We will be driving along the coast and will use 101 but wonder if 1 is good for rvs, wide enough, places to park for the night, buying gas along the way. And better south of San Francisco or north? Will be visiting in Santa Rosa. Starting in OR.
Short answer: no. Been there, done that. You will find that there are a couple places along there where max length is restricted to (I think) 26 feet. In any case, having dragged a 21 foot TT along that road all the way from the Oregon line to LA, I can say the drive is beautiful, but not for the faint of heart or people with Class A RVs. The turns are tight, and the drop offs unforgiving. But God is it beautiful!
I agree with naturist. We took hwy1 south toward LA on our first RV trip. The road from Big Sur for the next 60 miles was the scariest thing we have ever done. My DW was staring down the cliffs all the way and yelling at me to " Ride the Dots." There are parts that are OK but then if you get on a narrow part, there may not be any place to turn around.
You absolutely do not want to drive the "1" South from San Francisco to Morro Bay. Going North is bad enough...absolutely beautiful, but you can see your own tail lights on the hairpin turns. Go South you are on the downhill cliff side, and there are plenty of them there cliffs with traffic coming at you on an un-divided road. If you want to head to Big Sur, drop the trailer and take a day trip in the car.
I really don't remember the road North of San Francisco, we drove that way many years ago, so I will defer to others.
Happy Trails.
The PCH is worth renting a car, or better yet, a motorcycle to go see. But no way would I try it in a 31 foot Class C. It should be noted that I saw lots of small TTs and PUPs, but the operative word here is "small." I also recall a couple hairpins that my Jeep Libby & 21 footer filled up pretty good. An unarticulated 31 footer wouldn't go there.
I'll dissent a bit. Drove 1 south from SF to LA several times in a 31 foot Class C and 34 foot Class A. Tour busses do it all the time and have seen several 5ers along the road. It all depends on how comfortable you are with mountain driving - and how comfortable your passenger is with your driving. I will admit DW sounded like she needed an oxygen mask a couple of times :-)
Haven't done it, but have heard that hwy 1 north of SF is too tight for RVs. Once we crossed the GG bridge we've stuck to 101.
Temporarily afoot, but lookin' to get back into the game
South of San Francisco on hwy 1 is a cake walk compared to north on on hwy 1.
It's absolutely beautiful, but my wife didn't seen one bit of it...her eyes were closed. Narrow, very curvy, and many horrendous straight drops to the Pacific below.
We were pulling a pop up.
I thought it was a great adventure..
"US 199 from Grants Pass to Crescent City?"...that's the way we go..31 foot TT.
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downtheroad wrote: South of San Francisco on hwy 1 is a cake walk compared to north on on hwy 1.
It's absolutely beautiful, but my wife didn't seen one bit of it...her eyes were closed. Narrow, very curvy, and many horrendous straight drops to the Pacific below.
We were pulling a pop up.
I thought it was a great adventure..
"US 199 from Grants Pass to Crescent City?"...that's the way we go..31 foot TT.
We were planning on going this way (along PCH #1) north from Tomales to at least Fort Bragg this June.
Is this route really that bad?
We have a 26 ft.5er.
Thanks,
Morley
I really don't see where it's such a big deal driving on the south portion. Did it many times with 30+ motorhomes including a C like yours. No problem at all unless your copilot it the nervous type, because you are on the cliff side. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again but the road north of the GG bridge on 1 is no fun at all and I'd skip it in favor of 101 up to at least Santa Rosa. Take 101 down to SF then 1 the rest of the way, you'll love the scenery.
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