Things to do in Northern California?

[Sigarms]

Well bummer, I wrote all this before looking. CHP says 1 is closed at Lucia until Dec 2023. It looks like its mostly open south of that. So you could take 101 to Paso Robles and then 46 west to 1. Paso Robles is a cool small town, there's a wine scene in the area that's not as pretentious as Napa but still brings in good restaurants.

It looks like there is a closure on 1 south of Pismo Beach but with you can go around on some other roads.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but we could still make Big Sur from Monterey going south on Route 1, correct? Looked up Lucia on the Gazetteer, looks to be closed south of Big Sur. Thought process is just make it two nights in Monterey (by the time we hit the aquarium there and puttered around, that's 1/2 day right there).

That would scratch Santa Barbara off the itinerary IMO because it looks to be a decent drive from Santa Barbara to Lucia on Rt 1, added I can't run Route 1 all the way down (drive times vary wherever I check, so I'd rather be safe than sorry).

Thanks for that info by the way!

This is a dumb question, but how sketchy is the Route 1? Looking it up, it's a great drive, but also apparently depending on where you read, it's very dangerous. Generally wouldn't mind, but I'll have the family in the car. Not like cars go hurling off the side into the ocean I'm taking it?

 

[Sigarms]

If you want to see a real ghost town, Bodie a couple of hours south of there is now state park property where the buildings have been stabilized. It reflects what it looked like when gold mining was shut down for WWII. Grandpa was a mine superintendent there and we have photos of Bodie as a busy active mining town in the 1920's.

Flip through the Bodie photos here.

Bodie State Historic Park - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

www.tripadvisor.com

Any recommendations on a decent hotel in the area? We'd like to do one stay up further north in that area, and I thought lake Tahoe would be a good choice, but we were striking out with hotels in that area. I was thinking further North, but not certain what town to check out (either in California or Nevada).

Wife does not want to stay in a Motel 8 off the side of the road that we just came across because we ran out of options. Would like to spend a good day up in that area and being closer the night before I think would help. We still would have to deal with the drive back to Angels Camp.

 

[California]

... how sketchy is the Route 1? Looking it up, it's a great drive, but also apparently depending on where you read, it's very dangerous. Generally wouldn't mind, but I'll have the family in the car. Not like cars go hurling off the side into the ocean I'm taking it?

Don't sweat it. It's built to approximately modern highway standards even though it was a WPA project, in the 1930's. Good lines of sight, gentle grades, broad shoulder, no surprise sharp turns. Maybe drivers were looking at the scenery instead of the next curve. Or drinking. You might want to alternate drivers south/north so the driver doesn't get cheated out of seeing everything. You do need to look ahead because its mostly curves. You'll be fine.

 

[ericm979]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but we could still make Big Sur from Monterey going south on Route 1, correct? Looked up Lucia on the Gazetteer, looks to be closed south of Big Sur. Thought process is just make it two nights in Monterey (by the time we hit the aquarium there and puttered around, that's 1/2 day right there).

Yes but you'd have to come back north on 1 to Monterey.

The bridge that shows up in all the adverts is the Bixby bridge

Thanks for that info by the way!

This is a dumb question, but how sketchy is the Route 1? Looking it up, it's a great drive, but also apparently depending on where you read, it's very dangerous. Generally wouldn't mind, but I'll have the family in the car. Not like cars go hurling off the side into the ocean I'm taking it?

The biggest problem is foreign tourists who don't know how to drive in the US and are looking at the (admittedly awesome) scenery instead of the road. As long as you're mellow and patient and expecting other drivers to not be predictable it'll be fine. There can be rocks that have recently fallen on the road but that's not so much of a problem in summer. Summer is road construction season both in the sierras and along the coast. It's normally a popular route for bike tourists but with the closure, probably not so much.

It's a twisty two lane roads with big dropoffs but for one of those it's pretty good.

South Lake Tahoe has a ton of hotels. They're cheaper and easier to find rooms if you stay on the California side away from the casinos in Nevada.

Monterey/Pacific Grove has some B&Bs and I think some hotels as well but they're small towns, especially PG.

 

[California]

Any recommendations on a decent hotel in the [Bodie] area? We'd like to do one stay up further north in that area, and I thought lake Tahoe would be a good choice, but we were striking out with hotels in that area. I was thinking further North, but not certain what town to check out (either in California or Nevada).

Carson City and Reno, especially the big casinos, is where I would expect to find the last vacancies when everything else is filled up in peak tourist season. But South Lake Tahoe is far prettier.

 

[ericm979]

Carson City and Reno, especially the big casinos, is where I would expect to find the last vacancies when everything else is filled up in peak tourist season. But South Lake Tahoe is far prettier.

Mammoth Mountain and Bishop are both close to Bodie. Well, close for the east side of the Sierras. Mammoth is a ski town and had a lot of places to stay. Bishop is a little funkier and farther from Bodie but also has a fair number of motels. I've stayed there a bunch for bike races and grew to like the place.

Bridgeport and Lee Vining are closer to Bodie but small. There are places to stay in each.

I've had some bad experiences staying in motels within taxi range of casinos. People who are drunk and just lost a bunch of money can be loud.

