travelling to northern california
 

I am a timeshare owner and have a very limited choice of resorts for the northern california area. Has anyone heard of any of these resorts and if so, which one would be best for location and/or place to stay?

- River Grove Chalets, Fenton, CA
- Pacific Grove Plaza, Pacific Grove, CA
- WorldMark Marina Dunes, Marina, CA

We want to be in a good place to go north to SF or south to Big Sur, Monterey, etc.

Would appreciate some help. Web hasn't shown me much.

Another option is Pine Acres Lodge, also in Pacific Grove.

I am not familiar with any of the resorts personally, but I can comment on locations.

Felton (rather than Fenton) is in the Santa Cruz mountains, on Hwy 9, a short drive from Santa Cruz itself. The area is really beautiful with redwood forests, a couple nice mountain towns and some good hiking. You can be in Santa Cruz in about 10-15 minutes. Monterey is about 30-45 minutes south of Santa Cruz and Big Sur is about 30 minutes further south. SF is about an hour and a half from Felton.

Pacific Grove is a really cute town, right on the water with some spectacular coastline. There is a nice paved trail along the waterfront and the town is sandwiched between Monterey and Carmel so you can easily visit both. It is about 30 minutes to Big Sur. SF is about a 2 hour drive.

Marina used to be an Army town when Fort Ord was still open. It is fairly non-descript, but has some nice sand dunes and beaches. It is about 10 minutes north of Monterey.

How far are these towns from Yosemite? I am from the North East so I have no clue about distances. Sounds like Felton may be a good location!

It's about 4 to 4 1/2 hours to Yosemite Valley from each of those locations.

We live in San Jose, and when we go to Yosemite, we take Hwy 101 south to Gilroy and then 152 east past Los Banos, Hwy 65 north to Merced and then Hwy 140 east to Yosemite Valley.

From any of your possible locations, you could take Hwy 1 to either 152 or 156 east - 156 links up with 152 near Holister - and then continue along the route above.

If I were choosing a location, I would pick Felton or Pacific Grove over Marina. If I wanted to be right on the coast and/or was interested in nightlife, then Pacific Grove would win out. If I wanted more of a woodsy experience, then Felton wins. Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley are close and have more restaurant and nightlife choices than Felton and the other mountain towns and are close enough to go out. Just don't have too much wine because the roads are curvey and dark ;)

Thank you very much! I really appreciate your responses. Looks like we are going to try for Felton given your input.

I hope you have a really great time - be sure to post a trip report so we know how it works out for you.