California folks: how long will this road trip take? (1 Viewer)

[SteveA]

I am getting ready to take the wife and kids on a cross country road trip to visit relatives in the San Bernardino area. My wife and kids will be flying back home to Virginia, but I will be driving back - alone.

My question is this:

I will be dropping the family off at the Ontario airport on the morning of Monday, June 14th. I am planning to drive up the coast a little bit before heading back east. I will leave the Ontario airport by about 9:00 AM on that Monday morning with Santa Cruz as my evening destination. My plan is to take I-210 through Pasadena and then take 101 up to San Luis Obispo - and then the Pacific Coast Highway up to Santa Cruz.

Does anyone have any idea how long this trip will take? MapQuest makes it sound like about a six hour trip, but I have no idea what kind of traffic to expect. Any feedback or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Steve

 

[DanaA]

It might take longer depending on traffic. Ironically, I'll be doing a similar trip this weekend. From the Sacramento area to L.A. for a short visit with my dad, then up the coast where my kids and I will stay somewhere between Santa Barbara and Pismo Beach. That's the first day, but I like driving, as long as I can listen to music.

The reason I bring this up is because if you travel up Highway 1 through Big Sur and ending up around Carmel, it will take quite a few hours longer, but it includes some of the most scenic coastline in the world (hopefully it will be a sunny day). It's really beautiful and I personally always take the extra time. Then, the kids get to rent horses around Carmel and we get to spend some time in that wonderful town.

Just something to consider as long as you're doing all that driving anyway.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Steve,

101 is either a freeway or a divided multi-lane highway where you will be, so you can expect to generally do the speed limit. But highway 1 is a twisty two-lane road from about Cambria up through Carmel. It's the most frustrating drive in the world for me: it should be a spectacular sportscar drive, but it gets filled with hundreds of fossils driving their enormous Winnebagos at about 5 MPH around all the tight turns. There are no passing lanes the entire stretch. That 90-odd miles can take FOUR HOURS during tourist season and give you an ulcer.



If you look about halfway up you will see a scarp from left to right. That's highway 1.

What's the rest of your planned itinerary? Generally along highway 80? Or a more southern route?

 

[Alex-C]

Ditto to what Dennis said. From Ontario to SLO (Monday morning=good plan), I'd say 4 hours; give or take.

But from SLO to Santa Cruz, on highway 1, ugh ! you probably won't be in the mood for a second 4 hours of crawling, twisting, semi-white knuckling driving.

Oh and by the way, if there is anyone else in the car, they will probably be car sick in no time.

It IS quite beautiful, though.

 

[SteveA]

Sounds like fun to me! As long as I can expect to arrive in Santa Cruz at reasonable hour (6 PM or so), I plan to do it.

Thanks for the replies.

Steve

 

[Randy Tennison]

Just one more thing about Highway 1. Once you leave San Luis or Carmel, there is no restraunts or conveinence stores along the way, except one extremely overpriced place about halfway in Lucia ($3.00 for a bottle of pop, $10.00 for a cheesburger).

Eat before your trip. We made the mistake of thinking "We'll get something on the way." We bought the $10.00 cheeseburger.