 

[Sigarms]

Yes but you'd have to come back north on 1 to Monterey.

That would have been the game plan. Figured it would give us a full day at Big Sur. Seems to be a shame to be out there so close and not at least see it. The dumb question is if it would be worth the drive North on 1 and how past San Francisco to go? At this point, we're allowing a good portion of two days for Route 1 (will need to work over to Angles Camp end of second day).

 

[Racenut]

If your your planning allows it, I would suggest seeing Highway 1 front north to south. This puts you on the ocean side of the road, better views and easier access to turn out vistas. Otherwise you're going to be making left hand turns all day long. Also it will take longer than 5 hours from SF to SB, the speed limit is 55 most of the way, but tourists not used to curvy roads and in rental RVs really slow things down.

 

[Racenut]

That would have been the game plan. Figured it would give us a full day at Big Sur. Seems to be a shame to be out there so close and not at least see it. The dumb question is if it would be worth the drive North on 1 and how past San Francisco to go? At this point, we're allowing a good portion of two days for Route 1 (will need to work over to Angles Camp end of second day).

For me, once you get to about Morro Bay, Hwy 1 get less interesting. Morro Bay is a nice little spot with some shops and decent restaurants right on the water. But not so fancy that it's crazy expensive.

From there you could go over the hill to Paso Robles, especially if you like wine. from Paso you can go north on 101 or head east back toward Fresno or more interesting places.

 

[deserteagle71]

If your your planning allows it, I would suggest seeing Highway 1 front north to south. This puts you on the ocean side of the road, better views and easier access to turn out vistas. Otherwise you're going to be making left hand turns all day long. Also it will take longer than 5 hours from SF to SB, the speed limit is 55 most of the way, but tourists not used to curvy roads and in rental RVs really slow things down.

^This!

Done that drive several times...actually starting up in Astoria, Oregon and all the way down to LA. If traffic is heavy you'll have a heck of a time accessing the scenic turnouts which are all on the ocean side of the road. Traffic will be backed up behind you as you wait for an opening to get to the turnout. When you leave the turnout you'll be waiting for an opening just so you can get back on the road headed north. No such problem if heading south, driving on the ocean side of the road.

 

[ericm979]

I agree about heading south though when I have gone north its not been too much of a problem.

1 north of SF is also nice. There's a number of funky small towns on the road. Good seafood and cheeses. Fort Ross was a Russian outpost and a good part was preserved. There's a number of interesting light houses on 1, some south of SF and some north.

Most of the roads leading back east from 1 north of SF are tight and twisty so plan for a longer travel time.

 

[California]

That would have been the game plan. Figured it would give us a full day at Big Sur. Seems to be a shame to be out there so close and not at least see it. The dumb question is if it would be worth the drive North on 1 and how past San Francisco to go? At this point, we're allowing a good portion of two days for Route 1 (will need to work over to Angles Camp end of second day).

As everyone said, SR 1 is best driven north to south so you are on the ocean side of the road.

You mentioned SR 1 north of San Francisco, while Big Sur is south of SF. The problem is that SR 1 is parallel to inland US 101, a major route, but there are few places to get over the hill (Coast Range) from 101. North of SF you could waste a lot of time just seeing cows at the dairy farms etc between 101 and the coast. Pretty rural country but not unique. My apple orchard is in that region, inland from the coast west of Santa Rosa. Dry farming, the moisture comes from ocean fog.

Muir Woods and some private reserves just north of SF are gorgeous Redwood groves, well worth seeing. But I would cut over to the coast from 101 via Petaluma, an easy shortcut. Then beyond (farther north) of the Russian River is the prettiest part of coastal SR 1, sililar to the Big Sur region, but you would likely turn around and come back south the same way because there's no easy way to get back over to 101 north of there.

I just saw Eric's post. Fort Ross would be a good turnaround point if you go up the coast north of SF. It's interesting, it was a base for Russian fur trappers around 1820 before California was controlled by Spain or later, Mexico. My Gravenstein apples are said to have originated in the orchard the Russians planted there. Fur trapping only lasted a couple of decades then the Russians left. (photos). Anybody remember poster Vin, 'Daedong', from Australia? We took him there when he visited. I think what impressed him most was the gigantic thick redwood planks used for the buildings there.

 

[Sigarms]

As everyone said, SR 1 is best driven north to south so you are on the ocean side of the road.

You mentioned SR 1 north of San Francisco, while Big Sur is south of SF. The problem is that SR 1 is parallel to inland US 101, a major route, but there are few places to get over the hill (Coast Range) from 101. North of SF you could waste a lot of time just seeing cows at the dairy farms etc getting over to the coast. Pretty rural country but not unique. My apple orchard is in that region, inland from the coast west of Santa Rosa. Dry farming, the moisture comes from ocean fog.

My line of thinking is driving down R1 from Monterey to Big Sur, then drive back. I'm assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that given where R1 is blocked around Lucia on Rt 1, that would be my best choice to see the best highlights of R1.

The issue is where to access R1 from Angels Camp and what direction to go (with perhaps an overnight stay) and then back to Angles Camp?

