California - Driving SAN to Bay Area during Thanksgiving

When should we start driving to avoid traffic? We have 2 toddlers. I can leave as early as Tuesday 8 pm. We'd like to be there at the latest Wednesday late afternoon. We would like to get some sleep Tuesday night so we're willing to stop somewhere halfway there and then continue on Wednesday morning.
What do you think?

A colleague of mine who does that trip in the opposite direction likes to leave the Bay Area at 5-6am Wednesday. At that hour there's no traffic and the kids fall asleep as soon as they're loaded into the car. They make great time, hit LA around lunch time and get to San Diego before the afternoon rush starts.

I don't think that works as well in the opposite direction because if you leave San Diego at 5-6am on Wednesday you'll have to fight your way through LA morning rush hour.

I think your idea of leaving Tuesday night and stopping halfway may be better. Leave Tuesday 8pm and drive far enough north to get past the LA area congestion on Wednesday morning. You might try Santa Clarita/Valencia, about 150 miles from downtown San Diego. It has plenty of motels and restaurants. On Wednesday morning leave by 9am and you'll be able to get to San Francisco by 3.

Maybe you could leave SAN by 9am, you'd miss the LA morning rush, and I bet you'd be at SFO by 6pm, even with a short meal stop or two. By hitting I5 before noon, I would hope you'd miss the worst of the pre-Thanksgiving traffic, but I don't know that for sure. There have been times when I've abandoned I5 and gone up SR33.

... There have been times when I've abandoned I5 and gone up SR33.
:eek::eek::eek::eek:

Really?? From where to where? SR33 through my neck of the woods is one of the more Godforsaken stretches of road around. Devil's Den, Avenal, Coalinga, Mendota, Firebaugh, Dos Palos?? You are an adventurer, my friend. :p

So it sounds like LA will be the worst part of traffic. I'm not familiar with Santa Clarita so I will look into that. How about Bakersfield? Anything there? We're leaving from North San Diego so can drive a little further Tuesday night.
Thanks for the suggestions so far!

:eek::eek::eek::eek:

Really?? From where to where? SR33 through my neck of the woods is one of the more Godforsaken stretches of road around. Devil's Den, Avenal, Coalinga, Mendota, Firebaugh, Dos Palos?? You are an adventurer, my friend. :p

Being godforsaken means it is fast when I5 is slow! Basically we've done 33 from just past the Grapevine up until it joins I5 again. It is true that you get a tour of several state prisons along the way.

[QUOTE=ck2003;14945492]... How about Bakersfield? Anything there?...QUOTE]


Bakersfield has the usual highway-side chain hotels. It is another hour or so past your first opportunities for the night off of I-5 - Santa Clarita, Newhall, Gorman, etc.

Really?? From where to where? SR33 through my neck of the woods is one of the more Godforsaken stretches of road around. Devil's Den, Avenal, Coalinga, Mendota, Firebaugh, Dos Palos?? You are an adventurer, my friend. :p

I-5 and 101 get boring pretty quickly, so on occasion I've taken backroads for variety. 33 from Ventura to Coalinga, 198 to 25, 25 up through Hollister to 101. I've also used these roads like RichardInSF to avoid awful traffic on holiday weekends.

I'm not familiar with Santa Clarita so I will look into that. How about Bakersfield?

Bakersfield is a slight detour to the east from your route. If you're good with strictly basic accommodations you might try Buttonwillow. It's along I-5 and is an extra 90 miles beyond Santa Clarita. Yeah, it looks like a 3 block long truck stop. If 90 miles is too much further you could split the difference with Gorman, a small town up in the Tehachapie Pass.

So it sounds like LA will be the worst part of traffic. I'm not familiar with Santa Clarita so I will look into that. How about Bakersfield? Anything there? We're leaving from North San Diego so can drive a little further Tuesday night.
Thanks for the suggestions so far!

Hi ck2003 - I strongly agree with the idea of getting a few hours underway on Tuesday night. Depending on where you're leaving in San Diego, you will be in Santa Clarita/Valencia in around 2 1/2 hours, which could increase substantially if you drove the same route during daylight hours. In Valencia, I can recommend the Embassy Suites which is just east of the freeway, just before you leave the greater LA region and start going over the Grapevine. There is also a Courtyard next door to the Embassy Suites - but I like the ES because of the space, which with two toddlers you might enjoy!

