Pacific Coast Highway

[Jay D.]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

Luckily, I've never seen anyone stopping on a highway to let a passenger get out and walk ahead to check for traffic. I would think the police would frown on this procedure.

This is a slow moving road in this area of about 4-5 miles, just north of the Dunn Creek bridge. 20-25 mph its winding narrow and slow. this might have been a hi-way back in 34 when it was built, now its just a narrow winding old country road that get little use.
Jay D.

[Wildwoods22]

Originally Posted by edwardo37

We plan to go from Crescent City to Morro Bay. We will probably spend 1-3 days each in the Crescent City, Fort Bragg, Point Reyes, Monterrey, and Morro Bay areas. Thanks for any tips on helping to plan our trip.

Part of our itinerary last summer included Crescent City to Morro Bay. We took 101 and did not do 1 at Leggett so my tips will be related to sightseeing.

Crescent City. The KOA was a nice setting. There are other RV parks up 101. Day trips can include Oregon Caves, Jedediah Smith State Park, Redwood State and National Parks (get reservations for parking at Gold Beach to hike Fern Canyon).

Farther south is Humboldt Redwoods. If you don’t stop, then at least drive the “Avenue of the Giants”

Can’t really go wrong with any of the beaches on hwy 1. Pt Reyes is beautiful.

The Moss Landing in KOA is a nice base for Santa Cruz and Monterey. Nearby Phil’s Fish Market &eatery is good (Phil beat Bobby Flay!) Santa Cruz pier was damaged recently. Don’t miss Pacific Grove (lots of otters), Monterey Bay Aquarium, 17-mile drive, Carmel. Big Sur will be a good day trip as hwy 1 will probably be closed.

Head to 101 to get to Morro Bay. In Atascadero head west on 41 to Morro Bay. Day trips include heading north on 1 past San Simeon to the Elephant Seal Viewpoint. Head back south - Hearst Castle, Cambria and the Brown Butter Cookie Company in Cayucos.

Day trips include heading to Paso Robles for wine tasting (south San Luis Obispo too). SLO also has a fun Farmers Market (Tuesday I think).

Have fun on your trip, it’s beautiful.

[edwardo37]

Thanks, we will be in California for at least 4 weeks. Can you suggest some other places in the state, other than the national parks, that you visited and can recommend? Especially, scenic drives.

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by edwardo37

Thanks, we will be in California for at least 4 weeks. Can you suggest some other places in the state, other than the national parks, that you visited and can recommend? Especially, scenic drives.

Take 395 up the west side of California. Gorgeous areas and drive.

[RVfixit]

Originally Posted by followingsea

A lot has changed since 1990. CA has become RV unfriendly. It is not as bad in northern CA. After parking the MH on the beach in Texas it was sad to see 'no parking 2 am to 4 am on the PCH where my dad would park and we would hike down on the beach.

It took 4 police officers with there hands on the weapons to tell me I could not sleep there. I was doing pretty good job of sleeping.

The traffic is bad on the weekend between Santa Cruz and Monterey.

Rita and I were married on the CA beach. Lots of memories.

Ive taken HWY1 several times and it is beautiful but unpredictable. Once you leave Cambria/San Simeon there are no alternate routes or turn offs until you reach Carmel. Its a commitment to a very winding road. The last time I took that route was in 2015 with a 30' travel trailer, had no issues so you will be fine.

The easiest thing to do is to go this Caltrans link: https://roads.dot.ca.gov/. There you can punch in the HWY number and it will give you all of the travel information on that route.

Good Luck and Safe Travels!

[Wildwoods22]

Originally Posted by edwardo37

Thanks, we will be in California for at least 4 weeks. Can you suggest some other places in the state, other than the national parks, that you visited and can recommend? Especially, scenic drives.

We took over 2 weeks to do Crescent City to Morro Bay. We only did one day in Humboldt Redwoods and skipped Monterey altogether. Could have easily stretched to 4 weeks adding Humboldt, more wine tasting in the Russian River area and doing Santa Cruz and Monterey.

Scenic drive recommendations:
In Jedediah Smith outside of Crescent City take Howland Hill Rd through the redwoods. The river and picnic grounds in the campground are great. see pic

Near 101 and the Klamath River go west on Klamath Beach Road and turn left on Coastal Dr. Beautiful views of the Pacific. See pic

In Humboldt Redwoods the drive out to Albee Campground (one year we saw a bear fall out of an old apple tree). See pic

Don’t miss the Founders Grove hike in the Dyerville area. See pic. Humboldt is built for day trips because RV parking is almost nonexistent.

In Monterey drive the whole peninsula and stop to watch the otters. As I mentioned before, 17-mile drive and Carmel are great. Head farther south to Point Lobos State Natural Reserve for beautiful views. See pic

And finally I included a pic of the trip from Morro Bay to the elephant seals.

