Driving from SF to LA on backroads - recommendations

[ard]

Posting here because the regional forum sees very low traffic.

I'm driving down to the Los Angeles area from the San Francisco area in a few weeks and wanted to tap the collective intelligence on good backroads that will drop me into the greater Los Angeles area and eventually land me near El Segundo. There are a few older threads but particularly with the recent terrible wildfires I would welcome suggestions.

I am looking for "Porsche roads" curvy with good to decent pavement

Leg 1

• Hwy 25 to the Hwy 198 junction
• then I am unsure whether to

• (a) head east on Hwy 198 to Coalinga and south on Hwy 33 or

• (b) head west on Hwy 198 and ride Hwy 101 south until the junction with Hwy 58 and take that east to McKittrick and take Hwy 33 south from there or

• (c) continue Hwy 101 even further south and take Hwy 166 east to Hwy 3

Leg 2

1. Hwy 33 south to Ojai then Hwy 150 east to Santa Paula then Hwy 126 east to Castaic Junction
2. I am debating whether it is worth to backtrack a bit north in I5 to Lake Hughes Road and do a loop via Elizabeth Lake and San Francisquito Canyon or Bouquet Canyon before joining I5 and I405
3. I am also open to other suggestions for good backroads from Ojai to El Segundo that avoid as much of I5 and I405 as feasible

In terms of "local" driving, what is the latest intelligence on taking Angel's Crest Hwy (Hwy 2) near La Canada and coming back via San Gabriel Canyon (Hwy 39).

Many thanks in advance

[look 171]

How rural do you want to go? From Carmel, take the G16. it takes you through a bunch of small farms with little to no town along the way. Its a typical two land road. Not sure if you can or should go nuts in your 911? It pops you out a little bit north of King city on the 101. From there, take Jolon Road, going south and I forget what split, but there's only one and the road will take you to Paso Robes. From there, find your way through farm lands and head for Taft on the 33. You are on the bigger roads now. Head south and it will change to 166 south but stay on the 166 for about 10 min. There will be what looks like a private road or driveway that takes you up into the hills, that's Hudson Ranch Road. go left, inland, or east and follow it to the 5. You will enter the fwy at Frazier. Do stpe at Pine Mountain Club's general store for a sandwich. Its a nice place in the middle of nowhere. Now you are in the interstate. Go to El Segundo from there and sit in traffic our traffic hell and enjoy. If you don't feel like going toward the 5, go down the coast from and stay on the 33 all the way to Ojai then the 101 and take PCH down. Get ready for a lot of traffic once you get past Venture.

Those roads I mentioned are pretty rural with little to see but a two land road with an occasional car or tractor. I come back from Rennsport that way if I am driving by myself. Most people don't enjoy the boredom and abuse.

[smadsen]

If you're only here once, don't miss Hwy 1 from Carmel to Cambria. Problem is, road was closed, was then opened, but may be closed again due to rain and subsequent mud slides recently. Hwy 33, Taft to Ojai, is worth the effort also. Not many back roads around El Segundo, but stay along the beach (PCH) Oxnard down to Santa Monica (or El Segundo).

[Cajundaddy]

Lots of epic roads between SF and El Segundo depending on your timeline and how twisty you want to get.

-Highway 1 PCH is just epic if open and the weather is clear, but often gets slides and closures in Big Sur. Check for conditions. Probably a 12 hr drive so plan 2 days.

- Highway 101 to Paso Robles and then 58 to 33 and hop up and over into Ojai. This is farmland, and rolling hills with a very tight 2 lane 2nd gear finish that drops into Ojai and can be a lot of fun if clear. Definitely 2 days.

- Mulholland from PCH/ Decker Canyon through Agoura to 101, then pick it up again from the 405 to Hollywood Bowl- A fun scenic 3-4 hour diversion with a ton of LA history. This *should* get you around the Palisades fire zone.

- Angeles Crest has been a great 3rd gear scenic road for 50 years of my driving but seems to be pretty overrun with sport bikes and GT3RS who drive 3x the limit and cannot seem to keep the shiny side up. I would avoid this Fri-Sat AM and take an evening drive instead when the mayhem has tapered off. 3 hr tour.

El Segundo is LAX and traffic is just crushing most of the time. We would travel there in the evening as most are going the other way but... it's never fun.

Have fun and be bear aware!

[Tobra]

Part of Highway 1 is closed at Fernwood, Regents Slide

[wildthing]

SF to Pacifica and then take CA-1 all the way to Monterey, or go to Big Sur and turn around back to Monterey then 101 all the way to 41 to Morro Bay or skip Morro Bay and stop at San Luis Obispo. Back on 101 then 154 to Santa Barbara, 101 to LA or Santa Monica.

[Seahawk]

How much time do you have?

Your profile says you are from NorCal. If you are not familiar, I could take you north out of San Francisco then across and down to LA.

[bleucamaro]

Leg 1 - stay on 101 to 166, the 166 to 33. stop for lunch or for the night in SLO or Pismo.

Hwy 1 is the answer in a perfect world, but in reality, you'll get stuck behind a Winnebago going 25mph

Basis for opinion: I've driven all the options presented.

Real opinion: Just take 101 the whole way. the sportier ways will be exhausting.

[look 171]

Listen to Seahawk. He know his way around these back roads. He recommended some to me through the desert and they were wonderful, desolate roads.

Paul, thanks again.

