We'll be driving from Sonoma Beach SP to Yosemite in the middle of the day on a Wednesday and want to know the best route. Not trying to avoid "difficult" roads, just don't want to hit a lot of stop and go traffic and trying to make decent time. Various mapping programs take me across the San Rafael-Richmond Bridge and through Oakland. Seems like a busy route during the day time.
The route down Hwy 101 to the 580 usually isn't bad during the middle of the day. Before you leave SBSP you could check www.traffic.com for traffic situation at that time.
If you want to avoid the whole area you could cut over over to Fairfield at Hwy 116 to Hwy 12 to I-5. Then go south and pick up Hwy 120 near Stockton and continue to Yosemite on Hwy 4. The mileage is about the same, but less traffic.
Have fun! We were up in Yosemite a couple of weeks ago and had a great time. Good water falls, the dogwood was blooming and the weather was great.
Barbara
2005 Chevy Roadtrek 210Popular
Los Gatos, CA
I just thought of another route to miss a lot of the Bay Area traffic. Take the 101 to the 37 and go west to the 780. Then drop south on 680 to the 580. Then continue along your way to Yosemite. This is faster that the other route I mentioned.
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