Question about Hwy 1

[Mauth]

Hello everyone. We are looking to travel North on highway 1 from about San Diego to effectively Portland Oregon. I've been looking for information on how it bus friendly the route is, for a 40 foot School bus. It seems that 101 would be perfectly fine, but I'm getting mixed reviews on highway 1. I was hoping that somebody who has driven that route, could help us out.

If you have driven the route, or if you lived in the area and know something about it, please let me know. I appreciate all the information you can give!

[Rucker]

I've driven a lot of it in NCAL, and I'm not sure it would be an enjoyable drive in a bus because it's very tough to just 'pull off and enjoy the view'.

There's got to be a bunch of videos on the drive (motorcycles do the whole route on a regular basis). What I would research is driveability for sure, but also great places to stop (and camp-though there are very very few free spots), and finally sketch factor.

Above SFO I tend to stay on 101 for as long as I can before crossing the coastal range to hit Gualala, or Bodega Bay, simply because the driving is tiring. There are sections just north of SFO that are potentially white-knuckle even for cars, especially if you're used to flat open spaces, and most especially if you are not familiar with weekend traffic along the coast near cities.

Although I love my state I will caution you about vehicle break-ins, especially in dense urban areas like San Francisco and at beach parking pretty much anywhere. Your California experience will take a dive if you are unprepared. For those reading this that want to pile on about Kalifornia etc. you can shut it. We've heard it all and you're not helping answer the OP's question.

Having said that, south of SFO there are some very pretty spots and easier driving (fewer sharp corners) but as mentioned if you want to stop you'd need to map those out very carefully to avoid trying to cross lanes or turn around (or even park). In the summertime there's precious little parking, which may be frustrating.

For instance, there's a fantastic park right on the coast above Santa Cruz, Wilder Ranch. Access and parking is easy, and you can spend the whole day (or more) exploring the area. No overnight camping there, by the way.

But just above Wilder Ranch there are a few 'overnight' free parking areas, or what I call sketch parking (think homeless people in groups of RVs). There were a couple of places I wasn't comfortable leaving my car to climb down to the beach, never mind leave a bus for a few hours.

I've not driven Central Coast, though I'm guessing it's going to be similar in challenge and opportunity, though less sketch because of it's relative remoteness.

Hope this helps.

[Dbacks2k4]

I've driven it by car before. It'd be passable in a bus but not many places to pull off and rest or admire the view with a bus.

That being said, I'm afraid of heights and the drop off cliffs about code-brown'd me in the sedan and I'll never drive that route in a car again let alone a bus despite how scenic it is haha.

[flattracker]

I have been the full length of HWY 1 on a motorcycle and part of it driving my "old Crown".
Before planning a trip on HWY 1, first find out what parts are open as a fallout or mudslide in the wrong place will impact your trip. There are very long stretches of 1 where you cannot go inland to get around a road closure. Right now 1 is closed in Monterrey county due to flooding. Depending on how had the damage is on 1, it may take a year to fix.
The portion of HWY 1 between San Franciso and Stinson Beach has 15 mph turns in places. My experience is that when the sign says 15 mph, they really mean it. Farther north there are stretches with more of the very tight turns, with the uphill side very steep up and the downhill side very steep down, without guardrails. If you drive on the part way down south you will drive very slowly for a long while due to traffic.
About 50 miles north of Fort Bragg HWY 1 turns inland and ends at HWY 101. There are a number of tight turns on that stretch also.
All that being said there is some of the most beautiful scenery to behold along most of it. Hwy 101 will take you along the Oregon and Washington coast again with stunning scenery.



If you are a very skillful driver of a long vehicle and you are not in a hurry, a lot of HWY 1 could be fun. A shorter vehicle would be better.

[Iceni John]

My biggest concern driving a 40' bus on CA-1 south of Carmel would be causing aggravation to cars behind me because of the many curves and narrow sections there. So saying, every time I've driven there in my car I've seen big RVs, so maybe people are used to them by now? The section immediately north of the GG Bridge from Muir Valley to Stinson Beach would be very difficult in a 40' anything: my recollection is that there's a warning against vehicles over 35', maybe? So saying, if you can make it to Stinson Beach, you should hike the Steep Ravine Trail to Pantoll Campground on the west flank of Mt.Tam, then the Matt Davis Trail back down to S.B: the SR Trail is stunningly beautiful among the towering coastal redwoods, and the MD trail has some great views over the ocean. This is an easy few hours short hike. North of Jenner the road climbs high above the ocean with a few switchbacks, then it's easy driving until the infamous Leggett Hill that takes you over the coast range and down to US-101; there are many sharp downhill/180-bend/uphill places on the way where the road drops down to and crosses creeks, so take them carefully!

John

[HamSkoolie]

Once you get to Oregon the 1/101 is doable with a large vehicle so long as you have some experience with it. We've driven the entire length from Crescent City CA north in Oregon with a 40' rig consisting of F350 with a 9' bed and a 21.5 ft fifth wheel (a lot easier to turn around and a single unit but it's doable safely with a bus). It's a long slow trip but the scenery is awesome. There are numerous state parks along the way. We've stayed at parks in Harrison Beach (just north of Brookings), Cape Blanco (between Port Orford & Bandon), Bullards beach (just north of Coquille), Sunset Bay (west south west of Coos bay near Charleston), William M Tugman (south of Winchester bay), and Fort Stevens (far NW corner of the state west of Astoria).
That's over a period of 11 years mind you as we typically stay clear of pay locations on road trips. Example: only 5 of 30 nights on a trip from Oregon to Pennsylvania, down to Georgia, New Orleans, Denver, and back to Oregon were spent at pay sites and those only because of the need to drop the trailer for visiting.
Generally along the Oregon coast we use pull outs. Just be careful as near cities and commercial camp grounds they are often posted no over night parking..... gotta keep those campgrounds full and paying taxes.
There are also a number of Casinos along the way and you can generally spend the night in their parking lots. On weekend trips we often stop at the Mill Casino in Coos bay and hit the Blackjack tables.


PRO TIP: get off the road and set in for the night before dark if you're using free sites and pull outs. They can be a PITA to find once the sun sets.