hey, i need help planning a coastal drive with my G/F

When are you planning on doing this? The weather this weekend is garbage... Anyway, if you want to do it the "scenic" way, I'd take 880 south, which turns into 17 South, all the way to Santa Cruz. Then turn south onto 1 and take it all the way to Monterey. Follow the signs for the aquarium once you get into town. It's at the end of Cannery Row, though, and impossible to miss. After that, for the "romantic beach walk", I'd say continue heading south on 1 to Carmel-by-the-Sea. It's a really nice little town - lots of art galleries, shops, etc. The beach there is killer at sunset, so make sure you time it right...

Enjoy!

 

If you can forgo Monterey, I've got another loop route which is a great drive. There's less freeway to travel, and the roads and scenery are quite interesting (IMHO).

Srart at 10AM in Walnut Creek. Take 80 to 280 to Highway 1 at Pacifica. I think the stretch between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz is the most interesting local strech of Hwy 1, unless you're wanting to drive to NorCal. Stop at the Ritz Carlton or Duarte's Tavern in Pescadero for lunch. Continue south to Santa Cruz, and/or Capitola, which has some nice shops downtown. To return, take Highway 9 to Skyline Blvd North. Follow Skyline to 92 West. This will take you back to 1 North. Just before 280, take 35 North. Turn left on The Great Hwy, which takes you along ocean beach. If you take your time, you'll get to here by late afternoon, and the sun will be setting. Shouldn't be too foggy in the spring. Pick your favorite SF restaurant for dinner.

Just an alternative! ;^) It depends on what kind of roads you like to drive on - I'm a "fast, curvy backroads" kind of guy, so I choose my routes accordingly.

Have fun!

 

It's not Monterey, but I recently did a wonderful drive up Rt.1, from a little bit north of Point Reyes up to Bodega Bay and Leggett.. Much less travelled, and the scenery and views are top notch! It is a long drive, depending on your time frame. The short route I do is usually around 4-6 hours, and the long route is about 10-12. Also depends on how fast you want to drive.

I usually go:

N on 580 across Richmond-San Rafael Bridge onto 101-N
Take Lucas Valley Rd exit and follow Lucas Valley through Nicasio.
Take a Left on Petaluma-Pt Reyes Rd.
Take a Right on Rt. 1 North.
Follow Rt.1 all the way to 116E. At this point you can take 116, or continue N on Rt.1 (I take it all the way up to where it meets 101 again!) Up until this point in the drive have I YET to see or hear any CHP at all.

If you take Rt.1 all the way up to meet 101, you can come south on 101, and right after Leggett and vicinity, the road gets REALLY wide (two lanes both ways) and very, very smooth.. Very nice high speed sweepers, and the road is usually devoid of traffic. Careful though, I picked up several CHP running Ka, but the V1 notified me well in advance, they're usually hanging out around the turns. I've gotta say that Rt.1 after Pt Reyes is really nice and well paved.. Not very many pavement in disrepair, and lots of nice twisties.

If you decide to take 116 East, you can take it through Guerneyville, meet up with Rt.12 through Santa Rosa, turn left on Calistoga Rd and head into Napa valley. The roads are well travelled (a bit of traffic, depending on weekend or weekday congestion), but there are some nice side roads like oakville grade, mt veeder, and silverado trail.

Hope that helps! I usually avoid Monterey and Pacifica because of the traffic.. And I like the twisties as much as the next guy! The pics attached are some of Rt.1 north of Jenner and Ft Bragg.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login