Honestly, Santa Barbara was pushing it one way IMO but it didn't seem interesting driving to Santa Barbara without going down R1 and then going back up north.

With Lucia closed on R1, and leaving and returning back to Angels Camp, which way on R1 from where to where, so this idiot can look it up on a map I just figures Monterey was a good night stop to check out R1 since Lucia is closed. Believe me guys, I'm opened to detailed instructions on what to do on R1.

Below, everything in the red circle is my line of thinking (black circle approximately angels camp). Keep in mind, this trip is for my son who is graduating high school and leaving us in September. The kid has never been west of Tennessee. He's the one who picked Yosemite, so I figure since the kid hasn't seen a real mountain range, just driving around the mountains even not hitting Yosemite, he should find it appealing.

Reality is once he leaves home, the only thing we'll need is a cat(s) sitter as the dogs will go to the the kennel for boarding and THEN my wife and I will become free to go out on our own to explore the area whenever we want. This is a big reason why "wine county" really doesn't interest us on this trip. Besides that, the only thing I drink is a Riesling or a moscato, and I've never taken wine seriously, and it's just me, don't understand people who do

 

[California]

That red circle would be helpful on flat ground. But going anywhere from Angels Camp is limited by the mountainous terrain. Switch this to 'Satellite View', to show how geography limits what is a reasonable drive from there - and it also makes obvious what is populated (traffic!) and what is remote rural.

Caltrans CCTV Map

Displays a map containing Caltrans CCTV locations and images.

cwwp2.dot.ca.gov

 

[Sigarms]

That red circle would be helpful on flat ground. But going anywhere from Angels Camp is limited by the mountainous terrain.

Understood. This is the down side to having never visited the area before. I'm assuming it's not that much different than Idaho or Montana. Just a different size scale vs the east coast. Thanks for the website as well. You have to give up some things for having a "home base" so to speak on where you want to stay. As long as the boy is happy, I'm fine. Like my wife said, we can get an idea of the area and come back next year on our own.

 

[ericm979]

The fastest way from Angels Camp to Monterey would be to take 580 through the eastern part of the bay area then 880 and 101 south. If you have time you could take 580 to Fremont and then 92 west across the bay and out to the coast at Half Moon bay, then south on 1 through Santa Cruz to Monterey. That part of the coast isn't quite as pretty as Big Sur but the part above Santa Cruz is still nice.

One thing to keep in mind when traveling through the bay area is commute traffic during the week. There are people who live in Modesto or other central valley cities and commute three hours each way to the bay area. By Tracy, 580 can get congested. If it's a week day you might not want to get an early start. (google maps' traffic and travel times are useful, especially the arriving at/departing at where it uses averages for that day of the week to predict)

CA is different from the northern Rockies states because it's got more types of landscapes. Like them its got mountains and plains but also deserts and ocean. CA's mountains are more varied in geology and vegetation. There's also way more people. That's not so noticeable when you're well outside the three big metro areas (SF, LA, San Diego) but when you get close it is.

 

[California]

Somebody's photos with insightful history, for the part of coastal California you are likely to visit.

Road Trip: Big Sur

wend.ca

The Sonoma Beach Parks (quiet, not crowded) and Watson School (grandpa took me fishing in the creek behind it, about 1954) are my 'back yard' when we are at the 'ranch', apple orchard, a few miles inland from there.

 

[Sigarms]

Somebody's photos with insightful history, for the part of coastal California you are likely to visit.

Road Trip: Big Sur

wend.ca

The Sonoma Beach Parks (quiet, not crowded) and Watson School (grandpa took me fishing in the creek behind it, about 1954) are my 'back yard' when we are at the 'ranch', apple orchard, a few miles inland from there.

Thanks for that information. Pretty certain we could make a whole day right there around that area.

Being Russian Orthodox myself, never really thought of "Russians" in California. My whole world on my own religion was coal mines in Pennsylvania and Alaska. Will need to read up on it.

 

[Sigarms]

There's also way more people. That's not so noticeable when you're well outside the three big metro areas (SF, LA, San Diego) but when you get close it is.

That's something I will have to get use to. For better or worse, the more people around me, the less I like it. One reason why when I was single and went out "west" to have fun myself, I always went in May to beat the RV's before Memorial day weekend.

 

[plowhog]

You will be in the vicinity of the year-over-year #1 most requested campground listed on Reserve America-- New Brighton Beach. You can also drive in for day use. It's a pretty awesome bluff top view, and a spectacular beach.

New Brighton State Beach Campground - Santa Cruz County

New Brighton State Beach Campground, Santa Cruz County, with a marvelous campground on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Complete information including campground map, reservations.

www.californiasbestcamping.com

btw Old Navy stores just announced they are boarding up their "flagship" store in San Francisco and leaving. The article below cites that 95 retailers have now left. Apparently some due to the impact from covid, but many due to crime.

Many retailers say: "we will open again when it is safe to do so." Hmmm I wonder what must change for those circumstances to occur?

ANOTHER popular store announces closure in crime-ridden San Francisco

Old Navy is set to shutter a store in San Francisco, becoming the latest chain to exit the crime-ridden city.

www.dailymail.co.uk