California Road Trip

[ferg24]

At the end of June we're taking a trip from the Seattle area down into Southern California. We're going to the Redwoods, then Big Sur, down to Anaheim, up to Sequoia, then Yosemite, and ending at Shasta Lake before heading home. We're in a 34' Class A towing an MDX, so I wanted to see if anyone has routes advised and especially routes NOT advised. So far we were told for on our way down we should avoid highway 1 in the Ft Bragg area, and to stay on 101 until after San Francisco. We have also heard we should avoid 198 near Sequoia and take 99 to 63 to 180 instead. One part I'm looking for help on is where to cut over to I5 after Big Sur, heading to the LA area. Google maps says to take 1 and 101 all the way down. While that may be the shortest route, I'm guessing it's not the fastest with all the traffic going through all the towns. It looks like 46 is a fairly straight shot over, but I don't know what the terrain is like on any of these different roads/highways that cut over East. Any help from people who have been through any of the areas of our trip would be much appreciated!

[Water-Bug]

Any trip on highway 1 in an RV is better when driven from south to north. That puts you on the inside and not the ocean side. If you decide to take highway 17 over to Santa Cruz, avoid doing it on weekends or during commute hours. In the summer, it is a parking lot on weekend mornings, goings southbound

[korbe]

After Big Sur I would not attempt to get back it I-5. I would take 101 south from San Luis Obispo.

[CA_Traveler]

BTW Post how you decide to pay the GG toll which is now electronic only! You cannot pay at the bridge nor do you stop at the toll plaza.

I'll have that experience next fall. Most likely after I go through I'll then pay online. Not at all sure how that will work for me with MH and toad plates from different states.

[CA_Traveler]

The first part of 1 from Leggett is slow with 15MPH curves but otherwise OK in our 36' with toad. All of 1 in CA will be slow compared to 101. 46 to 5 is a good truck route but you might as well stay on 101 into LA just get there mid day.

Do NOT take 101 through SF. Take US 1/19th Ave (second right after GG) mid day using the left and then center lanes to 280. Have done that many times with the 36' and now 42' towing. Consider 280/85 to 101 or 17 to Santa Cruz.

101/68 to Monterey is good. Not everyone is comfortable on 1 south of Carmel.

[MarkTwain]

Great trip! IMHO:) I would drive 101 down to the Petaluma find a RV park there, unhook and drive your tow vehicle to San Francisco to do all your sight seeing etc etc. Driving your RV through S.F. is not my idea of relaxing or pleasant, congestion, traffic and white knuckle time:(
After S.F. I would take hwy 37 over to Vallejo then hook up with the 680 back to 101. 101 is a beautiful RV road with lots of scenic sights. Areas I like down 101 are Morrow Bay, Pismo Beach , Avilia beach and San Louis Obispo. All these areas have RV parks and scenic sights to see.
As was mentioned by a previous reply, I like hooking up with hwy. 1 at Oxnard or you can take hwy. 126 at Oxnard right over to I-5 and then continue south. When you get to southern Calif. I would try and plan my travel if possible on the week ends or from around 10am to 3pm or after 8pm during the week days to avoid the cluster of traffic going and coming to work. I-5 is your most direct route from Southern cal. to Yosemite. If you choose to go to Yosemite on the way down on your trip the I would take Hwy 46 at Paso Robles to Hwy. 99. Hwy 46 is a great 2 lane road for RVs. I would strongly recommend you make your reservations today for Yosemite and Sequoia. If reservations are a problem then I would find the nearest town with a RV
park and use your tow vechicle. It would be an easier drive with just your tow vechicle. Traffic through Yosemite and Sequoia can be a cluster of traffic.

[DaveG39]

We have taken the coast road (hwy 1) from Carmel to Morro Bay several times. It is slow but scenic and with a 34ft should not be a problem. In any event I would not go all the way over to I-5. If you don't want to take 1 take 101. When you get to Oxnard you can join up with hwy 1 again then I-10 in Santa Monica and then on to 405 to Anaheim. Scenic along the coast through Malibu area.

[funfinderlisa]

ferg24 wrote:
At the end of June we're taking a trip from the Seattle area down into Southern California. We're going to the Redwoods, then Big Sur, down to Anaheim, up to Sequoia, then Yosemite, and ending at Shasta Lake before heading home. We're in a 34' Class A towing an MDX, so I wanted to see if anyone has routes advised and especially routes NOT advised. So far we were told for on our way down we should avoid highway 1 in the Ft Bragg area, and to stay on 101 until after San Francisco. We have also heard we should avoid 198 near Sequoia and take 99 to 63 to 180 instead. One part I'm looking for help on is where to cut over to I5 after Big Sur, heading to the LA area. Google maps says to take 1 and 101 all the way down. While that may be the shortest route, I'm guessing it's not the fastest with all the traffic going through all the towns. It looks like 46 is a fairly straight shot over, but I don't know what the terrain is like on any of these different roads/highways that cut over East. Any help from people who have been through any of the areas of our trip would be much appreciated!

Oh My - That sounds like quite the road trip! I wish I were posting with better advice for you, but all I can say, is get as much input from the experienced people on this site as possible! Hubby & I went to Big Sur, from Southern California last June, and we still laugh about the pucker in the drivers seat of the truck! I am not kidding you, when I say that I was determined to find another way out of there on the way home, other than having take Highway 1.....as beautiful as that was, when you have the %#@! scared out of you, it's hard to enjoy the beautiful drive. Anyhoo....we took the LONG way home which meant heading further North through Carmel, and then back to So Cal....otherwise your white knuckling it for much longer than I was willing to. I'm not even sure what the MDX is, but I'm assumimg a recreational vehicle....but we only have an F150 and a 24' Fun Finder, and as much as I enjoyed that Big Sur trip, it was stressfull getting there & out of there...to say the least! Anyway, that's my 2 cents, but hopefully you can get better advice on the best routes to take from Seattle. My Husband is better with directions and I don't drive with the trailer, so if you need me to check with him, I can....I do know you're definitely better off doing what we did, when you leave Big Sur, which means you're not taking the fast route, but trust me...you don't want to take the fast route on Highway one, unless you're driving in a Ferrari!:C