Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Driving Hwy 101

From Seattle to say, San Diego.

Is it as nice a trip as it seems looking from BFE ?

If you have done it,
How much time did you allow?
Must-see sights?

Well I can only speak for CA, below San Francisco, you would want to switch over to HWY1 which is scenic, below San Fran, 101 continues inland through Silicon Valley, nothing special to see the rest of the way down, Hwy 1 takes you along the coast. Slower for sure, but ocean views most of the way.

Hwy 1 will take you through Half Moon Bay, stop for lunch at Sam's right along the coast, lobster sandwich and chowder is killer! Santa Cruz..keep on driving, leftard breeding ground, but there is the Municipal Wharf and Boardwalk.. through Montery you have a nice aquarium and lunch on Fisherman's Wharf, Hearst Castle along the way further south, spectacular views through Big Sur.

Barkoff is right. Also, plan on averaging 25-30mph. Take your time and enjoy the sights.

I've done all of Washington and Oregon, I would allow at least four days for that stretch just to drive it with a minimum of stops. 101 in Oregon and Washington isn't fast going, mostly two lane curvy with a 25 mph town every 10 miles. If you just drive it you will miss the best stuff, make time for lots of stops.

Lots of land slides the year I did it.

Driving straight through from Fortuna to Olympia/Lacey was about 10 hours with about half that on I5.

We did drive 101 North going through Oregon one time and it is pretty twisty but scenic. Ocean views mostly.

Some of the state parks around Crescent City and further South have some really nice scenery, stuff like giant redwood groves and trails to hike.

Road closures or delays due to rock slides are fairly common when there has been lots of rain.

Do NOT hit SF Through Santa Cruz during commute times, HWY South becomes gridlocked, you will sit for an hour. Between Santa Cruz and Monterey, is Moss Landing, you can't miss the power stacks and harbor, Phil's out on the Island is a cool place, good food, but avoid at lunch hour, it fills up, line out the the door. There is a Phil's sandwich Shop right behind the highway, but the main Phil's is on the Island over the bridge.

We are coming out in June to drive the portions in Wash and Ore

Hope it's not BLACK BIKER WEEK that week.

Eureka doesn't have much in the way of tourist attractions as far as I know.

Maybe Fort Humboldt if you're intersted in Civil War era history.

I'm not sure if the Samoa Cookhouse is still operating. It used to be the main chow hall for all the loggers back in the day. It used to have a bunch of old logging memorabilia on the walls.

You're going to want to drive California 1 instead of US 101 where the 1 follows the coast. Big Sur is world renowned as a scenic drive, for instance, and there's no real reason to see Salinas. There are three main sections where this happens: from Rockport down to Mill Valley, from SF down to San Luis Obispo, and from Pt Mugu down pretty much all the way to SD

That said, while the California coast is pretty amazing, I've seen better from the water in AK, so maybe it's not really going to blow your skirt up. But the inland sections of the 101 in California really aren't all that impressive.

Hearst Castle in San Simeon is on the 1, worth a visit. Side trips to Sonoma wineries. Notable breweries along the way or nearby include: North Coast, Lagunitas, Firestone, Russian River, and a veritable s--t-heap in San Diego County. Seriously, the SD beer scene is top notch.

P.S. Expanding on SF Bay Area traffic: Commute time on the 101 near SF runs from about 6:00 AM to 10:30 AM in the morning, and from about 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM at night. Time it wrong, and it could possibly take three hours from Sausalito through SF and the peninsula to get clear of San Jose to the south. Take the 1...

And the window keeps getting smaller. Same thing through Santa Cruz, you have about a three hour window these days.

Is that length I posted too lo g a trip for <= 1week?

The point of course is to see things notable.

I can just drive anywhere.

Iron Bender, Me and a couple of buddies road our Triumphs down the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) a few years ago from Port Angeles to San Diego. Took a little over two weeks of riding and camping and it was an absolute blast. This was before the California landslides however but I think they have that cleared up now but even still having to take side trips is great. You can see so much more on a bike than in a car. Washington/Oregon coastline is some beautiful rugged scenery that you gotta see. The California Coast gives you some great twisting rides also. I'd love to do it again, I'm just glad I'm able to be able to say I did it. And have pictured and T shirts to prove it! Just do it Iron.

My experience says yes, it's too long to accomplish and especially enjoy for that whole stretch. My experience is big parts of the Oregon Coast, basically from Newport south to the Cali border, many times. Then basically the whole length of California, multiple multiple multiple times.

Lots of good info here. Avoid 101 in the bay area during any hours near commute times. Mother in law lives just off it in the Pacifica area. Not fun.

101 south from OR/CA border has nice stretches. Jed Smith Park near Crescent City almost a must see, the Smith River is probaly one of the cleanest rivers remaining in all of Cali. Redwood NP south of there before Arcata/Eureka. Chainsaw carvers abound in Orick! There's a mansion in Eureka that's pretty cool. Built by a lumber magnate to keep his workers employed in the depression I think. South of Eureka is the town of Ferndale, Victorian architecture all around. Forgot, I think there's a logging museum in Eureka if you like that stuff.

Continuing south, take the Ave of the Giants (old 101 I think), stay the night at the Benbow Inn? Cool place. South of there turn right and take Hwy 1 south to the bay area if you can stand going slow and seeing cool coastline towns and views. Bodega Bay, Hitchcock's the Birds town. Looked similar when I was last there 20 odd years ago.

Get through San Fran area the best you can, then get back on the 1 for the slow scenic ride. Most of 101 south of there is freeway all the way to San Diego. cool thing is Pinnacles Nat Monument. Good explanation of where the Pinnacles came from................down near the LA area!!

Have fun, lot's to see and do. I've been many times and there's still new stuff for me to see.

Geno

I'd think a week would be on the short side. You're going to want to spend only about 4-5 hours a day in the car, while getting out the balance of the time. At that rate, just the CA portion is 4-5 days. Hearst Castle tour will eat up (if memory serves) a good three hours. Monterey Aquarium - 4-5 hours. Skunk train in Fort Bragg - 4 hours. Checking out the redwoods off the beaten path a bit - again 4-5 hours.

Des all be at Myrtle Beach firsta June......

You guys out East worry about the silliest things. Better to hope it's not pissing rain.