Being from the San Francisco Bay Area, and various members of my family at some times living in Southern California, my family and I have made countless trips up and down the state. The default route is on I-5, the Golden State Freeway. While the 5 has it’s certain style of fun for a mini road trip in my opinion, many people cringe at the idea of 4 hours on a boring, straight, flat, crowded freeway with nothing to look at but cars, trucks, and cows. The common alternate routes (101, 99, and maybe even the 1) are generally known, but below are also some known and lesser known routes to get from the Bay Area to LA, or vice-versa:
Interstate 5 – This is the default route most people will think of, and it is the shortest route and often the fastest way to get where you’re going. Most Californians will already know what this trip is like, but sometimes I actually find this route entertaining, even if the freeway is packed and you have to do what my friends call hopscotching, or passing the majority of the cars in the right lane, or if the right-lane passers are still too slow, sometimes passing those cars ironically in the left lane. It’s sometimes relaxing to just sit back, lock in the cruise control, and pass cars and trucks in a systematic manner. Maybe because it allows me to pretend I’m a professional truck driver.
U.S. Route 101 – Believe it or not, I took a course called “The American Highway” in college, and one of the classroom discussions was about which route to take between Southern California and Northern California. The two debated choices was the default I-5 and the more scenic 101. Many people defended the 101, but interestingly, many recent reviews almost unanimously disregard the 101 as an option. The 101 is a nice scenic drive, going through Santa Barbara and through the central coast region. It’s definitely a longer drive both in distance and time, and may have some crowdedness at some points. I guess people don’t think the extra hours justifies the change in scenery.
CA Route 99 – Californians are also familiar with the 99, which splits off from the 5 right after (or before) the Grapevine, and parallels the 5 through the central valley. This route enters and exists nonstop city after city starting with Bakersfield all the way through Manteca and beyond. If you’ve ever driven down the entire length of E. 14th Street (aka International within Oakland), driving the 99 through the Central Valley reminds me of the E. 14th drive. You’re on it for the full distance, while the locals only merge on and off for a short distance to get where they’re going. After all, why would anyone drive the entire length? Up until recently, I remember this route being annoying with signals, traffic, and slowness. However, when I took this highway recently, there’s no more signal lights, must of the highway is 3 lanes in each direction, and the highway can actually have substantially less traffic than the 5, despite the 5 being the Interstate designed to bypass the route serving the many central valley cities. Since the 5 is only two lanes in each direction through the central valley, annoying people that think they can cruise in the passing lane can definitely ruin a road trip on the 5. On the 99, these annoying people still exist, and there’s plenty of people passing on the right, but since there’s an additional third lane, that makes it easy to pass the passers in the slow lane. For this reason, making the drive on the 99 might be more efficient, even despite the extra 30 mile routing over the 5. In addition, the tighter curves on the 99 add to to the funness factor. :)
CA Route 1 – Ahh, the Pacific Coast Highway, the Cabrillo Highway, whatever you want to call it. What’s in a name, when you have hundreds of miles of twisty turns and ocean views that people dream of. Definitely do this drive at least once in your life, and budget a good full day for this drive.
U.S. Route 395 - Okay, now that we’ve gotten the mostly-known routes out of the way, let’s cover the more obscure ways to get home from Southern California. The 395 splits off of the 15, but the 14 also merges into the 395, and this route will take you on the Eastern side of the Sierras, through some of the most scenic areas in California. You’ll feel like you’re on the backside of California (well, you are, literally), and you’ll thank yourself that you made this drive, avoiding the cars, trucks, traffic, and cows in the Central Valley. You can only do this drive during the summer, unless you want to drive all the way to CA Route 88 via Kirkwood. During the summer months, cut over to the Bay Area either through Yosemite and CA Route 120 (you might have to pay a $20 Yosemite entrance fee), or drive a little further north to CA Route 108, and be prepared for some awesome windy (and privately secluded) mountain roads, and even some lingering snow even in summer months, near the peak, almost at 10,000 feet elevation.
CA Routes 33, 198, and 25 - So, you’ve done the 5, 101, 99, 1, and even the 395. What else is left? Well, if for some reason you can’t or don’t want to drive on a freeway (or if you’re just looking for a new fresh route), and want to traverse California, you can take the 33, 198, and 25. The 33 starts out in Ojai (near Santa Barbara) and immediately climbs up over the the mountain range separating Northern and Southern California through some very twisty turns, great views, remoteness, and solidarity. The 33 will then drop you off at the base of the mountains, into the Central Valley. You’ll parallel the 5 on the West Side Highway (if you’ve ever wondered what Westside Connection was rapping about, this is it). The 33 is actually a pretty nice secluded highway with almost no traffic, but just as straight and flat as the 5. Unfortunately, the speed limit is 55, although I’d doubt the CHP regularly patrol this road. On the way, you’ll pass through Blackwells Corner, the last place that James Dean was seen alive before dying in a head-on collision a little further down the road on U.S. Route 466 (the same road that my dad literally grew up on). The 33 will actually continue up through the Central Valley, partially being cosigned with the 5, and eventually leading you to Tracy. However, if you want to continue completely on a byway to the Bay Area, take a left on CA Route 198 through yet another very windy and scenic highway, and take a right on CA Route 25, leading yourself through another scenic highway winding somewhere between the 101 and the 5, through alternating straightaways and curves. When you arrive, you’ll know that you’ve taken a route traversing California that few others even knew existed.