[look 171]

OP, a lot of those are state hwys which have moderate amount of traffic. You must be asking about county hwys or back roads? I like the back roads.

[wildthing]

My route above is probably 10 hours straight. If you plan on stopping somewhere then yeah there are other roads in the middle between the mountains and the coast, like 25 and then 41 or 48 where you crisscross between 5 and 101... I mean, if you really want a long detour you could go all the way to 180 to Sequoia and then back down to Visalia.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by bleucamaro

Leg 1 - stay on 101 to 166, the 166 to 33. stop for lunch or for the night in SLO or Pismo.

Hwy 1 is the answer in a perfect world, but in reality, you'll get stuck behind a Winnebago going 25mph

Basis for opinion: I've driven all the options presented.

Real opinion: Just take 101 the whole way. the sportier ways will be exhausting.

This guy knows what he is talking about. ^^

CA. is a huge, beautiful state with tons of great roads, (and some beat up ones as well), a lot of my favorites are not back roads at all but state highways like the 46/41 into Paso Robles or the 101 north of Monterey, etc. Both ways into Ojai are beautiful. I would only recommend Hwy 1 between SF and Big Sur right now, as others have noted it is closed below there and it's a "turn around and go back" situation, there is no alternate route off of it.

The 101 all the way down is the right answer. In fact, I would cut over to the 5 at some point rather than get stuck in Santa Barbara/Ventura traffic. Either one to the 405 in LA and south to San Pedro or anywhere else along the coast. Have fun!

[speeder]

Originally Posted by wildthing

My route above is probably 10 hours straight. If you plan on stopping somewhere then yeah there are other roads in the middle between the mountains and the coast, like 25 and then 41 or 48 where you crisscross between 5 and 101... I mean, if you really want a long detour you could go all the way to 180 to Sequoia and then back down to Visalia.

Agree with all of this if someone has a LOT of time on their hands and really wants to see a lot. I've done it all at some point, giant Redwoods to the rugged coast up by Oregon to you name it. It's a big state.

[ard]

First off, thank you fellow Pelicans for offering great suggestions.

Rather than multi-quote all responses I will try respond to a few items that came up - no disrespect to the posters.

Time

• @seahawk asked how much time I have: I am allowing myself about 14 hours departing from near Walnut Creek in the SF East Bay at 0600 and hoping to get to El Segundo around 2000. I don't know whether heading west to San Francisco to start the trip is in the cards. Also in the way back I will be under a tighter time constraint (~ 8 hours), therefore I am more inclined to take the "rural detour" routes on the way down.
• @look 171 I am not sure whether that time constraint eliminates some or all county / back roads.

Routes

• @look 171 suggested G16. I have taken G16 from Greenfield to Carmel and it is indeed a great road.
• Has anyone driven Parkfield Grade / Parkfield Coalinga Road recently and can report on road conditions? It connects Hwy 198 to the Hwy 41 and Hwy 46 junction (the "James Dean Memorial junction")? If it is drivable in a 911 I'd take that and connect to Hwy 33 by going east on Hwy 46. If not I'd either take Hwy 198 east to Coalinga and catch Hwy 33 there or take Hwy 198 west, join 101, and go back east at the Hwy 58 junction.

Thanks again

[look 171]

The Parkfield Road is a fast road coming off the 5 going west. A little more then half way, it get twisty and still, the speed can be kept high in your p car as the road climbs up and down a bit. Fun 2 lane road.

You can sure do it in a day from Carmel through G16. Its a few hours going through some of the remote parts of the coastal ranges. I started about 11:30 after an early lunch at Carmel and was back in LA before 6 with another coffee stop along the way but I did pick up the 41 from Paso Robles and came home on the 5.

[Noah930]

I like Carmel Valley Road. Long and flowing. And doesn't it run for about 120 miles?

Unfortunately I think Nacimiento-Ferguson Rd is closed (between PCH and Fort Hunter Liggett). The side running down into Fort Hunter Liggett is probably my favorite road in CA.

My 2nd favorite is Hwy 229 (Webster Rd) between Paso and SLO (east of the 101). The first time I drove it, I was afraid I would launch off the tops of the whoop-de-doos. The problem with that was that the road usually turned on the downhill-side.

Just remember that both of those roads are 2-way traffic, even if they don't seem to be wide enough to accommodate that.

Instead of taking I-5 through the Grapevine, just to the west is Hudson Ranch Rd-Mil Potrero Hwy-Cuddy Valley Rd- Frazier Mountain Park Rd between the San Joaquin Valley floor (kinda by Taft) and up to Frazier Park. You can then take the frontage road running alongside I-5 to Gorman and the 138 briefly to Lake Hughes/Elizabeth Lake area, through either Santa Clarita (San Francisquito Cyn) or the Elizabeth Lake Rd or Spunky Cyn/Bouquet Cyn to the Lancaster/Palmdale area, which is not far from the backside of Angeles Crest, which drops you off in La Canada.

[Seahawk]

Most of the routes I really like are closed for another month or so, Route 108 and 120, due to snow.

https://roads.dot.ca.gov/?roadnumber=108

I have always liked going from the mountains into the desert and down Route 395. There are some really neat side trips like Nine Mile Road.

In any event, hard to not enjoy whatever route you decide on.

Best.

[wildthing]

From Walnut Creek I'd go up to Mt Diablo then down, then Mines Rd to 130 to San Jose. Then to 101 to Monterey... And that's just Nor Cal. That's like 4 hours.