California - What's fastest drive from So Cal to Bay Area while avoiding LA traffic on Saturday?

Greetings!

We are on a driving trip and will depart Inland (Temecula) on Saturday morning. Our goal is to reach San Francisco while avoiding the chaos of LA traffic. Suggestions?

My ideas:

1. Temecula I-15 North to 210 West to I-5 North (then I-580 / I-80 West to SF)...

2. Temecula I-15 North to 210 West to 101 North

other suggestions???

I have all these fears of LA traffic but they're all based on the movies. Still...

Thanks in advance!
Michael

LA Traffic on a Sat morning shouldn't be too bad. I-5 is definitely faster, vs the 101 but 101 is a bit more scenic. You'll probably be better off on the 210 vs the 10 (although the route is a bit longer).

Depends on what time Sat morning you will be going through L.A. 6 a.m. no problem, 11 a.m. potential problem.

And, I 5 is MUCH faster than 101. Although 101 is very scenic. Better a two day trip with a stop in San Luis Obispo or Santa Barbara or Monterey if you go 101.

By the way, the Wool Growers Restaurant in Los Banos, just off the 5 is an outstanding Basque place. Really different and really good. Be sure you are really hungry if you go.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g32656-d495933-Reviews-Wool_Growers-Los_Banos_California.html

Lamb chops are primo!

Option 1 is the way to go, I-5 is, as others have mentioned much faster. You may run into some delays getting gas on I-5 Ive waited as long as 30 minutes in line before.

The I-210 route is 17 miles longer, but you would be well advised to listen to traffic reports or use Google Maps on a wireless device if you can as traffic delays can happen anywhere, anytime.

THANK YOU everyone. i really appreciate the fast responses. I will indeed use I5 and not 101. I'm fine with I80 Bay Bridge delays, as we have Fastrack and love the Fastrack lanes :D

Although we enjoy the serene 101>280, with all this drive ahead of us we prefer a faster drive.

We'll probably leave Temecula around 10:30amish, and yes, we accept the LA-area traffic (just as we accept San Francisco/Bay Area/et al traffic)... just hope to not have too much :D

SPECIFICS:
Should we do (looking at a map):
1. I-15 North to Upland, change to 210W at Upland and then I-5 North
2. I-15 North to 91 W to 71 N (China Valley Frwy) to 57 N to 210 W (nr San Dimas) and then I-5 North

Thanks!
Michael

Instant up-to-date traffic through metro areas of California -

http://www.sigalert.com/beta.asp

I take the 15 up to the 10, then west to Pomona, then up the 71 to the 210, then 210 all the way up to the 5, and then up the 5 all the way to Tracy - then head west to wherever you are going unless you are headed to south San Jose, in which case taking the 152 and coming in through Gilroy may be quicker.

THANK YOU everyone. i really appreciate the fast responses. I will indeed use I5 and not 101. I'm fine with I80 Bay Bridge delays, as we have Fastrack and love the Fastrack lanes :D

Although we enjoy the serene 101>280, with all this drive ahead of us we prefer a faster drive.

We'll probably leave Temecula around 10:30amish, and yes, we accept the LA-area traffic (just as we accept San Francisco/Bay Area/et al traffic)... just hope to not have too much :D

SPECIFICS:
Should we do (looking at a map):
1. I-15 North to Upland, change to 210W at Upland and then I-5 North
2. I-15 North to 91 W to 71 N (China Valley Frwy) to 57 N to 210 W (nr San Dimas) and then I-5 North

Thanks!
Michael

I do this drive a couple of times a year. I'm in the vicinity of Rancho Bernardo, and I pretty much always head up thru Temecula and then do your Route #2 of your choices to get to the I-5 north. Once you're on the I-5, it depends where you are going in the Bay Area. If you are headed toward San Jose/Silicon Valley, or pretty much anywhere south of San Francisco, then the place to get off of the 5 and head toward the coast is Route 152 via the Pacheco Pass toward Gilroy, where it hits the 101.

If you're going to Oakland or San Francisco, get off the I-5 when it splits into the 580 about 10 miles south of Tracy, and take the 580 into Hayward to the 880 north to the Bay Bridge.

Incidentally, when I'm driving straight through, I always take the I-5. But usually, I take the scenic route via the 101 one way and do an afternoon of wine tasting plus an overnight in either Paso Robles or Santa Ynez/Solvang/Buellton.