Have fun

[Wildwoods22]

Rest of pics

[NevadaNick]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

Take 395 up the west side of California. Gorgeous areas and drive.

2nd this except its on the east side.

[HMCSW]

Originally Posted by edwardo37

We are planning a trip to California next fall and want to see most if not all of the coast. We will be in a 25’ class c towing a 2-door jeep. The last time I made that trip was in a minivan towing a pop-up and had no trouble; that was in 1990.
Is it advisable or doable to drive the Highway 1 portions with my rig? We plan to go from Crescent City to Morro Bay. Give me your thoughts please. We will probably spend 1-3 days each in the Crescent City, Fort Bragg, Point Reyes, Monterrey, and Morro Bay areas. Thanks for any tips on helping to plan our trip.

Since you have a lot of time: the east side of California is spectacular- Reno south to Lone Pine.

[AKJohn]

Be aware that the combined sales tax in Monterey County is 9.25% plus a 10.5% Transient Occupancy Tax on RV Park stays. It's obvious the Monterey does not want overnight visitors. On our trip along the coast we skipped Monterey.

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by Wildwoods22

We took over 2 weeks to do Crescent City to Morro Bay. We only did one day in Humboldt Redwoods and skipped Monterey altogether. Could have easily stretched to 4 weeks adding Humboldt, more wine tasting in the Russian River area and doing Santa Cruz and Monterey.

Scenic drive recommendations:
In Jedediah Smith outside of Crescent City take Howland Hill Rd through the redwoods. The river and picnic grounds in the campground are great. see pic

Near 101 and the Klamath River go west on Klamath Beach Road and turn left on Coastal Dr. Beautiful views of the Pacific. See pic

In Humboldt Redwoods the drive out to Albee Campground (one year we saw a bear fall out of an old apple tree). See pic

Don’t miss the Founders Grove hike in the Dyerville area. See pic. Humboldt is built for day trips because RV parking is almost nonexistent.

In Monterey drive the whole peninsula and stop to watch the otters. As I mentioned before, 17-mile drive and Carmel are great. Head farther south to Point Lobos State Natural Reserve for beautiful views. See pic

And finally I included a pic of the trip from Morro Bay to the elephant seals.

Have fun

We were in the area last September and stayed at Elk Country RV Park just across from Humbolt Lagoons State Park. Loved having the large elk herd just roaming through the campground almost daily. We did take a day to drive north and did the Howland Hill Road through the redwoods. They definitely mean it when they say "Motor Homes and Trailers not advised". Beautiful drive and there are some trail heads along the way if you want to get out and do some hiking.

Here is a short 3 minute dash cam video of the drive if you've not been on it before: Howland Hill Road through the redwoods

[Wildwoods22]

ttavasc,
How did you like Elk Country RV Park? We drove by it numerous times in August and will consider it in the future.

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by Wildwoods22

ttavasc,
How did you like Elk Country RV Park? We drove by it numerous times in August and will consider it in the future.

We enjoyed the stay there very much. They do have some strict rules around the elk, but they are mostly common sense so shouldn't really be a problem for anyone.

There are two sections to the campground - a meadow section and a forested section. The meadow section is where the elk generally wander through. The forested section is much more secluded and includes a few long term residences as well as a good number of tent sites. There is a small camp store and we enjoyed evening walks back through the forested section.

We were there 4 nights and stayed in the meadow section - partly to have the elk experience and partly for the minimal cell service. The forest section apparently doesn't have cell service. We'd definitely stay there again.

Here is a link to an album with most of the elk pictures from that trip:

Elk Country RV Park Elk Pictures

[RVfixit]

Originally Posted by NevadaNick

2nd this except its on the east side.

I also agree. Hwy 395 has lots of history, campgrounds and scenic drives off of the Highway. If you're traveling in April or May at the latest, Death Valley is a fantastic place to visit with a couple of days worth of things to see, The best being Scotty's Castle.

Hwy 190 off of 395 is steep with lots of turns and switchbacks but once you get to Panamint Springs at the top, the rest is great! Not sure about camping but I know they have campgrounds with hookups in Furnace Creek. We stayed at Furnace Creek Ranch at our last visit.

Another great place to visit, and where I used to live is Mammoth Lakes and the June Lake Loop. Lots to do and see here and has full hookup campgrounds in Mammoth Lakes and at McGee Creek RV resort. The RV campground isn't great during the summer, best to visit in spring or fall.

Last, driving from Mammoth up 395 through Bridgeport up to Carson City is beautiful. If time permits, Virginia City is an old west town that is fun to visit.

Too much to list here but those are a few of my favorite spots to visit.

Good Luck and Safe Travels!