Long Beach to Lake Elsinore Halfway Point
 

I will be in the Long Beach area in early January and would love to meet up for breakfast or lunch with my brother who lives in Lake Elsinore. We talked about meeting halfway on a Saturday. He mentioned San Juan Capistrano, but when I map quested it, that seemed a little out of the way for halfway. Given the time of year (winter) and not knowing what the driving conditions/roadways are like, what would be the halfway suggestions? Thank you!!

It might be a bit longer (distance) drive for you, but the drive times would be almost identical . . .

You will have fast freeway all the way - your brother won't . . .

Do you mean Long Beach/ Lake Elsinore to San Juan Capistrano?

Yes -- Long Beach to San Juan Capistrano is about the same drive time as Lake Elsinore to SJC . . . It makes a lot of sense as a meeting point.

(>>Given the time of year (winter) and not knowing what the driving conditions/roadways are like, << You are talking about LA/Orange counties -- not a lot of winter driving conditions ;) )

Look at Corona off the 91 Freeway and near Interstate 15. It is a large city and will have places you can meet up. From Long Beach the 91 Freeway is easy to reach.

He'll be coming over the mountains on The Ortega Hwy,directly into San Juan.
You'll have a nice, easy freeway drive with no risk of bad weather.
It's a lovely little town and don't miss the mission.

Actually Corona would be great from Lake Elsinore . . .a short drive. From Long Beach not so much.

SJC isn't the only place you could meet of course. But finding a place 45 minutes from both Lake Elsinore and from LB - SJC is right there.

Okay thanks! There's not going to be a lot of site seeing time. Just a meal and some hugs. So seeing the mission is probably not going to happen. I just want the safest, easiest drive for us both. Thanks again and happy holidays!

I can recommend the Cedar Creek Inn in SJC. It's on Ortega Highway just a couple of blocks west of the 5 freeway and across the street from the mission. Easy to find, lots of free parking. I often meet a friend there who lives in San Diego.

http://www.cedarcreekinn.com/locatio...capistrano#tab

Thanks so much Jean! The menu looks great! SJC it is! It'll be on a Saturday. I think I'll be crossing tolls? Do I do that with a credit card?

You don't have to take the toll road (Hwy. 73) unless you choose to. If you stay on the 405 and 5 (both of which have car-pool/HOV lanes), it's free.

AFAIK, you can still pay with a credit card (I'd still carry cash), but I think starting this summer drivers will need to have a FasTrak account and transponder in order to use the toll roads.

If you're renting a car, you should ask if the rental company offers FasTrak.

You can pay a one-time toll online, but I've never done this so I don't know much about it.

https://www.thetollroads.com/violation/oneTimeToll.do

On a Saturday, the toll road doesnt help much. It will back up in the afternoon, but after the 73 ends. I like SJC as a meeting place, and Cedar Creek does have a nice patio but with average food. If you dont mind eating with all the farm hands, nearby El Molino has excellent mexican food

Thanks! Jean, what's the difference, time wise, between toll and 405/5 on a Saturday both ways?

The toll road portion shaves 13 miles off the overall distance, so it should in theory save 13-15 minutes.

But no one can predict traffic as it only takes a simple fender-bender or someone pulled over for speeding or a flat tire to interrupt the flow, and neither route is immune to these problems. Sometimes a slow-down only lasts for a 1/4 mile, sometimes much longer. If it's raining, traffic will be slower on both routes.

You can listen to 980 AM radio for frequent traffic updates and decide how it looks when you get to the turn off for 73.

If you'd like a little more atmosphere and don't mind and additional 3-4 miles for both of you, Dana Point Marina has good water views and some fairly good places to eat. My personal favorite is the Wind and Sea.

If you'd like a little more atmosphere and don't mind and additional 3-4 miles for both of you, Dana Point Marina has good water views and some fairly good places to eat. My personal favorite is the Wind and Sea.<<

Great idea dw, but I have one problem with it. If they show up on a sunny afternoon for lunch and sit on the patio, they will never want to leave. They will have to stay for dinner

I would love to go to Proud Marys for breakfast, but then I would spend the day at Turks and get nothing done

Thank you!