Interstate 5 – This is the default route most people will think of, and it is the shortest route and often the fastest way to get where you’re going. Most Californians will already know what this trip is like, but sometimes I actually find this route entertaining, even if the freeway is packed and you have to do what my friends call hopscotching, or passing the majority of the cars in the right lane, or if the right-lane passers are still too slow, sometimes passing those cars ironically in the left lane. It’s sometimes relaxing to just sit back, lock in the cruise control, and pass cars and trucks in a systematic manner. Maybe because it allows me to pretend I’m a professional truck driver.
U.S. Route 101 – Believe it or not, I took a course called “The American Highway” in college, and one of the classroom discussions was about which route to take between Southern California and Northern California. The two debated choices was the default I-5 and the more scenic 101. Many people defended the 101, but interestingly, many recent reviews almost unanimously disregard the 101 as an option. The 101 is a nice scenic drive, going through Santa Barbara and through the central coast region. It’s definitely a longer drive both in distance and time, and may have some crowdedness at some points. I guess people don’t think the extra hours justifies the change in scenery.
CA Route 99 – Californians are also familiar with the 99, which splits off from the 5 right after (or before) the Grapevine, and parallels the 5 through the central valley. This route enters and exists nonstop city after city starting with Bakersfield all the way through Manteca and beyond. If you’ve ever driven down the entire length of E. 14th Street (aka International within Oakland), driving the 99 through the Central Valley reminds me of the E. 14th drive. You’re on it for the full distance, while the locals only merge on and off for a short distance to get where they’re going. After all, why would anyone drive the entire length? Up until recently, I remember this route being annoying with signals, traffic, and slowness. However, when I took this highway recently, there’s no more signal lights, must of the highway is 3 lanes in each direction, and the highway can actually have substantially less traffic than the 5, despite the 5 being the Interstate designed to bypass the route serving the many central valley cities. Since the 5 is only two lanes in each direction through the central valley, annoying people that think they can cruise in the passing lane can definitely ruin a road trip on the 5. On the 99, these annoying people still exist, and there’s plenty of people passing on the right, but since there’s an additional third lane, that makes it easy to pass the passers in the slow lane. For this reason, making the drive on the 99 might be more efficient, even despite the extra 30 mile routing over the 5. In addition, the tighter curves on the 99 add to to the funness factor. :)
CA Route 1 – Ahh, the Pacific Coast Highway, the Cabrillo Highway, whatever you want to call it. What’s in a name, when you have hundreds of miles of twisty turns and ocean views that people dream of. Definitely do this drive at least once in your life, and budget a good full day for this drive.
U.S. Route 395 - Okay, now that we’ve gotten the mostly-known routes out of the way, let’s cover the more obscure ways to get home from Southern California. The 395 splits off of the 15, but the 14 also merges into the 395, and this route will take you on the Eastern side of the Sierras, through some of the most scenic areas in California. You’ll feel like you’re on the backside of California (well, you are, literally), and you’ll thank yourself that you made this drive, avoiding the cars, trucks, traffic, and cows in the Central Valley. You can only do this drive during the summer, unless you want to drive all the way to CA Route 88 via Kirkwood. During the summer months, cut over to the Bay Area either through Yosemite and CA Route 120 (you might have to pay a $20 Yosemite entrance fee), or drive a little further north to CA Route 108, and be prepared for some awesome windy (and privately secluded) mountain roads, and even some lingering snow even in summer months, near the peak, almost at 10,000 feet elevation.
CA Routes 33, 198, and 25 - So, you’ve done the 5, 101, 99, 1, and even the 395. What else is left? Well, if for some reason you can’t or don’t want to drive on a freeway (or if you’re just looking for a new fresh route), and want to traverse California, you can take the 33, 198, and 25. The 33 starts out in Ojai (near Santa Barbara) and immediately climbs up over the the mountain range separating Northern and Southern California through some very twisty turns, great views, remoteness, and solidarity. The 33 will then drop you off at the base of the mountains, into the Central Valley. You’ll parallel the 5 on the West Side Highway (if you’ve ever wondered what Westside Connection was rapping about, this is it). The 33 is actually a pretty nice secluded highway with almost no traffic, but just as straight and flat as the 5. Unfortunately, the speed limit is 55, although I’d doubt the CHP regularly patrol this road. On the way, you’ll pass through Blackwells Corner, the last place that James Dean was seen alive before dying in a head-on collision a little further down the road on U.S. Route 466 (the same road that my dad literally grew up on). The 33 will actually continue up through the Central Valley, partially being cosigned with the 5, and eventually leading you to Tracy. However, if you want to continue completely on a byway to the Bay Area, take a left on CA Route 198 through yet another very windy and scenic highway, and take a right on CA Route 25, leading yourself through another scenic highway winding somewhere between the 101 and the 5, through alternating straightaways and curves. When you arrive, you’ll know that you’ve taken a route traversing California that few others even knew existed.
No comments:
Post a Comment