LCPDFP

My S and DH are planning to visit my D in SF in June for 4 days. My DH and I will spend 3 days in SF with D in March, so on our 2nd trip, we want to "get out of town". I planned on the itinerary below ... but my D's colleague told her we should visit Monterey and the PCH in October or March and avoid "June Gloom".

23rd June - Thurs: Drive down to the Monterey peninsula, stopping along the way - the San Mateo coast for small towns and sweeping, rural ocean views, Santa Cruz mountains for redwoods, hiking, and wine, or Santa Cruz and Capitola for beach towns. Sleep in Monterey.
24th June - Fri: Monterey Peninsula. Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel. Sleep in Monterey.
25th June - Sat: Drive down the Big Sur coast, stoping along the way to see the views, maybe take a short hike or two. Late afternoon tour of Heart Castle. Sleep in Cambria.
26th June - Sun: Drive back to SF via Hwy 101- the inland route through some scenic agricultural land, as well as through Salinas (perhaps see a mission or two and the Steinbeck center).

Does June Gloom make this trip a non-starter? Or, does June Gloom just mean that we should we expect some foggy mornings that will burn off by 10a.m. or 11a.m.? I don't want to miss the views because of fog but don't want to scrap this plan if the trip will be fun even with some fog.

If this is a non-starter, any suggestions for another 4-day itinerary on the West Coast? I don't think the wine country would be fun for S & D in their 20's with M & D. We did Yosemite as a family almost 20 years ago. (I don't have air tickets yet, so we can fly anywhere. S has vacation days to use before June 30th.)

Thanks for your ideas!

clarkgriswold

Uune Gloom, if indeed it surfaces, often lasts until 2pm or so. You can't really predict how bad it will be from week to week but here's a couple of reports from past summers:

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/art...NEWS/140608026

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/we...e39535272.html

LCPDFP

Thanks Clark ... I think it looks like we should plan this for another time. "normal" weather patterns seem to have returned to CA for 2016.

janisj

The Coast is certainly OK in June -- but much better in Sept/Oct if you have flexibility.

In June I'd personally think about Yosemite or Lake Tahoe instead.

november_moon

Coastal fog is rarely the type that sits on the ground and obscures views, so I wouldn't worry about it. And it does burn off late morning mostly. Some days it sticks around all day and some days there isnt any fog at all. It's only a problem if you must have sun all day everyday. In that case, September is a better month. March is nice to, but can still be rainy - you get great wildflowers and green hills that time of year though. There really isn't a bad time to visit.

mlgb

If you are planning the classic Big Sur drive, then I wouldn't do it during fog season.

november_moon

Big Sur in the fog can be amazing - if its just generally overcast, then you won't get the sunshine or the changing light, which isn't as nice, but as the fog is burning off or coming in, it can be magical. You come around curves in the road, coming out of the fog and into the sun, see fingers of fog moving in and out of the canyons. It can be really cool.

mlgb

And dangerous!!

Just half-kidding.

Not being able to see any view is another story, and I've seen it that way, also.

LCPDFP

Thanks everyone ... we are going to do 4 days in Portland, OR and plan to do the "classic" Big Sur Drive next spring!

november_moon

mlgb - I'm not talking about driving through Big Sur in pea soup fog. The fog in Big Sur in June is rarely on the ground or at all dangerous. Mostly it just obscures the sun and/or appears as low clouds.

Underhill

All you need to do is invite us along! When we go to Carmel the fog rolls out, and as we leave it comes back in. We always hope for cool weather but get hot instead.