Turbo E30, E30 M3 and an E39 M5: The Seattle to SLO adventure

[cleanasse30]

Hey California r3ver's!

A couple friends (E30 M3 and E39 M5) and I (turbo E30) will be embarking on a Seattle to San Luis Obispo adventure this coming Sunday. We plan to drive I5 South from Seattle to Corvallis, OR then head west to the Oregon coast and continue on down to the famous Hwy 1. We have no hotel reservations and we plan to camp along the way in forests or campgrounds. Because we believe the best adventures are mostly unplanned our itinerary is pretty wide open as far as things to do.

I know you can browse the internet to find all the touristy things to see along the way, but we want to hear from the locals. Whats are some of your must see or must drive destinations along hwy 101 and hwy 1? (scenic drives, fun twisty roads, places to eat/drink, etc)

If any of you want to meet up to grab a brewski or shoot the shit about cars, let me know! We will likely be in or around San Fransisco on Tuesday the 25th and possibly again on the 27th and/or 28th.

Cheers!
Alex

[XwalkerX]

I suggest you try and get a reservation for a place to stay on PCH like NOW.

Between Monterey and SLO is next to impossible to just roll up and get a place to crash...

[cleanasse30]

I suggest you try and get a reservation for a place to stay on PCH like NOW.

Between Monterey and SLO is next to impossible to just roll up and get a place to crash...

Thanks for the tip! It looks like the Ventana Campground near Big Sur has some availability for the night we will be in that area. Anyone ever stayed there?

[Chilezen]

I drove up and back from LA to Seattle. On my way up was exclusively the 101. If you can do that, I recommend it a MILLION times over the boring-as-fuck I5. The one thing I regret is not stopping more often and looking around; although I did have a time limit to adhere to. You could stop at touristy places to talk to other tourists, to hear about where they're traveling from.

I used AirBnB.com to find a place to stay one night. I recommend this service.

[ak-]

I did the opposite going from LA to SF exclusively on the 1.
Walker is right though - after Monterey you are not going to just catch a room at any lodge nor will you have reception so my advice is spend a night in a cheap hotel in Monterey and then trek your way down.

Along the 1, stop by McWay falls and Salmon Creek. Must see's.
Also, don't drive too aggro on the 1 - it's a sweet ass drive, but not a place to dick around. Being spirited on that road is already pushing it.

[cleanasse30]

I drove up and back from LA to Seattle. On my way up was exclusively the 101. If you can do that, I recommend it a MILLION times over the boring-as-fuck I5. The one thing I regret is not stopping more often and looking around; although I did have a time limit to adhere to. You could stop at touristy places to talk to other tourists, to hear about where they're traveling from.

I used AirBnB.com to find a place to stay one night. I recommend this service.

I think I'm going to try and work in a little bit of hwy 101 in norther California if it doens't add too much time to the trip, thanks for the tip.

I did the opposite going from LA to SF exclusively on the 1.
Walker is right though - after Monterey you are not going to just catch a room at any lodge nor will you have reception so my advice is spend a night in a cheap hotel in Monterey and then trek your way down.

Along the 1, stop by McWay falls and Salmon Creek. Must see's.
Also, don't drive too aggro on the 1 - it's a sweet ass drive, but not a place to dick around. Being spirited on that road is already pushing it.

We ended up booking the ventana campground for one night and then a hotel in paso robles. So we can spend one day exploring north of big sur and one day exploring south of big sur.

Thanks for the recommendations, they both look really pretty. We'll keep the shenanigans to a minimum, gotta go slow to enjoy the views

[CarsonE30]

Dude! I live in Monterey, Laguna Seca is open to the public everyday just to hang out at and there's a road called Laureles Grade that's my all time favorite road to drive and it takes you to carmel valley and Baja Cantina which is an amazing car themed restaurant. I'm down to hang out for a while tomorrow if you make it!