California coast to I-5 ?

[Ed Hackenbruch]

We are coming down 101 and i want to cut over to I-5.  A couple of years ago we came over from Redding on 299 so i know what that is like. I want to go farther south before i head east but only have one or two choices from the looks of it. My Mountain West Directory says to avoid  hiway 36, so do i keep going on down to hiway 20 past Clear Lake or should i go farther south to Novato and take 37 to I-80 to get to I-5. Looks like i am going to be in a lot of traffic when i get down in this area.

[TomC]

I was at Clear Lake this summer and drove from 101 to I-5.  It is a nice drive-maybe consider staying at Clear Lake a night-very nice.  After leaving Clear Lake there are a couple of pulls and down hills, but nothing like 299. I would suggest that route rather then going anymore south getting into San Francisco traffic.  Good Luck, TomC

[Sean]

My first question would be "why cut over?" but that's just me...

I would go 37-780-680-580.  Just try to avoid rush hour (~3pm-7pm) and you'll be fine.

-Sean
(long-time Bay Area resident)
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[Lin]

Ed,

What is your destination?  If you are going far south enough, one easy way over from 101 to I-5 is to take 101 to Hwy 46 at Paso Robles.  That's the road where James Dean was killed and the CHP is still trying to save him, so don't speed on that one.  Anyway, it meets 5 at Lost Hills.  If you are heading back to Yuma, there is a great back way to get to I-10 at Palm Springs and avoid all the LA basin traffic.

Another option is to take 101 only as far as Gilroy and cross over to I-5 on Hwy 152.  That is probably a little faster.  It has some lights and stop signs at the beginning but opens up after a bit.

[happycamperbrat]

I just made this route a couple months ago and am familiar with the territory Lin suggested and 2nd it. In Gilroy there is a really cool place to stay and explore too. It is Casa Fruita or something like that...... I forget but will find the name and exact directions when I get off work if you are going through there. It used to be a plain ole fruit stand, but now it is a big park, motel, rv park, killer fuel station, restaurant, wine tasting, and an amazing fruit stand unlike any I have seen otherwise!

[Lin]

Hey HCB,

You forgot to mention the peacocks.

[Sean]

... In Gilroy there is a really cool place to stay and explore too. It is Casa Fruita or something like that...... I forget ...

"Casa de Fruta".  It's a tourist trap on 152, on the western slope of the hill, between Gilroy and Gustine.  It's a decent coffee shop but has never been the same sine the famous "cup flipper" passed.  It has an RV park, but I prefer the state park just a few miles east, on the other side of the hill just past the reservoir.  There is camping on either side of the road; the campground on the south side has a dump station.  No hookups, though.

BTW, 152 is a hell of a grade.

Bear in mind that to get to 152, or 146, you'd need to cross the GGB (in the toll direction) and then take city streets through SF to work your way down to 280.  It's a nice drive and we've done it plenty in the bus, but it sounded like you wanted to avoid city traffic.  There'll be plenty on 19th avenue.  But as I wrote, my first question would be "why cut over?" -- I'd stay on 101 and/or 1 all the way to as close to destination as possible.  Much nicer drive, and cooler as well.  Slower, though.


-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[happycamperbrat]

I also forgot to mention that the bathrooms in the gas station are all sideways




nope, it isnt me! Its a crazy friend of mine lol

And I forgot to mention that if you go DOWN 152 be sure and have more then 1/8th of a tank to make it into Gilroy lol......... I had calculated my fuel on my maiden voyage and had just enough to make it into Gilroy, of course I wasnt counting on losing prime just because the bus was going down hill!!!!!

[Lin]

Sean,

Now you are confusing me.  1 and 101 are joined until you cross the GGB heading south.  At that point, you can continue straight through town on 1 which is Park Presidio into 19th and 280 as you leave the city, or you can bear left and continue on 101/Doyle which is going through city streets for quite a bit.  If you wish to bypass SF altogether, you can switch from 101 to 580 around San Raphael and take that bridge across the San Raphael Bay.  I forget if there is another name for the bridge.  You could merge from 580 onto 880 (pretty confusing signage so use you GPS) which is crossed by 101 in the San Jose area if you want to get back on that.  That corridor is a pretty busy one too.  Anyway, I see your point about crossing over from 101 to 5 above San Raphael although you would definitely want to avoid the morning rush hour too, but that goes for any attempt to pass through there.

I generally take 5 rather than 101 when we would travel from Santa Cruz south, but that is in a car and based on the speed a car could go on that route.  It is boring but faster.  In a bus though, 101 may be a better choice since you will not to do the grapevine.  Actually, now when we go from Santa Cruz to Joshua Tree, we take 46 from the 5 at Lost Hills and pick up 99 just past Wasco.  From there you can take 58 to Barstow and 247 all the way to Yucca Valley.  247 is a great, scenic, empty road.  It is not only faster than taking the freeways, it is also a lot less stressful.