With regard to Bakersfield, bear in mind that Bakersfield itself is on the 99, which is East of the 5 where you will likely want to be. I have stayed at the Best Western just south of Buttonwillow, which has a Bakersfield address but is on the I-5. It was fine. One thing you will want to plan for is that up the I-5 the type of lodging runs more to the Motel 6/EconoLodge variety -- you will just want to make sure that your geographical plans include a type of establishment that you're happy staying in.

There is also a Best Western Suites in Kettleman City I have stayed at, that has a family-suites type room layout.

Lastly, depending on your sleep cycles and how much driving you want to cram in on Tuesday night, there is the Harris Inn which is in Coalinga, about another half hour north of Kettleman City. We tend to stay there on one of the legs of the San Diego-Bay Area trip when we go. They have a pretty good restaurant tied to their ranch operations.

Since Wednesday is a heavy travel day, the more driving you can do on Tuesday night, the better off you'll be. Also, I'd recommend getting a reservation, because if you want to wing it and the place you have thought about is sold out, the alternatives may be hard to find.

Good luck!

Normally I'd say leaving SD at 8-9 am would allow you to avoid LA traffic (take 5 rather than 405) but with two toddlers it ma get a bit trickier as I assume they may need feeding changing etc adding to your travel time.

Overnighting somewhere just north of LA is probably a safer bet - Valencia is a good choice.

Whether or not you want to try to do it in one long day on Wedneday is up to you. It could be a tiring day but you'd save the hassle of finding a place to stay on the way. If you do decide to drive part way Tuesday, you won't have a hard time finding lots of motels/hotels along I-5. I'm guessing there won't be a dearth of vacancies that night, but I could be wrong. Valencia and Santa Clarita are suburbs just to the north of L.A. As you drive out of L.A. heading towards Bakersfield/Sacramento, and pass the split to Hwy. 14, you'll see plenty of places near the highway. You can get cheaper rates through Hotwire or Priceline but then, of course, have to commit in advance to where you'll stay. If you play it by ear, once you pass Valencia/Castaic/Magic Mountain areas, you'll hit the small town of Gorman, near Tejon Pass, which has a small number of motels, and then several small towns in the San Joaquin Valley, such as Kettleman City, Santa Nella and others, all with at least a few motels. You would, as noted, not go through Bakersfield if you stay on I-5.

The last time I drove that stretch, going from Ontario to Sacramento, I first thought I'd stay near Kettleman City but decided to push on to Santa Nella, near a major cutoff to the Bay Area, and found a few motels to choose from. I ended up at the Holiday Inn Express, which had an AARP discount and a 10% off coupon for the nearby Andersen's restaurant.

.. I ended up at the Holiday Inn Express, which had an AARP discount and a 10% off coupon for the nearby Andersen's restaurant.

do they have pea soup there too?

I'd ditto the suggestion of starting Tuesday evening, and looking for something from Valencia to Buttonwillow. Do make sure to reserve a room since travel season will have already started....and make sure they know you'll be checking in late! (...nothing quite as annoying as having a reservation evaporate because, "we thought you weren't coming.")

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This may not matter if you drive a Prius....but with a SUV could be significant...
To those not used to I-5 runs, gas prices can vary wildly along the route. Checking www.gasbuddy.com maps for where you want to tank up is generally a good idea. I've seen the price difference between Frasier Park (just before the Grapevine) and Lebec (bottom of Grapevine) be as much as $1 a gallon! And the prices of some of the more remote I-5 stations be even more expensive....especially on holiday weekends.

If 90 miles is too much further you could split the difference with Gorman, a small town up in the Tehachapie Pass.

Tejon Pass....

Tehachippi Pass is east of Bakersfield on Highway 58, not on I-5.

No route tips here, but as mom to 2 toddlers, I'd also go for splitting up the trip, if the kids will sleep on the Tuesday night drive. Anything that minimizes the amount of time with kids awake in the car.... Also, you didn't say where in the Bay Area you are headed, but it would behoove you to arrive earlier on Wed. and not be slogging through our traffic (e.g. SJC-SFO area) starting around 3 pm.

So definitely not stopping in Bakersfield.

I will make cancelable reservations for a place somewhere in Valencia but my husband would rather not check into a room. Thanks for the advice on gas stations. Even though we do have a prius, we'll probably be taking the minivan since the kids can reach and kick our seats now in the smaller car.

We'll be spending thanksgiving with family in Alameda but we'll be sleeping in the city (Hyatt embarcadero).

We're thinking now of leaving Wednesday morning (around 4 or 5 am) from Carlsbad area in San Diego. Do you think we'll still hit traffic in LA that early?
We think the kids will still be asleep in the car until 8 am and then have breakfast when they wake up.

