California Hwy 1 from Ventura to Cresent City CA

[JaneNLee]

Last time I did this route was 1975. I was young but remember it was a great ride.
Can anyone in California or any one who has traveled Hwy 1 is it still accessible and road worthy. Seems when trying to map the route it changes back to 101.
I would like to take the Motorhome, but all suggestions are open for a safer trip in the Caddy.
We do plan on going from Crescent City up the coast to the Canada also if anyone has done the complete trip.

I do thank you for your help and knowledge on this post.

CU on the road, Jane and Lee

[Redsky]

Take the car and enjoy the drive. Big Sur is one of the most beautiful sections of coastline in the world and nearly as nice is the stretch of Hwy 1 through Sonoma county. Most of the places to pull over and enjoy the views are too small for a long RV. Plenty of B&B's and small hotels along this route and much nicer than the majority of places where you can park a large RV with hookups.

The out of pocket cost will be the same either way so make it a fun trip and take the car and use the many resources like Tripadvisor.com and Yelp.com to find places to stay and to eat.

Best time to go is right after Labor Day. Not commonly known but along the coast the warmest weather is usually in September and also the sunniest.

[msmith1199]

If you're taking your motorhome up or down the length of Highway 1, then getting through San Francisco will be the easiest part of the trip. You can just stay on Highway 1 and follow it all the way through town. It will merge with 280 for a very short distance and then you'll exit and go north. Or you can take Highway 35 north off Highway 1 and then turn onto the Great Highway through San Francisco. That keeps you along the coast. At the end of The Great Highway (near the Cliff House) the road will curve and turns into Geary Blvd. You can take that back to Highway 1 and then across the Golden Gate.

[JohnG3]

msmith1199 wrote:
I've done it in my 35' DP towing my Dakota and didn't have a problem. I've done it multiple times. The road is fine. Yeah it has some curves in it, but this is California. If you're going to stay off the curvy roads you may as well go visit Kansas instead. I have no idea why people are always so afraid of that road. Most of it is restricted to motorhomes that are 40' and under, so as long as you aren't in a big rig you're good to go. The only recommendation I would make is that if you are only doing it in one direction, I think it's better to go North to South. Most of the turnouts and things you are going to want to see are on the ocean side of the road. It will make stopping and taking in the scenery so much easier.

X2 on this comment. If you get on 1 in the Los Angeles area at Oxnard it becomes 101 after a drive through the city. At Gaviota you can get back on 1 and go through Lompoc and a few other areas but then it again merges with 101 until the Morro Bay exit in San Luis Obispo. Gas up in SLO or Morro Bay as gas is about a buck a gallon higher along the section from Morro Bay to Carmel. Staying on 1 from Carmel takes you through Santa Cruz.

Search this topic on this site and there a couple people who have taken large rigs on an alternate route through San Francisco and report is as not as bad as the usual tourist route.

Just returned from there and it is a very busy and crowded city.

[msmith1199]

I've done it in my 35' DP towing my Dakota and didn't have a problem. I've done it multiple times. The road is fine. Yeah it has some curves in it, but this is California. If you're going to stay off the curvy roads you may as well go visit Kansas instead. I have no idea why people are always so afraid of that road. Most of it is restricted to motorhomes that are 40' and under, so as long as you aren't in a big rig you're good to go. The only recommendation I would make is that if you are only doing it in one direction, I think it's better to go North to South. Most of the turnouts and things you are going to want to see are on the ocean side of the road. It will make stopping and taking in the scenery so much easier.

[DougE]

I've done it with a 30' MH towing a Sidekick. A little snug in a couple of towns, a couple of switchbacks and grades. I enjoyed the trip but maybe I'm a more adventurous driver than some on the forum. In short, it depends on your attitude.

[1100Sabre]

Been through there in a car and once on the motorcycle. I'm thinking that from Ventura to San Simeon (sp?) would be ok with a medium sized motor home or small 5th wheel. North from there to San Fransisco would definitely be some white knuckle curves. It was a blast on the bike!!!

[Golden_HVAC]

Two Hands wrote:
From a point just north of San Simeon to a point just south of Monterey SR 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway) is definitely not recommended for large motor homes. Immediately north of the Golden Gate Bridge is a short stretch that is also not recommended. It is a beautiful drive, just not in a big rv.

I drove my Ford Edge from Monterrey to Cresent City and then on to Grants Pass, then to Portland OR. This was May 2013. It was a fun trip, in a powerful car, not being towed by my motorhome. In the motorhome, I did take it and a car in tow from Grants Pass south to Napa, then east to I5, and south to my home in Garden Grove. It was a great drive.

I was thinking about the bad part of highway 1 between San Francisco and going north. I guess the white knuckle part IS San Francisco. I went through there around 1pm - 2pm, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge around 2. In a 6' wide car, it was no problem, but thinking back, I probably would not want to do it in my 8.5' wide RV.

Once north of San Francisco, I wanted to see Avenue of the Giants during the day, and I was getting tired, so stopped for the night. Next day I did see Avenue of the Giants, I can highly recommend that. The freeway is normally called "101" while the two lane sections that have homes and other access roads connecting to the highway is typically called highway 1. While at Avenue of the Giants, it is the old 1930's roadway Highway 1, and the modern limited access 101 runs right through the center of that section of Redwoods.

One trip that I took, I went from Garden Grove to Napa along I5, then toured that area, all the way north to Ferndale - great lumbermill factory tour there. Then back south to San Francisco, and home. I had heard how poor the road conditions where between Hearst Castle and Monterrey, so I have always avoided that area.

In Grants Pass, try to stay at Schroder Park, a small county park along the Rouge river. Also in town, you can buy tickets on a Jet Boat ride. Hellgate.com

Have a great trip!

Fred.

[Francesca_Knowl]

JaneNLee wrote:
Last time I did this route was 1975. I was young but remember it was a great ride.
Can anyone in California or any one who has traveled Hwy 1 is it still accessible and road worthy. Seems when trying to map the route it changes back to 101.

A search of the route "HWY 1 to Crescent City" probably "changes back to 101" because Highway 1 doesn't go all the way to Crescent City. It ends at Leggett, where it joins up to 101.

I've been the entire length of both roads. My most most recent and with trailer in tow experience of 1 is only from Fort Bragg to Leggett. Certainly good and passable road though with some fairly tight curves. Hwy 101 on the other hand is a major north/south route for its entire length from Los Angeles to its terminus in Washington State and is doable for a rig of any size.

[Two_Hands]

From a point just north of San Simeon to a point just south of Monterey SR 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway) is definitely not recommended for large motor homes. Immediately north of the Golden Gate Bridge is a short stretch that is also not recommended. It is a beautiful drive, just not in a big rv.

[LavinFamily]

Once you get to Santa Barbara you are better off going over to 101. I would NOT try to do Hwy 1 from Morro Bay to Monterey. I've done it in a car and would never try to take our motorhome on that road. We have taken 101 up from San Francisco to Oregon and it is a beautiful drive but a lot of up and down and curves, but nothing a motorhome can't handle.