Seattle to San Francisco

It will take you 3 days just to get through Willits :)

If you decide to take Hwy. 37, it is in Novato, take it to Hwy. 80 then when you get in Vallejo, take Hwy. 780 over to Hwy. 680, that will take you directly to Danville.

Bob in Calif.

seattlefirervr wrote:
Thanks to all of you (except one) thus far for the suggestions. My wife and I have two kids, ages 13 and 10. I am not accustomed to traveling on the road without our RV. We are headed to a soccer tournament for our oldest child in Danville, CA. From all of your advice, I am thinking of taking I-5 into Oregon, heading west to the 101 and enjoying the coast. When should I head east and pick up I-5 again? Due to time constraints, we won't have much time to hike/explore. Thanks.

On your question here, if you're taking 101 you'll never want to cut back over to 5. That is way out of your way when going to Danville. You can just drive straight into SF across the Golden Gate and then cross the Bay bridge and go over to Danville, or if you want to avoid SF then you can take Highway 37 across the top of the bay and work your way to Danville that way.

Based on your question the obvious answer is Highway 101. Then the only choice you have to make is stay on 101 or cut over 1 in California. If you stay on 101 in California once you get South of Eureka you won't see the Ocean again until you cross the Golden Gate Bridge. Highway 1 intersects 101 at Leggett. You can pick it up there and take 1 all the way down the coast. To be comfortable, traveling with kids, the Highway 1 route combined with what you already said, would be a nice 3 day drive with lots of stops along the way.

Per Google, Seattle to Danville on the 101 is 880 miles. Cutting over to Highway 1 and staying on it all the way into San Francisco is 927 miles. That would make for a nice pleasant 3 day drive with lots of stops along the way to enjoy the view.

Thanks to all of you (except one) thus far for the suggestions. My wife and I have two kids, ages 13 and 10. I am not accustomed to traveling on the road without our RV. We are headed to a soccer tournament for our oldest child in Danville, CA. From all of your advice, I am thinking of taking I-5 into Oregon, heading west to the 101 and enjoying the coast. When should I head east and pick up I-5 again? Due to time constraints, we won't have much time to hike/explore. Thanks.

Mostly it depends on the reason for the trip, SF or the trip? If the trip for sure take the 101, we just came down it the last 2 weeks. We are back home in So. Cal. now.

The answer depends on how old your kids are and whether they are prone to carsickness and whether you like to hike. Personally, I would not miss Prairie Creek Redwoods, if you have never been there.

In a Car or Pickup truck, I have driven from Seattle to Oakland in one shot, however since you have Your Wife and Kids with you, I would make it a 2 day drive, maybe stop off at Grants Pass for the night before driving to the Bay Area, Have a Great Trip!

Bob in Oakland, Calif.

I've driven it straight through (not in an RV). It should not take you three days. Maybe one overnight in the Medford/Ashland area. The coastal route is nice but summer brings a lot of congestion along 101.

It's 910 miles from Seattle to SF via the coastal route. I-5 south to Olympia, west to Astoria, then 101 all the way to SF. Beautiful coastal route, especially in Oregon, drive through the Avenue of the Giants in northern California. Once you enter California, 101 pulls away from the coast and the last 250 miles or so are inland, to include the Napa Valley wine country.

GM