Thanks again everyone!
We ended up driving I-15 to 210 W to I-5 North. Traffic was super light, wow. And of course only 3 main roads to keep in mind. Now we're back home in San Francisco. I-5 N to 580 W to 80 W :D

Granted there would have been a lot of fun side trips to do on the drive, but this time we only wanted/needed to get to SF; but hopefully we'll have side trips (and a more spread out trip) for the futures!

Michael

I am making this trip on Wednesday and hoping I encounter the same light traffic you did. Traveling on a weekday doesn't help though.

I am making this trip on Wednesday and hoping I encounter the same light traffic you did. Traveling on a weekday doesn't help though.

Temecula to SFO on a weekday will be *very much* worse traffic along the routes suggested...

Might I suggest the desert "backdoor" route around Los Angeles:

I-215 (or I-15) N. over Cajon Pass to US 395 N. to US 58 W. over Tehachapi Pass and through Bakersfield out to I-5. It's about 35 miles more than the shortest route... But for summer weekday driving, were you might hit commuter traffic....it's apt to be significantly faster.

Temecula to SFO on a weekday will be *very much* worse traffic along the routes suggested...

Might I suggest the desert "backdoor" route around Los Angeles:

I-215 (or I-15) N. over Cajon Pass to US 395 N. to US 58 W. over Tehachapi Pass and through Bakersfield out to I-5. It's about 35 miles more than the shortest route... But for summer weekday driving, were you might hit commuter traffic....it's apt to be significantly faster.

Thanks. I am leaving at 5:30am, but may try it anyway.

It's SoCal. There's traffic wherever there's pavement. Best just to fly if you can :)

All joking aside, Monterey is SEVERELY overrated. Skip it, it's a waste of time. 101 would be the easiest way, but evidently I5 is the fastest.

All joking aside, Monterey is SEVERELY overrated. Skip it, it's a waste of time.

If you mean the town itself, perhaps. But when people refer to Monterey, I think in most cases they mean the Monterey Peninsula, in which case I strongly disagree.

If you mean the town itself, perhaps. But when people refer to Monterey, I think in most cases they mean the Monterey Peninsula, in which case I strongly disagree.

I live on Monterey Peninsula. Trust me, it's not worth the 3 hour detour.

I agree. If you're gonna go for speed and take the 5 rather then the 101, it kinda defeats the purpose to then sidetrack a few hours by stopping at Monterey.

10:30am start time seems kinda late. There's often a ton of traffic leading into the grapevine. Like a parking lot. No way to leave real early? It's a long enough drive. I'd rather not add in an hour or two stuck near the grape vine. I typically drive overnight or leave at like 5 am.

Temecula to SFO on a weekday will be *very much* worse traffic along the routes suggested...

Might I suggest the desert "backdoor" route around Los Angeles:

I-215 (or I-15) N. over Cajon Pass to US 395 N. to US 58 W. over Tehachapi Pass and through Bakersfield out to I-5. It's about 35 miles more than the shortest route... But for summer weekday driving, were you might hit commuter traffic....it's apt to be significantly faster.

I left at 6am and made it up before noon, with a breakfast stop, using I5 all the way. The only traffic I ran into was the toll plaza for the San Mateo Bridge.

I live on Monterey Peninsula. Trust me, it's not worth the 3 hour detour.

But it's worth a weekend for sure.

I left at 6am and made it up before noon, with a breakfast stop, using I5 all the way. The only traffic I ran into was the toll plaza for the San Mateo Bridge.

Ummm... The phrase "driving like a bat out of hell" comes to mind. My copy of streets and trips calls that route 465 miles from Temecula to SFO. If it took you merely 6 hours (6am - Noon), your average speed was over 77 MPH, including any stops for gas and food.

???

20 years ago when I was in college up north, the 425+ mi r/t would take right on the order of 6 hours. That trip included a stop at the Harris Ranch exit for a quick gas-up, bathroom visit and a burger/drink to be eaten while driving. Assuming a 15 min stop, that comes out to 73.9MPH. Completely possible 20 years ago, dunno about today...haven't done it in a really really long time:D

Ummm... The phrase "driving like a bat out of hell" comes to mind. My copy of streets and trips calls that route 465 miles from Temecula to SFO. If it took you merely 6 hours (6am - Noon), your average speed was over 77 MPH, including any stops for gas and food.

???

If you go less than 80 on long stretches of I-5, you better be in the right lane as just about everyone else will pass you.:p