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.