We re planning on staying in Santa Rosa for 3 nights. One day for a tour of wine county and a scenic winery and then one day for a slow drive over to Bodgea Bay, down the coast to the GGNRA for late afternoon/early evening photographs, then back to Santa Rosa for the night before heading back to Bodgea Bay and heading north on Rt 1 for a slow drive to Eureka. As much as I hate to change motels, should we look at spending the last night going back up rte 1 to Point Reyes Station for an overnight stay, or getting in the rush hour traffic back to Santa Rosa? I know what the rush hour traffic is in the DC and Atlanta areas, so if its recommended, we'll just take our bags with us to the GGNRA and then head back up the coast. Thanks

Traffic depends a lot on what day of the week it is. For example, Monday is a lot better than Thursday or Friday. I drive this quite a bit and it's usually not too bad on 101 until you get past Novato where the freeway loses some lanes and it can be slow going into Santa Rosa. However, if you drive this after 6 pm traffic will be better by the time you reach the slow sections.

But, why not drive this the other way by heading in the morning down to the Golden Gate and then driving up Hwy 1 to Bodega Bay and spending the night there?

You don't say when you are doing this but if it's in the warmer months you stand a good chance of finding the coast fogged in during much of the day which might put a damper on your scenic photography.

Thanks Supercilious, that doesn't sound too bad. I do want to try to get some late afternoon, or early sunset photographs from the GGNRA area. The drive sounds like its something I can live with and I'll have to trust to mother nature for a foggless couple of hours late in the day.

I should have included, we will be there on Weds, Jul 14th and hope the fog will be kind to us for the drive up the coast to Florence, Or.

If there are at least two of you in the car, then you can use the Diamond Lane and it will go pretty fast from GGB to SR. Probably about an hour.

I'm not sure what you mean by "early sunset photographs from the GGNRA area". If you stay out past sunset, you will have no traffic problems on 101. However, the odds of you having a fogless day on the coast in mid-July are pretty slim. July is the month with the most fog. It's especially stubborn around the Golden Gate and at Pt. Reyes. The heat in the interior (especially the Central Valley) is very intense in July and this condition sucks in the colder, moister air from the Ocean through the Golden Gate and up into the Delta.

The fog is not nearly so intense as you head north from Bodega Bay because there is a mountain range that blocks the fog from penetrating inland very far. So, you could have a very pleasant drive up the coast to Oregon even in July except in the Humboldt Bay Area around Eureka.

As far as the GGNRA is concerned, if you go up on Mt. Tamalpais, you might get some great afternoon shots of the sun setting into the fog bank below you. Or you could try Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands for some shots of the Golden Gate Bridge. Photos with the fog below the towers are more interesting than photos taken on a totally clear day in my opinion.

The main thing about taking in sights along the coast during the summer is to remain flexible. If you're here for a week or more, you might have a couple of nice days at the coast but the others will probably be foggy. So, if you get the nice days take advantage of them. Don't expect them to last very long.

Thanks Klerous and Supercilious, you've relieved my concerns with the traffic. Heading for high ground for photographs above the fog is a great alternative/addition and I will check out these two locatlions. With photography you have to make the best of what mother nature provides and from some of the photos I've seen, that can be spectaculor. Knowing where to look certainly will help, I'm looking forward to it. That is great news regarding improving fog conditions going north. Thanks again.