Hwy 101 points of interest
 

Our SF to LA roadtrip along the PCH planned for July will likely have a major detour due to the closure of the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge.

Depending on the status of Hwy 1, we're planning on going as far south as Bixby Creek Bridge on Hwy 1, then backtracking to Monterey to SR 68 and over to Hwy 101 to head south. I really didn't want to miss seeing that bridge.

What points of interest/restaurants would anyone recommend along the stretch of Hwy 101 from Monterey to SR 46 (we're spending some time in Cambria before going to Santa Barbara and then LA).

Thanks in advance.

Pinnacles National Park. Otherwise, none.

On the other hand, if you go just a little farther on 101, to Atascadero, the bread at Hush-Harbor Bakery is fabulous.

The mission at San Miguel is one of my favorites and is very close to 101. One of the most beautiful chapels in the chain, decorated with the original Native American artwork.

Contrary to sf7307's negative response, I and others can recommend a great many points of interest.

We just responded to a poster who is making the same trip in the opposite direction.

Please enter this URL and you'll find all the suggestions (a few pertain to the coastal road that is currently closed, but you can get to Hearst Castle from the south for example).

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...alifornia.cfm:

You'll need to check road conditions, but if you are in an adventurous mood and want to see more of the Big Sur coast, you could take the road from the San Antonio de Padua Mission to Lucia and then drive south along the coast. However, this road is not for those who do not like narrow mountain roads.

Paso Robles wine tasting!

Other missions along this route are Mission Soledad, which is in a rural setting. Further south and deep in the foothills is Mission San Antonio de Padua.

Also in this area are the wineries of the Santa Lucia Highlands. Low key and friendly.
http://www.santaluciahighlands.com

Enjoy the drive, but watch out for CHP, particularly between King City and Paso Robles.

I did forget that Palo Robles is before the turnoff. It's a very nice town - nice square.

The request was for points of interest on 101 between Monterey and the 46 turnoff. None of the suggestions in the post to which Michelhuebell linked fits that category.

sf7307 - you are right, I overlooked the 68-46 angle. And you are right, there is precious little along that stretch. Sorry!

After Cambria, continue south on Hwy 1...places to see:

Tiny town of Harmony.
Cayucus, funky beach town.
Morro Bay, big rock!
San Luis Obispo, great downtown area.
Avila Beach, cute beach town.
Pismo Beach, tacky beach town (sorry).
Los Olivos, awesome little wine town.

Michel, thank you. OP, I think what we're suggesting is to just get down that stretch as fast as you can (legally)!

OP here - thanks all! This is unfortunately what I suspected. My wife would be interested in a Paso Robles winery... any suggestions? We will be with our 10 and 12 year old so we could maybe visit one winery - any recommendations for one where the girls would enjoy walking around the place?

We were already planning to hit some of the other places south of Cambria noted above.

Sculpterra has huge sculptures outside as well as really neat game tables. Here's a link:

http://sculpterra.com/visit-us/central-park-west/

If your children don't get carsick I'd recommend G16 (Carmel Valley Road) and then 101 to Paso Robles, where you can pick up 46.

And +1 on the San Miguel Mission.

In July it will most likely be over 100 degrees in Paso so I would drop off the kids at The Ravine Water park and do your wine tasting and/or head over to Cambria or Morro Bay, which may be foggy and cold! That would be way more fun for your kids... its clean, well supervised and the food is reasonably priced ( pizza, burgers etc...)
Vina Robles is a beautiful winery that has a concert series... check your dates!

Mid State Fair, July 19-30, in Paso Robles.

The Ravive Water Park would be a great idea - I don't think we would drop the kids off though. My wife had suggested visiting Sculpterra. Looks like it might be marginally interesting for the kids anyway.

Or I just talk my wife out of the winery and we all go to the water park. :)

Its a fun waterpark!

