Forum Discussion

colmbarry's avatar
colmbarry
Explorer
Nov 28, 2018

From Md to California, Part 1

Hello all,

I am planning a trip from Maryland to California that will last for several months, that is why I added Part 1 to the title, I will be seeking additional advice from you as the trip proceeds.

Due to family matters the 1st leg of my trip will be to Santa Cruz, CA where I plan to stay for around 2 weeks so my questions will revolve around this part of the trip.

1) Please suggest some places around Santa Cruz to stay. I am open to staying in various locations including state / national parks, regular campgrounds and " RV resorts ". I do not mind moving around a few times just for the change of scenery. If possible, when recommending locations, add your favorite spots in the facility.

2) I plan to stop in Arizona for a few days on the way there. I would like your recommendation on a place to stay there for about 3 days. I am thinking about a nice resort on a lake or other scenic area, just for a little peaceful R & R.

3) Last but not least, we are leaving Maryland in January so I am looking for route options. I know this is weather dependent and the default route would be to head south down I95 and head west somewhere in Georgia, either taking I10 or getting on I40. If you could recommend a different route I should consider that would knock a day or two off the travel time, that would be great.

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions
Roads and Routes
  • Yosemite_Sam1's avatar
    Yosemite_Sam1
    Explorer
    Nov 28, 2018
    Welcome to the beautiful California.

    Santa Cruz is near to everything, be it the love Monterey or San Francisco.

    And in California, you are always 2 hours away from either the mountains or the beach.

    Include in your checklist to drive the Pacific Coast Highway from San Diego to farthest up North.

    Winter, however, are mostly closed public campgrounds in the mountains but open year-round on beach campgrounds.
  • lhenry8113's avatar
    lhenry8113
    Explorer
    Nov 28, 2018
    Between Santa Cruz and Monterey on the coast is one of our favorite campgrounds-it is small and a KOA-Moss Landing. By a Marina, 3+ great restaurants, easy walk or bike ride to beach, old (very)small town atmosphere, super clean. In Az. really neat place to visit is "Williams" on Route 40/66. If you have the time-take the train ride to Grand Canyon. We have traveled I10 & I40-recently used I40 it is an older highway well used by truckers-but a lot of fun if you want to follow Rt.66. Lars Williams, Az.
  • dahkota's avatar
    dahkota
    Explorer
    Nov 29, 2018
    We spend a lot of time in Edgewater and have made the trip probably a dozen times over the last five years. If we were making the trip in January, we would check the weather for the next couple of days and look for night lows below 35 degrees.

    If the temps looked good, we would run 66 to 81, then 81 south to 40. If temps were going to be too low or the weather was lousy, we would take 95 south to 85 south to 20. We avoid 10 in Louisiana at all costs.

    Each morning we check the weather for the next couple of days and make adjustments. We drove it in December 2 years ago and ended up on 10 through Texas because of snow. I wouldn't be stubborn about which route during winter.

    The drive can be a lot of fun or a tedious slog through cold, windy, dreary days.

    We are in Arizona right now and the nights are chilly (30s). On a lake with better weather, check Lake Havasu.
  • colmbarry's avatar
    colmbarry
    Explorer
    Nov 30, 2018
    Many thanks to all who have replied, I now have enough info to be dangerous for the first leg of this trip. Looking forward to the replies for Part 2, 3 and 4.

    Thanks again.

    Colm
  • Busskipper's avatar
    Busskipper
    Explorer
    Dec 04, 2018
    colmbarry wrote:
    Hello all,

    I am planning a trip from Maryland to California that will last for several months, that is why I added Part 1 to the title, I will be seeking additional advice from you as the trip proceeds.

    Due to family matters the 1st leg of my trip will be to Santa Cruz, CA where I plan to stay for around 2 weeks so my questions will revolve around this part of the trip.

    1) Please suggest some places around Santa Cruz to stay. I am open to staying in various locations including state / national parks, regular campgrounds and " RV resorts ". I do not mind moving around a few times just for the change of scenery. If possible, when recommending locations, add your favorite spots in the facility.

    2) I plan to stop in Arizona for a few days on the way there. I would like your recommendation on a place to stay there for about 3 days. I am thinking about a nice resort on a lake or other scenic area, just for a little peaceful R & R.

    3) Last but not least, we are leaving Maryland in January so I am looking for route options. I know this is weather dependent and the default route would be to head south down I95 and head west somewhere in Georgia, either taking I10 or getting on I40. If you could recommend a different route I should consider that would knock a day or two off the travel time, that would be great.

    Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions


    Welcome to the Crew -

    What are you driving - What are you Pulling?

    What are you comfortable with in terms of Mile Per Day, this is BIG?

    Will you be a Wal*Mart traveler or a CampGround Traveler?

    Hard to make blanket recommendations without knowing a little more about You:)

    I stopped driving to Cali when the Oldest graduated from College there - BUT we still drive often to Colorado (Fly often too) and have done the trip out after Christmas on I-70 & RT 36 - If you keep and Eye on the Weather and are just a little Lucky it can be easy (It can also be a Little Snowy)

    As we are just down the Road (Arnold) feel free to PM me if I can be of any help - as I have probably 25+ trips to the Rockies over the Years, with a good bit of time in California too.

    Get back to Us and we'll all try to help you out with more specifics.

    Best of Luck,

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