?? CA-4 between Vallecito (Moaning Caverns) to San Francisco
 

Is anyone familiar with this section of highway or Moaning Caverns? On our way back from Yosemite Valley to SF, I thought that we would check out Moaning Caverns north of 120 off of CA-4. Mapquest and Yahoo show taking CA-4 back to Stockton and then SF. I've seen people mention 120 but not CA-4. Sorry, complete novice of the area but I'm trying to avoid mountainous areas. Any info appreciated! Thanks

I've been on this highway between Sonora and Murphys (past the Moaning Caverns). It's very similar to 120 in that it goes over the rolling hills without much grading, i.e. it's a bit rollercoaster-ish but not winding like a mountain road. Hope that helps!

ttt

As MonicaRichards said, it is up and down, esp from Stockton east to Moaning Caverns. Just hills, no steep climbs.
Not overly windy, but not nice and straight. Probably a little less traffic than you'l find on 120 or 108.

by avoiding mountainous - do you mean altitude? snow? winding roads?

If it is the altitude and snow you are trying to miss - then any of those area roads including hwy 4 would be fine.

But if you are trying to avoid twisty/turny roads - you'll be in the foothills and just can't escape them. You can't get from Yosemite to the Central Valley w/o a bit of up/down/twist/turn.

I'm thinking she might mean the kind of twists and turns you get on Hwy 17, which are not really in force on Hwy 4. I would consider it a pretty easy drive.

My husband and I loved our experence there! The Statue of Liberty could stand in this huge space, and from the entrance, you see nothing. You step backwards into a dark whole from which you slip out the other side into this magnificent space. It is very exciting, but please remember to stop, take it all in from the top and then drop very slowly to appreciate the incredable wonder of natures art. The formations are exquisite. We both felt it was over too too soon. I was a thrill for us, before we get too old for such fun. I loved the drop, it was climbing the spiral stairs that had me worried!
If you give it a try, please post your impressions!

&quot;<i>I would consider it a pretty easy drive.</i>&quot;

Me too. I was just mentioning it because I've had some &quot;flat lander&quot; friends/relatives from the midwest totally freaked by what I'd consider an easy Sunday drive.

Thank you all. Yes, I'm trying to avoid the winding back and forth... hills I can handle. I get terrible motion sickness and plan to take medicine for alot of the trip but hope to avoid bad roads as much as possible. We will coming in May, so I would assume that snow will not be an issue. Thanks again!

Yes, you are best off taking CA 4 from Moaning Cavern down to Stockton. It's several miles shorter than going down to CA 120 and you avoid the bottleneck in Oakdale. It's also a prettier route since you have open vistas almost all the way to Stockton. The only winding part is the 12 miles from Angel's Camp to Copperopolis.

Once in Stockton, stay on 4 right through town until you merge onto I-5 and then take it south to I-205. Don't continue on CA 4.

If you are detouring up to Moaning Cavern you might consider stopping at Columbia State Historic Park. It's a lot of fun. You might then need to stay over a night to do both the Park and the Cavern. But, that wouldn't be so bad. There's a lot of nice places to stay nearby.

By the way, we always take CA 4 if we are going to Yosemite. It's faster and there's less traffic. We cut over at Copperopolis. But, we are coming from the north. It wouldn't be the best route coming from SF or the South Bay.

We use Highway 4 frequently - less traffic and nicely scenic. It is a rural 2-lane road. Love Moaning Cave and hope you enjoy it, too.

Just wanted to mention since you are in Yosemite that Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP have cave tours as well.

But Sequoia is not between Yosemite and SF. It's quite a bit south. That would increase the drive time by quite a bit and mean less time in every location. They could actually go to Moaning caverns early in the day from Yosemite and still get on to SF.