..
We're thinking now of leaving Wednesday morning (around 4 or 5 am) from Carlsbad area in San Diego. Do you think we'll still hit traffic in LA that early?
We think the kids will still be asleep in the car until 8 am and then have breakfast when they wake up.

You'll be there just in time for morning rush hour. Sta away from 5 or 405. Perhaps taking 15 to 210 can help a little even though it's longer. Check google maps traffic and you can see congestion for different times/days. Those maps tend to be overly optimistic IME.
If you plan a same day trip leave at 8.

So definitely not stopping in Bakersfield.

I will make cancelable reservations for a place somewhere in Valencia but my husband would rather not check into a room. Thanks for the advice on gas stations. Even though we do have a prius, we'll probably be taking the minivan since the kids can reach and kick our seats now in the smaller car.

We'll be spending thanksgiving with family in Alameda but we'll be sleeping in the city (Hyatt embarcadero).

We're thinking now of leaving Wednesday morning (around 4 or 5 am) from Carlsbad area in San Diego. Do you think we'll still hit traffic in LA that early?
We think the kids will still be asleep in the car until 8 am and then have breakfast when they wake up.

I Live in Carlsbad and Drive to LA for work quite often. That Wed is going to be smooth sailing at 4AM all the way through LA. There is a big-BUT here, BUT-if there is an accident or rain, or any sort of weather, then you will hit traffic in the LA area. 4AM leaving Carlsbad will get you through OC traffic before it gets started and the morning commute on the 5 will be lighter than full volume due to a lot of people being off early for the holiday. I would be more worried about approaching metro areas later in the day since everyone who is driving from OC/LA basin will hit the roads starting at 11am that day headed to grandma's house. Try and clear LA area by 7am that day.
good luck--have fun--and remember that if there is weather or accidents, all bets are off. Oh yes--stick with the 5--not the 405!

We've been driving to the Bay Area from OC area several times a year for more than 20 years. Many of those years, the drive was with one or more infants and/or small children.

There's no way I'd leave Tuesday night unless it's critical that you arrive early in the day on Wednesday, especially not with two little ones. Just leave early on Wed morning. You'll have all day to get up there, plenty of stops, no rush.

The main thing is to catch the 57 from I-5 and you'll miss the worst of the commuter traffic (which, barring accidents and/or weather, will be quite light anyway on the Wed before Tgiving due to so many people taking the day off). You're going to take the 57 all the way to where it ends at I-210 and, from there, you'll reconnect with I-5 at the outskirts of the San Fernando Valley, just heading through the pass into Santa Clarita and on to the Grapevine, etc.

If you leave SAN around 8am-ish, you'll only have a bit of stop-and-go until around OC line, but from there on out, you have carpool lanes all the way, so it's a breeze. You won't hit Pasadena until after 9am, so probably no traffic there, but even if there is, there's unlikely to be anymore after the 134 interchange. Again, carpool lanes the whole route except through the 57/60/210 interchange area.

Even if you don't leave SAN until 9am, you'll get into the SFO area by dinnertime at the latest unless you make many lengthy stops.

Except for those occasions when we intentionally decide to mosey on up the coast on the 101, this is the route we ALWAYS use, traffic or not.

It's much, much faster and a lot less stressful. Have a fun and safe drive!

If you are going to do it as a one day, leaving early morning, I would encourage you to avoid going through the worst of Orange County and Los Angeles either by:

- taking I-15 (North) all the way to I-210 & on to I-5 (+36 additional miles vs. I-5);

- or at least take I-15 (North) to the 91 (west) to SR-71 (North) to SR-57 (North) to I-210 West....and on to I-5 (+ 18 miles)

I am much less in favor of the recommendation of taking I-5 to SR-57 to I-210 to I-5 only because there are too many possibilities left for tieups in Southern Orange County. (+16 miles)

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No matter what route you choose, Los Angeles KNX News Radio (am 1070) does "traffic on the 5s" giving you fairly comprehensive freeway reports on the fly, which with a navigator for routing can steer you around accidents or other tie ups. It's invaluable for routing through the LA basin.

Just wanted to update you since you were all so helpful.

We ended up taking the 5 all the way up. We left Carlsbad around 5 am. Both kids asleep until ~7am. We stopped in Valencia because that was where the closest Peets Coffee was around breakfast time :) No problem at all. Funny anecdote. While at Peets our 5 year old says "Are we close to the airport? Aren't we flying to San Francisco?"

On the way back on Saturday evening, it was awful traffic by Magic Mountain.