Kira

My husband and I were hoping to drive Hwy 1 from LA to SF in early December (as part of our Las Vegas, LA, SF trip). I see on this website, though, that it's very likely to rain and some people even say dreary! Would you advise we plan a more direct route to SF? Or take 101 and only go to the coast around Monterey? Or do it anyway? Any locals out there who can give me a real picture of how much rain to expect, how long the rain lasts when it does come? Thank you

curmudgeon

The most likely weather will be clear and 50s/60s temps. While it is the beginning of "rainy season", that just means that the chance of rain goes from 1% to maybe 20%. You might see if you can find actual weather stats for Cambria or Monterey for reference.

I would absolutely take 101/1, but check the forecast/conditions when you get to San Luis Obispo, and skip the Big Sur hwy 1 section if bad weather is predicted at the time (if your schedule is flexible, you could just wait a day for the storm to pass).

J_Correa

I agree with curmudgeon. It could be very stormy in Dec or it could be spectacularly clear. Definitely take the 101/1 route and if a bad storm comes in, just take 101 north from San Luis Obispo to Salinas and then cut back to the coast to see Monterey.

Just south of Monterey is Point Lobos state park, where you can get a really good feel for the Big Sur coastline, so you wont completely miss the spectacular coastline if the weather doesn't cooperate.

Kira

Thank you to you both for your advice

kimamom

Kira, we've gone to Carmel the first week of December for the past three years. We've had really nice weather, believe it or not.

We spent time on the beach and even bike riding the trails in Pacific Grove on our December anniversary trips. Have fun! ***kim***