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Thanks folks, i looked at all of the routes suggested and i think we will be going on Tom's idea.  Clear Lake sounds about the right distance for tomorrow's trip.   I want to avoid the bay area. Sean, I know that you are familiar with our home area, we are from just east of Kirkland, Redmond, and Woodenville, (Duvall & Fall City) and when we go there we try to avoid the whole Tacoma/Seattle/Renton/Bellevue area if we can. We have even gone into Eastern Wa. a time or two and come into the valley over Snoqualmie Pass rather than coming the other way.   I don't even like going into Seattle in a car anymore.  We are just drifting our way back to Yuma so i am not sure which way we will go. I might decide to cut across to Reno or maybe take the back way around LA to Palm Springs or even do something else. We figure that we will end up in Yuma anywhere from Oct. 1 to about the 15-20th depending on the heat. Thanks again all.  Ed

[RJ]

Ed -

I have a HS classmate who lives in Lakeport, on the west end of Clear Lake.  Have made the jaunt from Fresno to LP numerous times, it's not a bad drive.

Suggest, however, that you take the southern route around the lake - less traffic and less twisties.

When you come into Williams on Hiway 20, it's only a block or so south to Ted Campbell's place - Coach Maintenance.  Might be worth a stop to have a look/see at all the various model buses he's got parked on the property.  Be aware, tho, that Ted works nights, so if you're there before 4 pm, you probably wouldn't get to see him.

Since you're meandering, consider a side trip to Yosemite National Park - one of the most spectacular parks in the system.  A GREAT place to spend a day or two just exploring the Valley Floor, among other things.  If you decide to go, just south of Stockton pick up Hiway 120 EB at Manteca.  You can take this all the way into the park, or continue down Hiway 99 to Merced, where you'd catch Hiway 140.

120 has a few more hills to climb and a few more twisties, but it's not a bad drive - tour buses use it frequently.  Also goes thru some of the quaint little gold rush towns, most of whom are ghosts of themselves.  Still a fun drive, tho.  You can also take a very short little detour into Jamestown and Columbia, both interesting Gold Country historical sites, all before you get to the park.

For a few more weeks, Hiway 120 over Tioga Pass is still open, so you could also leave the park via that route into Lee Vining, then pick up 395 SB to Tonopah and Lost Wages.

140 out of Merced meanders along the Merced River up to the El Portal gate.  This is the year-round highway, but prone to rock slides.  CalTrans is really good about keeping it clear, however there is one spot, controlled by a signal, where it's a one-lane road.  You won't experience delays as long now as you would have a couple of weeks ago, since the main tourist season is over.  But you'll most likely have to stop and wait for a few minutes, anyway.

Be careful, tho, on both roads.  Many a tour bus has kissed the granite rocks alongside the roadway on both 120 and 140.  If in doubt, stop, let the 4-wheeler go by, then proceed.  If you come in 140, the El Portal gate has also claimed a few rub rails, rubber fenders and mirrors.

Leaving the park, if you decide to not take the Tioga Pass road, then I'd suggest Hiway 41 out the South Gate.  There is a side road off this route that takes you to the Badger Pass ski area, as well as on up to Glacier Point, which has an incredibly spectacular view of the park.  41 also takes you by the famous Wawona Hotel, the oldest in the park, and right at the South Gate you can go straight about 1/2 mile to the Mariposa Grove redwoods (this is where the famous "car tree" (tunnel carved out of the tree trunk) used to stand.  If you've never seen the Giant Redwoods, here's your chance!

(Hiway 41, btw, is the only route they let the 45-foot tour buses use into/out of the park.)

Exiting the park on 41 will bring you into Fresno, where you can pick up Hiway 99.  Of course, you'd better make a pit stop in Fresno - if for no other reason than if you call me, I'll spring for the Pepsi - Big Gulp size if you want!  Contact number is in my profile.

Finally, as somebody mentioned, in Bakersfield you can catch Hiway 58, which will take you over Tehachapi to Mojave & Barstow.  And if you haven't experienced it, the McDonald's in Barstow (called Barstow Station) is crazy nuts busy - all the tour buses coming/going on the Vegas run stop there - plenty of bus parking out back.  What's unique is the dining area - all old railroad cars.

Have a good trip, and keep us posted on your adventure!

FWIW & HTH. . .

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Good Morning RJ, thanks for the info!  We did Yosemite a couple of years ago and will keep it in mind for this trip. We went there on Hiway 49 though,....not a good choice!   As for the Redwoods, we just went for a walk thru the Lady Bird Johnson Grove  just outside of Orick yesterday afternoon. Still got a crick in my neck from looking up.   Almost made me want to be a logger again too.   The rv park that we are in has elk that come and go during the day or nite.  Yesterday afternoon after we got back they came out of the woods and wandered around grazing and putting on a show. They are just starting to go into the rut so the bulls are starting to get a little feisty with each other.   At 1 am i had a cow elk that was grazing so close to my bedroom window that i could have reached out and touched her if i wanted to.  We were here 2 years ago in the spring and they were here then too. We must have taken 500 photos of elk in the last 2 days. Thank goodness for digital, we could never afford to develop that much film right now.

[flyingbuttress]

Another option is 101 to 580 at San Rafael cross San Rafael bridge ( no toil, west to east). Stay on 580 to 5.
I live north of San Francisco about 100 miles and that is the way most folks travel going south towards L.A..
Hope this helps, Wayne