Making the trek this weekend with our golden retrievers...anything worth stopping at along the way?

Not really. Once you get out of the mountains you have two choices of routes, I5 or Hwy 99. Both go straight up the Central Valley. I5 is much more isolated than 99.

I5 is nothing but truck stops until you get to Tracy/Stockton. 99 takes you through the cities. I5 is quicker but not by alot.

If you need to stay near the freeways then I don't think there is anything worth stopping for. Maybe Harris Ranch Restaurant or Andersan's Split Pea.

Thought of one other...

You could stop at Pyramid Lake. It is about an hour or so north of LA off I-5 before you come out of the mountains.
The dogs might like to run around.

Depending on how much time you have, there is actually quite a lot to see. Coming out of the Grapevine north the the Santa Suzanna Pass, take US-99 north towards and through Bakersfield. Continue to Fresno and then turn northeast on CA-41. At the junction of CA-49, turn north.

From that junction, CA-49 is the old gold rush trail. The route north is very scenic and there are many old mining towns along CA-49 and nearby, some more modernized than others.

For a little flavor of what you might see, here's an article on CA-49 I wrote several years ago.

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/drives/ca49.htm.

You can then turn west on either US-50 or I-80 to get into Sacramento. There are also other routes from CA-49 before you get to US-50 if time is more an issue.

I took this post to mean that they were staying on the highways to which I still say there is nothing to see . That is coming from somebody who has driven the LA to Bay Area route probably 30 times.

dwood is right though that if you can spend some time getting of the interstate and are willing to visit some places there are some great spots in the foothills and gold country.

Lots to see including what dwooddon suggests - IF you want to take 2 or 3 days for the drive.

If you are merely going from point A (LA) to point B (Sacto) - not one darned thing worth stopping/detouring for.

I-5 is faster -- but the CHP will be out in force this weekend so not fast enough.

99 takes you through some farm cities and you will see some fruit stands - but that's about it.

My suggestion is to do as much of this drive in the dark as possible. Cooler, better for the dogs, and you're not missing anything.

It is a prime route, however, for fans of smelly giant stockyards.

Gardyloo has a great suggestion- do at night- not a thing to see.
We drove from SD so spent the night on the road - stayed in beautiful downtown Gorman - what a thrill that was.

Thanks for all your suggestions. We are pressed for time, but Pyramid Lake sounds interesting so I will look into that a bit more. We are planning to leave LA mid-afternoon on Friday and have to return on Sunday evening. We've heard the drive can be anywhere from 5-7 hours. Does that apply on holiday weekends, too? We just moved here from Michigan, so not sure if you have the 'up-north' traffic I'm used to back there. Actually, we've heard that the traffic tends to be heading to LA and the beaches, so we're hoping we'll be okay.

If at all possible leave before mid-afternoon. Depending on what part of LA you are in you are going to hit nasty holiday traffic. It really seems like traffic is in all directions.

It sounds as you have no time to veer from the highway so stick to I-5 (dreadfully boring but the fastest route) and once you are out of the LA basin it should take you 6 hours to get to Sacramento. Be careful though because once you come out of the LA mountains at the I-5 & 99 Interchange it is I-5 that exits to the right.

You ain't gonna to do that drive in 5 hours. ESPECIALLY leaving LA mid afternoon on the friday before July 4. Traffic will be heavy and CHP will have the planes up. Don't know where in LA you are starting from but it will be approx 365 to 400 miles. Seven hours is certainly doable - but it could also take 8 or 9.

I would not count on any detours.

We would be picking up our dogs from our downtown LA apartment and leaving from there around 3:30. I heard most people leave first thing in the morning or around noon....but crap, might need to change that now! Thanks for the advice!

Also depends where in Sacto you're going. It's pretty spread out, and watch out for somewhat confusing (to visitors) freeway interchanges in the downtown area.

If you leave at 3:30 tomorrow, and allowing for food/dog break/gas etc., I honestly think you should look at arriving close to midnight.

A lot of vacationers will be leaving LA on the GS Fwy (I-5) en route to places like Sequoia, Yosemite, etc., as well as the Bay Area, so janisj's cautions are totally in order.

It might be worth your while to think about a motel somewhere on the road short of Sacramento; look at www.petswelcome.com or www.dogfriendly.com for ideas. Note too that there are several really excellent off-leash "dog parks" around Sacramento that you might check out while in the area.

Thanks - we're driving up to stay with family in Carmichael. Not sure if we'll be able to sneak out much earlier, but we will TRY now!!! Thanks again!

in case this info is useful later, I thought I'd add that if your foodies, you might enjoy stopping for Basque food in Bakersfield, Hanford or other places in the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley. I have no idea why Basques went to the region in such numbers, but they brought great food with them.

FoDan - this thread is 7 years old . . .

>> I have no idea why Basques went to the region in such numbers . . .

This trip has been over and done with. You can also detour off I-5 to Los Banos for Basque food at the Woolgrowers.