on 101, before you reach Pismo Beach, is Avila Beach Dr. You can take that to Avila Beach, little seaside touristy town. Everybody used to agree that was “funky” (subject to everybody’s notion of what “funky” means). Then the whole waterfront neighborhood got contaminated with leaks from a nearby oil tank farm, so they dug up the whole neighborhood and beach and tore down everything there (preserving all the bricks of at least one old building to re-build it later). Everybody was afraid that the re-built Avila Beach waterfront would be “Disneyfied” and IMO that’s at least somewhat what happened.

On the road to there is a side road leading to a hidden beach, Pirates Cove, clothing optional. Beyond Avila Beach is a pier and beyond that is Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant where you can get irradiated to energize you for the southern half of your road trip.

20

Continuing southward from San Luis Obispo:

At Pismo Beach, U. S. 101 and Route 1 again diverge. You could follow Rt. 1 through Pismo Beach and Oceano. Then, I suggest that you follow the road back to 101 rather than continuing to follow Route 1, unless your objective is to take the entire Route 1 just for completeness.

Route 1 and 101 merge again a little south of Buellton. That whole stretch of Route 1 from Oceano to there is, I think, pretty much uninteresting. If you just stay on 101 for that part of the trip, it will be much faster and, I think, marginally more interesting.

At Buellton, you can get off 101 and head east to Solvang, which is some people’s idea of a cute tourist town. It has Danish roots, and a large Danish-themed downtown area full of Danish-themed gift shops, restaurants, and other kitsch.

Stay on the main road just a few miles past Solvang and you reach Santa Ynez, a smallish town with a native American reservation nearby. There’s a mission there you could visit (one in SLO too). I found a library there with lots of interesting California and local history books. I sat and read one about, IIRC, William Cody or maybe it was Kit Carson. Also just a mile or two farther (you knew I was going to say this) there’s a commercial glider port! If you didn’t fly a glider at Williams, you can do it here!