I was looking for a place to spend some time and possible the night on the way from Slovang to San Francisco. Does anyone know if the Roaring Camp Railroad is nice? Is it really scenic or just a ride for kids to enjoy. Also, could you recommend a place to stay near there. Thanks

Roaring Camp railroad has two different trains. One is a narrow gauge train that takes you on a ride, about an hour, through the redwoods in the Santa Cruz mountains. It's pretty and cool and if you like trains, would be great for all ages. If you haven't seen the redwoods, this is your chance on the way from Solvang to SF. There's another train that runs right from the boardwalk in Santa Cruz up to Roaring Camp in the mountains. We took our nephew on this and we all liked it, including grandma. Barbeque and country music up in Roaring Camp. You don't say whether you have kids with you or not. Santa Cruz is a great destination for kids. There's a surfing museum which is interesting, but note that it has funny open times. There's the Mystery Spot in the Sta. Cruz Mtns. which is fun for kids, less so for adults, and of course, the Sta. Cruz Boardwalk with its old wooden roller coaster is fun. The whole area hasn't really left the 60s too far behind. Some very interesting folks over there.If you're looking for a romantic B&B stay in Capitola at the Inn at Depot Hill or in Sta. Cruz at the Babbling Brook Inn. If you have kids along, the Dream Inn is on the beach in Santa Cruz or there's a Holiday Inn with a good pool. Don't know what route you intend to take, but if you're driving Hwy 1 through Big Sur, you will probably want to stop earlier in Carmel or Monterey which has lots of interest. Visitors often make the mistake of not realizing how long it takes to drive the California coast--not because of distances, but Hwy 1 is winding and slow in tourist season. Have a great trip.

Thanks so much for your reply. It will be myself and my 19 year old daughter making the trip. I tried to email you with more trip questions but it was returned to me. You seem to have great info and are so nice to help. We are going up Highway 1 and my daughter thinks one day from Solvang to SF is enough. I think that is a bit of a stretch. Where would you recommend staying after Solvang. Any advice would be appreciated. From SF, plan to go to Yosemite and then to Vegas. Don't really have a clue how to plan that and where to stay on that part of our journey. Thanks again!

Linda, Sorry, my email's not real since I've had trouble in the past. To answer your daughter's idea of one day from Solvang to SF, please don't try to do that and drive Hwy 1. We are leaving this week for Santa Maria, which is a bit north of Solvang and we live in Palo Alto, on the peninsula south of SF. We will allow 4 hours for the drive and will stay on the freeway (101) to avoid all the tourist traffic in Big Sur. Solvang to SF on the 101 freeway (which is not scenic and is inland) will be about 5-6 hours allowing for traffic around San Jose and into SF. Driving Hwy 1 through Big Sur from Cambria to Carmel generally takes 2-3 hours in the summer tourist months. You would then have to add about 1 1/2 hours from Solvang to Cambria and 3 hours from Carmel to SF giving you a total of 7 1/2 hours and that's with very few stops and an inland cut over to 101 from Monterey. There's so much to do and see in this area, it would be a terrible shame to try to do it in one day. I would either stop in Cambria--cute town, nice restaurants and Hearst Castle tour?--and then drive Big Sur the next morning, stop in Carmel for lunch and then on to SF or I would drive Big Sur the first day and overnight in Carmel and on to SF the next day. There's lots for a 19 year old to like in either of these towns. You will find that most of the hotels in Carmel require two night stays either on weekends or certain times during the summer. Two nice ones that don't ever require two nights are the Pine Inn and Carmel Village Inn. You'll find loads of info about Carmel and/or Cambria on this forum. Do a search. Also check your plans on Mapquest.Hwy 1 is consistently voted one of the most scenic drives in the U.S.

I took the one hour ride through the redwoods with my daughter, who was 13 at the time. We were both less than impressed in the sense that the redwoods are much smaller than those in other coastal groves (e.g. north of SF). If I recall correctly, we were also charge for parking - seems absurd ata place that is near no other attractions. I may be mistaken about the parking charge but all told, we didn't think it was worth the $$.