West Coast Trip (Hwy #1?)

[You_can_t_take_]

I've heard a lot about driving down the west coast of the US. Does anyone have any tips about which route to take? Should we just follow Hwy #1 closest to the coast all the way down from Seattle? Are there signs to follow such as 'Scenic Route'? We have about a week to 10 days to do this.

[OutdoorPhotogra]

The switchbacks in North Yellowstone are what you will face for miles and miles. But the views are spectacular.

To echo someone on time, about once per year for several years I drove up I-5 and cut over to catch Hwy 1 near Monterey then south to Cambria. Per google maps it's 100 miles and 2.5 hour drive. It usually took me 6-8 hours there is just so much to see. And that was "hurrying" because at Cambria I needed to turn east and still had a 2.5 hour drive home.

[edhensley]

I have done CA1 several times, I agree that you need to plan a lot of time as you need to take it slow and there's plenty to see.

I would like to clear one thing: Hwy 1 is CA hwy 1, it does not exist out of the state. US101 runs along the coast in Oregon. So anyone that has been on it out of CA is a little lost.

Have fun it is worth the time

[mockturtle]

Oh, yes! By all means 'take your time' driving Hwy 1. The drivers behind you will just love you for it. :B

Seriously, in a rig the size of yours it should be fine. I wouldn't take a 40' MH on it.

[spoon059]

I remember hwy 1 from a cross country trip as a kid. YES... take that road. Drive slow, don't be in a hurry and enjoy the sites. I remember there being a lot of pull offs so you could park and enjoy the views. Some absolutely AMAZING views from the roadway. I wouldn't consider a west coast trip to be complete without taking that road. Enjoy it!

[ktmrfs]

I've done highway 1, beautiful bucket list must do, But

1) do it north to south, much easier to get to scenic pulloffs
2) Best vehicle is a top down roadster,
3) Worst vehicle is any kind of MH or trailer. One of the few,if not only trips I'd prefer NOT to do in a trailer/MH. Takes the fun out of the trip. turnouts can be a hassle, and there are many many great hotels along the coast.
4) plan o going 200-300 miles/day at MOST. to many great things to do along the way to travel much each day.

Now 101 from WA to the Oregon/Ca border, is a great trailer route. lots of campgrounds, lots of good views even with a trailer, nice road.

[n7bsn]

olygene wrote:
RedRacer: If you are driving a 29' TT, your overall length will be around 50'+ which means very slow driving on Hwy 1. Just be prepared for a lot of one finger salutes as cars pass you by.

If you check the CAL-TRANS recommendations you will find there are stretches of Cal-1 that are not recommended for towing, for good reasons.

Cal-Tran Cal-1

[Big_Katuna]

If you have the time, I would do the towing on 101 or other roads, set up camp, then drive solo up and down each stretch. Trying it towing will be miserable plus there are lot of cool places to stop and see/eat and it would be near impossible towing.

Morning fog can be an issue. We thought we would get up early and start driving but many mornings you could not see anything until noon.

I also recommend north to south. I WANT to be closer to the ocean to see more. Going north you round a bend and you are looking at the side of a motor home instead of the view.

[You_can_t_take_]

Thanks all for your many (and varied) suggestions! We have just finished a tour of Yellowstone and didn't slide off any of the switchbacks there... so it's onward ho!! down Hwy 1 with our 23' rig!!

[olygene]

RedRacer: If you are driving a 29' TT, your overall length will be around 50'+ which means very slow driving on Hwy 1. Just be prepared for a lot of one finger salutes as cars pass you by.

[myredracer]

the bear II wrote:
HWY 1 is a great drive you just have to take your time. It's very beautiful and lots to see.

But there are dangers...curves, hidden intersections/driveways, narrow, wildlife, mudslides, landslides....

We've been on it 10 times in my life. 3 of those times we were stopped due to landslides/mudslide. You either turn around (2 hours to nearest crossover to Hwy 101) or wait until they clear the highway (6 hours)

Watch the weather reports avoid if there will be a heavy rain storm.

Would it be do-able with a 29' TT? Would there be anywhere to camp along the route?

[myredracer]

I'll never forget the time I tried #1 northward out of SF driving a sports car. Only lasted a few brief miles and couldn't take all the very tight slow speed corners. Turned back and went up the 101. Maybe that stretch is the worst and the rest is okay? The views would be worth it though.

Yeah, forget the cost of the sea lion caves but their homemade fudge is pretty good. If it's just sea lions you want to see (ie., not the caves), you can do that for free at the pier in Santa Cruz.

Better not have vertigo or be afraid of heights...

[olygene]

As a former Washingtonian RV traveler, I made the trip from Seattle to SoCal several times. My preference is to drive from SoCal north to Seattle because you will be in the inside lane and will not have to hug the narrow shoulder on the ocean side of the highway in places. But if you have to start from Seattle I would drive south to Olympia WA and then catch Hwy101 to take you around the Olympic Peninsula, down the WA coast into Oregon. Stay on Hwy101 throughout Oregon and into NoCal. At MP 614 on Hwy101, turn right onto CA Hwy 1 and stay on it til you reach SoCal. As others have said, Hwy 1 can be extremely curvy and slow in the Summer with all the vacationers. But the photo of your rig looks like a 23' or 24' which is small enough to minimize the "white knuckles" your DW may get as she looks down the dropoff into the ocean. This is primarily a tourist route so many places on the coast will be closed during late fall and winter months so plan accordingly. Your 7 - 10 day trip will be more than sufficient for this trip. Several years ago I stopped at the Sea Lion Caves near Florence OR. SAVE your money--only go if you've never seen a sea lion before.

[frankdamp]

I'd suggest taking SR-20 westwards from its junction with I-5 at Burlington, towards Anacortes, then south over the Deception Pass bridge. Follow it to the "Coupeville" (really "Keystone") ferry and sail over to Port Townsend. From there, follow SR-20 to where it meets Hwy 101 and head west then south. We've done that a couple of times, taking 101 all the way along to Crescent City, CA. There are some lengths that aren't close to the ocean, but it's a beautiful trip.

We didn't go further south than Crescent City, but headed across the mountains to I-5 and back home.

An additional suggestion - with your relatively short rig, you might also want to consider Chuckanut Drive from just South of Bellingham to Burlington.

[OutdoorPhotogra]

I recommend finding base camp spots and driving Hwy 1 without towing. You have a lot of rigs in your sig. Is the photo your current rig? What is the length? That might be doable with the precautions mentioned above.

I'm only familiar with the Pacfic Coast Hwy (Hwy 1) from the Bay area to Orange County. It is a beautiful drive, but definitely white knuckle at times in the wrong rig. High cliffs with minimal shoulders and lots of curves.