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Originally Posted by PrairieHikerI
(Post 17466065)
Santa Barbara. Stop off en route and explore Spanish Colonial-style Santa Barbara located on the American Riviera; sunbathe at its East Beach. Much of the architecture is in the Spanish Colonial style with red-tiled roofs. Sights include the Santa Barbara Mission, Stearns Wharf, the Waterfront, El Presidio State Historical Park, Botanic Gardens, centuries-old oaks in Mission Canyon, great restaurants and some of the best beaches in America such as East Beach. On Sundays along the waterfront in Santa Barbara they always have an artist fair.
San Luis Obispo. SLO has been dubbed the ‘happiest place in America”, and has a lively downtown, old mission, and many outdoor recreation opportunities including biking, hiking and the nearby beaches. Great farmers market (esp. Thursday night when it becomes part farmers market, part music fest, part street fair). Nearby is Moro Bay and on up the coast is the famous Hearst Castle. Monterey. Drive the scenic 17-mile Road in Carmel; check out Monterey’s world-famous aquarium; go on a Monterey Bay Whale Watch tour; view the 1855 Point Pinos Lighthouse and 1794 San Carlos Cathedral; and hike the Sea Lion Trail at Point Lobos State Reserve. Wander around under the majestic redwood trees in Garrapata State Park just 20 minutes south on Hwy 1. Pacific Grove. Pacific Grove, California has a classic Main Street, USA feel and features one of the oldest continually operating lighthouses in the country. are perfect spots for kayaking or surfing — and some of the fish you see on the Bay may turn up in your sustainable seafood dinner that night. Just over 50 minutes north is the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park with its outstanding 40-acre old-growth redwood grove. This area has a very unique ecosystem that is centered around a trail that is slightly under a 1-mile loop. This is where the largest tree in the park is located and it is just under 300-feet tall and just over 15 feet wide. Thank you! This was very helpful!! |
The historic courthouse in Santa Barbara is a must, as is Carpinteria State Beach. Very close to the shore is a spot where seals hang out by the rocks. Taqueria Rincon Alteno in Carpinteria is California tacos at their best.
Point Lobos State Park is considered the Queen of the state park system. You can often see otters playing in the surf. |
If Hwy 1 remains closed, most of what visitors want to see in Big Sur would only be accessible from the north and it sounds like you wouldn't want to drive that direction. Also try to avoid looking for accommodations on the Monterey Peninsula from roughly August 16th to 20th due to Car Week/Pebble Beach Concours.
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Originally Posted by Patty
(Post 17466452)
If Hwy 1 remains closed, most of what visitors want to see in Big Sur would only be accessible from the north and it sounds like you wouldn't want to drive that direction. Also try to avoid looking for accommodations on the Monterey Peninsula from roughly August 16th to 20th due to Car Week/Pebble Beach Concours.
Originally Posted by shelemm
(Post 17466376)
The historic courthouse in Santa Barbara is a must, as is Carpinteria State Beach. Very close to the shore is a spot where seals hang out by the rocks. Taqueria Rincon Alteno in Carpinteria is California tacos at their best.
Point Lobos State Park is considered the Queen of the state park system. You can often see otters playing in the surf. |
Also, how difficult is it to find parking around San Francisco at parks and points of interest? I know the parking at hotels is very expensive, so I’m considering turning in the rental when we arrive in San Francisco and using public transportation/ride share. My kids and I usually like to drive around and explore different neighborhoods and areas by car when we travel, but I don’t know how difficult it is to find parking in San Francisco.
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It depends on where in San Francisco when it comes to parking. There are public lots that are not too expensive. Do not leave anything in you car though when parking in San Francisco. Also there are motels on Lombard with free parking. Chelsea Inn is one example
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The Chelsea Inn mentioned above and its sister properties (Cow Hollow, Coventry, Columbus etc) and the TravelLodge next to the Presidio (I'd avoid any other TraveLodges but this one is nice) provide parking.
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I’ve stayed at the Chelsea since I had a car and really liked it. The street is busy and noisy, but handy to restaurants in all directions. If if don’t need the car, turn it in. Expensive parking and car break ins are rampant.
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The drive from Monterey to Pfeiffer Big Sur SP is not bad at all. If you have time, I would drive down to Julia Pfeiffer Burns SP to see McWay Falls. Ask for an interior room at the Chelsea if you stay there. No view but really quiet. You don't need a car in SF but if you have one, Chelsea has free parking. We just park our car and use our feet or public transportation. The glass on the street is enough to deter us from trying to park anywhere.
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Originally Posted by janisj
(Post 17466907)
The Chelsea Inn mentioned above and its sister properties (Cow Hollow, Coventry, Columbus etc) and the TravelLodge next to the Presidio (I'd avoid any other TraveLodges but this one is nice) provide parking.
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Haven't been to a national park since I was a kid, probably talking 40-50 years ago.
We camped a couple of times at Yosemite. Was fun then, every week the newspapers would be full of ads for camping equipment. When I search for October on Expedia, the lowest price I saw was some cabin 20 miles away from Yosemite Valley for like $550-600 for two nights. Awhanee was well over $2000. When I search for next June at the official site, it doesn't return results. It wants your contact info. Wawona has shared bathrooms it looks like. Otherwise they offer you unheated tents. It's a 3-4 hour drive for me from the South Bay Area and probably would have to drive a couple of hours out of windy roads to find lodging which wasn't priced crazy. There are a lot of things you can go see within 2-3 hour drive without dealing with the time and expense. That's not just national parks in CA. I remember researching Crater Lake in Oregon and it was similarly ridiculous, overpriced for really shoddy lodgings. If you're paying $400 or more a night, you expect some standards. Might as well spend it in the Alps. Exclusive concessionaires lead to poor accommodations offerings. I appreciate that they limited development in and around the NPs to keep them pristine but you have this huge demand for people who want to visit and there's no infrastructure to accommodate all these people who want to visit. |
Originally Posted by mbh106
(Post 17466932)
How are the hotels across the bay in Emeryville? They seem nicer than the motels in the Marina District and are still reasonably priced. Is there a disadvantage to staying there?
