Roads to Drive

"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale) 12/03/2016 at 01:02 • Filed to: driving, roads, california

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There are certain roads near me that look fun, but I have not had a chance to drive yet. So here is a quick list of a few of those roads.

1.CA 33

Pretty much useless for everyday traffic. They made it back in the day to better connect people, but never became popular enough to get made into a mega highway. Usually pretty deserted it twists through the hills nicely.

2. CA 9

A fairly out of the way piece of road, California Route 9 was created by joining together two previously seperate roads. Now on the Scenic Highway System, it is popular in stretches with motorcyclists and that pesky bicyclist. Friends from the bay area say its worth the drive. Especially for the view from the 2600ft peak look out

3. CA 96

This is just a very pretty road through a National Forest, 3 Indian Reservations, and contains the Bigfoot Scenic Byway. While I don’t believe in Bigfoot, this is the area with the quote, “most Bigfoot sightings in the country.”

4. CA 74

Otherwise know as Ortega Highway and Palms to Pines Scenic Byway, this road takes you from the coast to the desert. The Ortega Highway section has a pretty decent !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for taking out motorcyclists and drives traveling at overly exuberant speeds. Unfortunately this road can get pretty packed with people commuting, traveling, or out to catch a nice piece of road in their favorite fashion.

RallyWrench > CaptDale - is secretly British 12/03/2016 at 01:28

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The problem with 9 is traffic and cops. 33 is something special going down from Ojai. Have you ever taken 58 all the way over to the Valley?

Baskingshark > CaptDale - is secretly British 12/03/2016 at 01:29

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You need to add 198 through Priest Valley. It actually connects with 33 on the top of your list and connects west to 101 just south of King City. I love driving that road, it was my preferred route when visiting my hometown from Monterey. My dad reported that it has been freshly repaved too.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Baskingshark 12/03/2016 at 01:31

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Oooh, exciting. Yes that wasn’t a complete list, just a few roads, but I will defintaley add it to my list

CaptDale - is secretly British > RallyWrench 12/03/2016 at 01:33

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No I have not. been about half way then turned around. I should though. It’s one of those roads I forget exists.

DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time > CaptDale - is secretly British 12/03/2016 at 01:37

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Wow, perfect timing! I’m about to go through cali myself I’ll try to take as much of one of these as I can.

RallyWrench > CaptDale - is secretly British 12/03/2016 at 01:47

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You missed the good bits, that road fucking rules going over, and as it opens into the valley you can really pin it. It has jumps too.

His Stigness > CaptDale - is secretly British 12/03/2016 at 01:51

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I really need to drive more of the 33. The bit in Ventura County is a lot of fun and generally not busy at all. It’s a hell of a lot more fun and faster (no traffic) than going into the Santa Monica Mountain with the exception of Yerba Buena/Deer Creek Road. Now that road is always deserted and a hell of a drive.

CaptDale - is secretly British > His Stigness 12/03/2016 at 02:17

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Oh well I’ll have to add that to the list

Audistein > CaptDale - is secretly British 12/03/2016 at 02:25

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Highway 33/Skyline on the SF peninsula is also super great. I go there all the time. Drive it all the way from Scotts Valley (near Santa Cruz) up to 92 where you can hop over to 1 or 280. It’s one lane (very narrow) for the first couple miles but once it opens up its awesome.

It’s pretty free even on busy days in that area. Even when La Honda is packed with bikes and cars there won’t be too much traffic on 35.

CaptDale - is secretly British > RallyWrench 12/03/2016 at 02:28

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Ah shit, well I’m going to have to hit that up then.

CaptDale - is secretly British > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time 12/03/2016 at 02:28

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Well I am very glad I could help

Rock Bottom > CaptDale - is secretly British 12/03/2016 at 12:43

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When I lived in Menlo Park, my go-to therapy drive was to cross the Golden Gate and drive Highway 1 up the coast to Skaggs Springs Road, and turn East. Take that to Geyserville. Then head down 101 to grab a beer and a burger in Healdsburg or at Lagunitas. Boom. Best Saturday ever. Highway 1 is obviously amazing, and Skaggs is basically a paved fire road with practically zero traffic and some EPIC views in the mountains. Hands down the best drive I have ever done.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Rock Bottom 12/03/2016 at 13:07

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10/10 added to my list. My usual therapy drive is this

From bottom San Luis Obispo up to between Paso and Cambria. Depending on the day I go to either one to hang with friends and grab a beer.

Rock Bottom > CaptDale - is secretly British 12/03/2016 at 14:43

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Nice!

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Rock Bottom 12/03/2016 at 16:52

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Mountain View Road is similar to this loop. Another very fun, but shorter, road with nearly no traffic.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > His Stigness 12/03/2016 at 16:55

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The thing about 33 is that the lower part tends to be packed with motor homes and traffic at the wrong time of the year (much of the year) and everywhere north of where it merges with 166 sucks like most flat Central Valley roads.

Rock Bottom > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 12/03/2016 at 17:02

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There really are so many great drives out there that it’s hard to be bored in a car in Northern California.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > CaptDale - is secretly British 12/03/2016 at 17:23

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1) 33 sucks north of the merge with 166. I wouldn’t do the whole length...

2) I’ve driven part of this. Good road. You can turn and follow Skyline Blvd (35) off this road to stay in the hills.

3) Basically every road up here that crosses the Coast Range is fun. Even the one through Guerneville that gets pretty straight/open coming down to PCH. 199 between Crescent City and just over the OR border is also quite fun. I swear that people that buy homes in this area are issued a baby exotic cat and a cutout silhouette of a Bigfoot as part of the purchase. There are Bigfoot cutouts hidden everywhere up there.

4) The problem, as you mentioned, is the traffic on the Ortega Highway portion. The Palms to Pines section is better if only due to this. Personally, I’d start in Banning, take 243 up, turn left at 74, then follow it all the way into Palm Desert.

You are missing a bunch all over. Really, both ends have a lot of great roads in the hills. Central has some great ones that go up/through the Sierra Nevada, too.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 12/03/2016 at 21:05

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Yeah I know I am missing a lot. this was just a short list of roads I want to drive not all of them

Amoore100 > CaptDale - is secretly British 12/03/2016 at 22:14

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Live in Saratoga. Can confirm 9 is excellent. Better on weekdays since less traffic (few people commute on it in lieu of 17). A few corners are a bit too sharp for my tastes though; carving gentle corners is much more fun than making absolute 180 degree U-turns around cliffs.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Amoore100 12/03/2016 at 22:38

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Cool, I’ll keep that on mind. I don’t mind hair pins, just wish roads like that were one way to get a little tail happy

His Stigness > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 12/04/2016 at 00:24

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I’ve never really driven farther north than Ojai because that’s usually where I turn off and find other mountain roads. And farther south before Ojai I turn off and take the 150 and go to Santa Barbara for coffee. I also like to ride up the 33 bike route to the 150 and ride into Santa Barbara (for more coffee) and take PCH back.

DynamicWeight > Rock Bottom 12/05/2016 at 14:33

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HWY9, while great, is the noob path. Having driven all the roads in that area, HWY 9 to skyline to La Honda to HWY1 is so much better. Plus you can take HWY9 back if you’d like.