Good call-out for Point Lobos - I heartily agree. A great place to stretch the legs.
It’s free to ride a bicycle - even if you only ride the first 3-4 miles and then turn around before it gets hilly, it’s really worth it. There are bike rentals in Monterey.
As much as I agree with everyone that SR-1 is a fantastic trip, the reference to “We are not beachy people, but we are foresty/hiking/history/animal people” makes me think you may enjoy the trip between Fresno and either Yosemite Junction or Placerville with a swing by Yosemite National Park. Unfortunately, it involves taking I5 then I99 through Fresno before you can get over to 41 to Yosemite for as many nights as you can manage. Then continue on 120/49 to cut over to 108 to the Bay Area. Or you can continue on 49 through the Gold Country as far as Placerville then drop into Sacramento and into the Bay Area. The beginning to Fresno and the ending leave a lot to be desired, but the middle is fantastic.
Stop at Rava Wines in Paso Robles for a brief tasting. The loveliest of the Paso wineries.
And get to Point Lobos early. It gets crowded and fills up quickly.
If you find yourselves in San Luis Obispo in the morning and want breakfast try the Del Monte Cafe near the railroad station. Good food and reasonable prices.
Monday-Friday 6:30am-7pm, Sat & Sun 7:30am-2:30pm
This isn’t wrong. I think for most visitors, long-haul hiking isn’t on the agenda. As noted above, there’s a rather short trail. Maybe there are connecting trails to surrounding areas; I don’t know about that.
If it’s serious hiking in the redwoods you want, it isn’t that much farther to Big Basin or Cowell Redwoods which have endless miles of trails. Especially if you’re coming up from the south, you will be passing nearby those places already. If you’re already in or around SF, you could also head east into the nearby Oakland hills on the other (East Bay) Skyline Drive, where there are regional parks full of redwoods and trails.
Getting from Santa Cruz into the San Jose area, if that’s your plan: SR-17 is scenic. I don’t know about traffic these days, having not been there for some years. I mentioned above that you could also take SR-9 from Santa Cruz into the San Jose area – roughly parallel to SR-17, longer and twistier, even more scenic; passes through some small resort-ish communities in a redwood filled canyon; passes by Cowell Redwoods and Big Basin.
At the summit (SR-9 and Skyline), there is a scenic overlook parking lot, with multiple trailheads heading off in several directions: One way along Skyline; cross the street (SR-9) to another trailhead the other way along Skyline; cross the other street (Skyline) and walk downhill a few years yards to the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail trailhead.
That would be the Harris Ranch feedlot. A HUGE feedlot right alongside I-5 near Coalinga, stretching from horizon to horizon. You don’t need to check Facebook to know when you pass by. You absolutely can’t miss it, depending on which way the wind is blowing.
Just a few miles south of that (at the next offramp to the south) is the Harris Ranch Restaurant, including a hotel and other traveler amenities. It’s an excellent restaurant, featuring Harris Ranch beef of course. If you flash your pilot license at the cashier, you get a discount. If you fly in, you can land at their private little airport and gas up there.
Definitely recommend 101. If you like architecture and history, Hearst castle is definitely worth a stop. San Luis Obispo is a nice little area and Carmel is pretty. San Francisco has so much to do. The walk across the Golden Gate Bridge has great views and begins or ends in Sausalito which is fun to tour.
@bobkitty you said you are animal people. Ostrichland in Solving is along the way and is a quick stop. Buy a bowl of feed for $5 and feed some ostriches and emus. If you’ve never been up close to an ostrich, and by that I mean within inches, it’s pretty cool. I like the ostriches more than the emus, but both are there.
And Solvang is a quaint Danish town. Heading north out of Santa Barbara, taking highway CA-154 and CA-246 to Solvang and then back to US-101 at Buelton is not out of the way, it’s about the same time and distance as taking US-101. The views of Santa Barbara and the coastline as you climb the mountains on CA-154 would be from the highest and closest vantage points offered — this is before you get to the Cold Spring Tavern on Stagecoach Road, Santa Barbara.
Years ago the Cold Spring Tavern was a favorite meal place of mine. I haven’t been there in years but it still looks to be a good place: Google, “reviews Cold Spring Tavern Santa Barbara”.
Santa Cruz is pretty beachy, but it makes a good home base for a lot or the nature and outdoorsy things nearby. Just a short drive north on CA-1 is Año Nuevo State Park and Nature Preserve, where you can see a colony of elephant seals.
Even closer is Wilder Ranch State Park, where there’s some nice hiking and historic ranch buildings.
The historic district in Santa Cruz is interesting if you like Victorian houses.
Another good spot for the elephant seals is Piedras Blancas, just north of San Simeon, in case the OP is taking CA-1. The seals are right next to the road, and there is an extensive parking lot and viewing areas. No fee (but there is a place to make donations).
The seals are not there year round, but only mating season, so check with the park first. Just after we got here we dragged our kids there Thanksgiving day. They are only now forgiving us 25 years later. The nature center is good also.
The visitors center on the other side of the bridge is not really near anything. I think there are buses from there to Sausalito, but you should check. Or you can Uber there, I doubt you can walk. When I did it I walked back and took a bus from the SF side visitors’ center to the BART.
Regarding Big Basin, be aware that there was a massive forest fire two years ago. I believe most of the redwood parks on the coastal side of the Santa Cruz mountains are still closed.
Or California SR 1 (Pacific Coast Highway [PCH]) right along the coast. That would be a long drive time-wise but with unbeatable vistas.
This site compares the 3 different routes (the 5, the 101 and the PCH).
According to the website, there are seals on the beaches year round now. Perhaps the numbers when you visited were much lower so there would be times there were none there. Every time I have been by there in recent years in different seasons there have always been seals to be seen.
So much helpful information!! Thanks everyone, this is definitely helping piece together an epic trip. Keep the tips coming, please!
Has anyone been to Alice’s Restaurant in Woodside?
I have! (and got the t-shirt) It’s at the intersection of 2 excellent roads for motorcyclists – CA 84 and CA 9 – so it’s a very popular stopping point, and the parking lot will be full of bikes. Not a biker hangout in the negative stereotypical sense by any means – all good friendly vibes, and the location is beautiful, surrounded by redwood trees.
The food is standard American burger fare.
Me too! Not just bikes there, but also some nice cars. A great spot for any bike/cars fan. And in my riding days, yes some fantastic roads.
Nit-pick: At the intersection of CA-84 (La Honda Rd.) and CA-35 (Skyline Blvd, the same Skyline I mentioned in an earlier post), in a redwood-enshrouded community that calls itself Sky Londa.
As seen on Google Maps here: Sky Londa area.
ETA: And near Portola State Park – still more hiking trails through the trees!
You realize, of course, that you are required to blog your adventures day-by-day and mile-by-mile right here in this thread so the rest of us can vicariously ride along with you!