You didn't ask for advice about your trip North of Paso but you will find Point Lobos ( just south of Carmel Valley on the 1) more beautiful and awe inspiring than Morro Bay, Cayucos, Avila and Pismo combined. Add a night to Carmel perhaps... not all California beaches are beautiful. Just my two cents... from living here my entire life! :)

We are leaving from Pacific Grove on this leg of our journey. Point Lobos, 17 mile drive, Carmel by the sea, and Monterey are already in the itinerary for earlier in the week before we start heading south.

I'm with Logandog, especially with 2 children 10 and 12 perfect age to stop at the San Miguel Mission. Tour the whole mission . . . it is also one of our favorites.

dms666 just so you know, in California, children in the 4th grade learn about the state of California and the missions, with a field trip to a mission as part of the process.

You can also tie it into the El Camino Real Greenish/Turquoise bells you will see driving down the 101. The 101 is essentially the trail (royal road) taken by wagons and on horseback. The 21 missions in CA were located generally within a one day horseback ride between missions. The missions were the night's stopping point, among other uses in the expansion of religion.

The Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge came down today>
http://abc7news.com/news/demolition-...egins/1798561/

On a very recent two-week road trip from SF through Southern California and back, we too had to detour from Pacific Grove back to 101 and then head back to it Hwy 1 Paso Robles. We took advantage of the detour to stop in Salinas for a too-long-postponed visit to the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas. It's a lovely museum that covers Steinbeck's life and life's work in great detail. (Give it an hour or two.) And we were nicely surprised by the downtown section of Salinas--a well-maintained blast from the past where we enjoyed a short stroll. I can't tell you how many times we've rushed by Salinas on 101, certain we weren't missing anything, so I'm glad we took the time to explore it a bit.

We also enjoy having lunch along the piers in Morro Bay and a walk at the big rock (interesting geological history)--that would be a great place to rent kayaks and paddle around. (Oh--while you are in the Pacific Grove area be sure to head to Elkhorn Slough for a great kayak excursion or boat ride with the kids--you'll see so many wonderful marine animals up close. Have a great trip.

Make sure to check out some tide pools with the kids. They were a highlight of the trip for our kids. I think there were some near Monterey and some in Cayucos.

Not so fast:

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/lo...138343958.html

Wowza! Looks like tomfuller needs to change his news source!

dms666 just so you know, in California, children in the 4th grade learn about the state of California and the missions, with a field trip to a mission as part of the process.

Just an aside - when my son was in 4th grade (he's 32 now) we stopped at the Mission San Antonio de Padua on the way back from Las Vegas, so he could do his "research". We went to the entrance and right at the door there was a table setup with a sign that said "4th grade mission materials" - for $10, you got a booklet, a little Father Junipero Serra figurine and more. Worth every penny (sorry all you teachers in Fodor-land). But really the mission itself was very interesting.

The San Marcos winery right off of 101 is good. Their wine is tasty and they have a pond and peacocks so the kids can look for feathers while you taste. They are also friendly in the winery itself, with resident dogs and maybe a cat (can't remember right now).

Here are two missions off of 101 near Solvang (which might be fun, too).

Head east through Solvang and you will reach Old Mission Santa Inés...
<B>http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/old-mission-santa-ines/</B>

Head west, and you hit...La Purisima Concepción
<B>http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/la-purisima-concepcion/</B>


((H))

Jocko's in Nipomo off the 101 has terrific steaks and roast beef.

Ha ha,- of no interest to anyone else but give anod to the place where I jumped into back seat while husband was driving because the drive was so scary, about an hour south of Carmel, PS I was 8 months pregnant!

After a delay while seeking a stronger demolition method, authorities have now in fact taken down the bridge. It won't reopen for at least a year. http://sfist.com/2017/03/19/video_pf...dge_collap.php

jamie99 I've never been to Jocko's or the Far Western Tavern but I can vouch for the Casmalia Hitching Post.

I also like Sissy's Uptown Cafe in Lompoc, they nearly always have the local halibut, good wine list and great pie.