oldchief7155 wrote:
Retired CHP here.
1. Get reservations for Alcatraz tour. It is busy and they only allow so many a day on the "Rock".
2. CA1 is doable provided:
A. Weather cooperates. It can be gorgeous or horrid along CA1 that time of year.
B. Your passengers don't mind being right next to sheer, 500 foot dropoffs WITH OUT guardrails a significant part of the trip.
C. You are patient. You may get behind a slow poke and basically there is no place to pass. Being in a hurry on CA1 will kill you.
D. Fog can be EXTREMELY thick with visibity less than 10 feet.
E. Be flexible. CA1 closes frequently due to landslides. Be prepared to take 101.
Maybe a bit ambitious but surely doable.
Kids will like Hearst Castle. On the bus ride up ask them to look for zebras. There is a herd of them.
You will love it if weather cooperates.
Fog is a possibility more during the spring and summer. Not so much in the winter. Rain and landslides closing SR1 are more likley during the winter. Watch the weather reports and the California Highway Patrol app for road closures and weather conditions on SR1 south of Monterey. If SSR1 is closed south of Monterey you have to go east at Monterey to hit 101 to points south. If the road is closed north of Pfiffer you can take 101 to 46 west just south of Paso Robles, then SR1 north to Pfiffer. Longer and back tracking a bit