The motels in the Marina / Lombard Street area mentioned above are absolutely fine. Some others, maybe not so much, but the ones up thread are perfectly OK |
If you are going north to Napa, you might want to check out Point Reyes Seashore. The roads wind a bit but not scarry. Beautiful views of the ocean and coast. Do not go to Muir Woods. I was physically ill by the time I got to the top.
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Originally Posted by gardendiva
(Post 17467052)
If you are going north to Napa, you might want to check out Point Reyes Seashore. The roads wind a bit but not scarry. Beautiful views of the ocean and coast. Do not go to Muir Woods. I was physically ill by the time I got to the top.
Hmm I've lived most of my life in CA and haven't been up there or Point Reyes. |
Originally Posted by scrb11
(Post 17467054)
Because of winding roads to Muir Woods? Google Street View mostly shows boardwalk paths through the tall redwoods up there, probably no vertiginous coastal views looking down to the water. There seems to be some outlooks like that by Muir Beach though.
Hmm I've lived most of my life in CA and haven't been up there or Point Reyes. If you decide to drive from Los Angeles instead of San Francisco, the Central Coast part of Hwy 1 is not as scary and there is more lodging that does not require two nights, even on a weekend. Try Morro Bay for example which has a wide range of choices. I usually stay a few blocks inland from the coast where there are a lot of motels. Lots of cute sea otters in the bay, Morro Strand State Beach, Montana del Oro State Park, not that far from San Simeon and Cayucos. I am not a huge Santa Barbara fan but there are a few nice buildings. For a Mission I prefer La Purisima near Lompoc. Lompoc has the Wine Ghetto and is another good spot if you need one night of lodging, as long as there is nothing significant happening at Vandenberg AFB. If you need to get between LA and SF, the cutover on Hwy 41 to Hwy 101 is not too bad. I think visitors focus on the National Parks too much and forget that there are many California State Parks with exceptional scenery. |
Originally Posted by mbh106
(Post 17466856)
You’re right, it looks like we’ll take 101 from Santa Barbara to Monterey, and then take Hwy 1 south to Carmel by the Sea and Big Sur. We would probably only go as far far south as Pfeiffer State Park. How is the drive from Monterey to Pfeiffer? Is it mostly high drop offs in that stretch?
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I too would not stay in Emeryville to visit San Francisco. Never have taken Bart. The hotels on Lombard mentioned above are in a good location with lots of restaurants and mostly local people walking around. Pretty safe area too. We used to live in the area and still visit a few times a year. We stayed at the Chelsea Inn last month as one of our children just had a baby and they live in the city. The room we had was pretty basic but clean with a surprisingly amount of room for San Francisco. Parking was easy. I’ve probably stayed at over 20 hotels in San Fransisco over the years including the Ritz and Four Seasons and my favorite which is the Fairmont at Ghirardelli’s square and the Chelsea inn was fine
albeit not as nice as the others I’ve mentioned. |
I should also mention that sometimes you can get a package with parking at some SF hotels. Lastly there are often public parking lots a few minutes walk from some hotels and per night parking will be something like $35 vs $75-$85. This for example is true for the Sheraton Palace, Taj Campton Place, Four seasons, Ritz Carlton and Meridien. I am sure there are others but can vouch for the above.
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Originally Posted by gardendiva
(Post 17467052)
If you are going north to Napa, you might want to check out Point Reyes Seashore. The roads wind a bit but not scarry. Beautiful views of the ocean and coast. Do not go to Muir Woods. I was physically ill by the time I got to the top.
Originally Posted by mlgb
(Post 17467061)
Yes going all of the way to the top of Mt.Tamalpais can be nerve wracking if that is what they meant.
If you decide to drive from Los Angeles instead of San Francisco, the Central Coast part of Hwy 1 is not as scary and there is more lodging that does not require two nights, even on a weekend. Try Morro Bay for example which has a wide range of choices. I usually stay a few blocks inland from the coast where there are a lot of motels. Lots of cute sea otters in the bay, Morro Strand State Beach, Montana del Oro State Park, not that far from San Simeon and Cayucos. I am not a huge Santa Barbara fan but there are a few nice buildings. For a Mission I prefer La Purisima near Lompoc. Lompoc has the Wine Ghetto and is another good spot if you need one night of lodging, as long as there is nothing significant happening at Vandenberg AFB. If you need to get between LA and SF, the cutover on Hwy 41 to Hwy 101 is not too bad. I think visitors focus on the National Parks too much and forget that there are many California State Parks with exceptional scenery. |
Originally Posted by mjs
(Post 17467198)
I too would not stay in Emeryville to visit San Francisco. Never have taken Bart. The hotels on Lombard mentioned above are in a good location with lots of restaurants and mostly local people walking around. Pretty safe area too. We used to live in the area and still visit a few times a year. We stayed at the Chelsea Inn last month as one of our children just had a baby and they live in the city. The room we had was pretty basic but clean with a surprisingly amount of room for San Francisco. Parking was easy. I’ve probably stayed at over 20 hotels in San Fransisco over the years including the Ritz and Four Seasons and my favorite which is the Fairmont at Ghirardelli’s square and the Chelsea inn was fine
albeit not as nice as the others I’ve mentioned. |
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