San Francisco to Disneyland Road Trip

megan17 · Mar 15, 2017

My husband and I are planning a 12-night trip to California this summer and we need some help working out our itinerary. So far we've got flights booked in to SF and out of LA, and we bought 4 day Disneyland tickets. I'd love to hear opinions/suggestions on how much time to spend at each location and must see stops along the way! Here's what we are thinking so far:

2ish days in SF (Alcatraz, Bay Bridge, Walt Disney Museum, etc)
Afternoon/evening in Santa Rosa (Russian River Brewery is a must for my husband!)
1 day in Napa
2 or 3 days driving down the coast (Monterey, Big Sur, San Luis Obispo, Hearst Castle, Solvang, Santa Barbara)...This is where we need some pointers

Not too sure where we should plan to stop along the way and where to look for hotels. Also I read on the boards that part of Hwy 1 is closed so I'm not sure how that affects our route...

Another possibility we were looking into is going from Napa to Yosemite for a night before driving down the coast. Is it worth the 4 hour drive each way if we'll only be there for about a day?

2 days in LA (Santa Monica, Venice, Hollywood, Griffith Park, La Brea tar pits?)
3 days in Disneyland! We have 4 day hoppers so will probably use our first "day" on the night we drive to Anaheim from LA

We were also hoping to go to Universal or Knott's Berry Farm but it's not looking like we'll be able to fit it in. Do you think we could shift anything to make it work?

Is what we have doable or are we trying to cram too much in? Any tips would be awesome, thanks!!!

bcla · Mar 15, 2017

megan17 said:
Also I read on the boards that part of Hwy 1 is closed so I'm not sure how that affects our route...

Another possibility we were looking into is going from Napa to Yosemite for a night before driving down the coast. Is it worth the 4 hour drive each way if we'll only be there for about a day?

Yosemite is well worth it even for a day trip. I've finished off a long trip before with an afternoon in Yosemite Valley. I prefer to stay longer and do a lot of hiking, but this was the tail end of a trip where I'd done plenty of hiking.

The issue with State Route 1 is that the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge has buckled and will be demolished and rebuilt. Right now there's no access to the area south of the bridge since the recent rains have caused extensive mudslides that are taking a while to clean up. I'd expect those should be cleaned up within a month, but with the bridge out it's going to take longer to get to Big Sur. Right now it will take longer to get to Hearst Castle, but at least there's a way to get there that doesn't involve helicopters or hiking 10 miles through a state park.

megan17 · Mar 19, 2017

bcla said:
Yosemite is well worth it even for a day trip

Good to know! I think we will fit in Yosemite for one day after Napa.

Since the bridge is out in Big Sur, does it makes sense to skip Monterey and Big Sur and go straight to the Paso Robles area after Yosemite?

usnuzuloose · Mar 19, 2017

If you plan on Alcatraz, i would buy your tickets in advance as they are usually sold out

bcla · Mar 19, 2017

megan17 said:
Good to know! I think we will fit in Yosemite for one day after Napa.

Since the bridge is out in Big Sur, does it makes sense to skip Monterey and Big Sur and go straight to the Paso Robles area after Yosemite?

It's a longer way around that mess. You could skip Big Sur.

bcla · Mar 19, 2017

The Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge is now officially gone. I heard they brought in a wrecking ball a few days ago and it basically did nothing. They had to formulate a new plan.

I don't think explosives were an option.

megan17 · Mar 20, 2017

usnuzuloose said:
If you plan on Alcatraz, i would buy your tickets in advance as they are usually sold out

We definitely will! Thinking about possibly the night tour, sounds like it would be pretty neat.

bcla said:
The Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge is now officially gone.

Wow! Thanks for the update!

Purrkins · Mar 21, 2017

Yosemite is worth it in my opinion, but we're National Park junkies.

Russian River Brewery is great but keep in mind it's an hour drive from the City (if non-negotiable, this might be worth heading up and then over on your Napa day). In the City however is the Toronado (on the Haight) and Mikkeller (in the Tenderloin) which will keep any beer geek happy.

In fact, according the Toronado tap list they have the major Russian River releases in addition to a special "Russian River Toronado 25 Year Anniversary Ale" which was brewed especially for them.

The 1 is a mess as mentioned but Monterey is easy to get to and then head back out to the 101 and South for SLO and Santa Barbara. If you do Monterey and are looking for a nice coastal hike, Point Lobos is as good as it gets - just south of Monterey and beats any hike I've taken in Big Sur.

I'd think a night in Monterey and then a night in Santa Barbara or SLO would make for a leisurely drive (You'll find cheaper rooms in SLO) before heading into LA.

You might also want to look at Paso Robles for some wine tasting if Napa does not work out (or you want to compare the two regions)

bcla · Mar 21, 2017

Purrkins said:
Russian River Brewery is great but keep in mind it's an hour drive from the City (if non-negotiable, this might be worth heading up and then over on your Napa day). In the City however is the Toronado (on the Haight) and Mikkeller (in the Tenderloin) which will keep any beer geek happy.

A beer geek will love it though. It's also the only place I know where one can actually get a case of Pliny the Elder. My local source only sells one bottle at a time. They only get three cases (a dozen bottles each case). They said the driver gets annoyed when he sees people following his delivery van. They use unmarked vans now because they get followed.

Russian River also has the 20-selection sampler rack for maybe $15. Some of the beers are sours, so anyone watch out for that

Purrkins · Mar 22, 2017

bcla said:
A beer geek will love it though. It's also the only place I know where one can actually get a case of Pliny the Elder. My local source only sells one bottle at a time. They only get three cases (a dozen bottles each case). They said the driver gets annoyed when he sees people following his delivery van. They use unmarked vans now because they get followed.

Russian River also has the 20-selection sampler rack for maybe $15. Some of the beers are sours, so anyone watch out for that

I get that - and I'm a big Russian River fan; whenever I can I make the visit. I've been drinking Vinnie's beers since he was a home brewer and when he opened Blind Pig down here in Temecula his assistant early on was my roommate -- so I've even tried some of his bad beers ;-) Pliny is a beer of mythic proportions and it's a great beer - but it is just a beer and the OP's husband might find the itch scratched with a few hours at the Toronado instead of a 2+hour round trip drive on a limited vacation. It's also a tough to ship a case of beer home (says the guy who stopped to pick up a few cases on his way to Redwood National Park and then stopped again on the way home after leaving Lassen.) And there are many other excellent beers being brewed in our fine state that I hope he'll try. Still, I understand - it's like a pilgrimage every beer geek needs to make once in their life. It's our mecca.

bcla · Mar 22, 2017

Purrkins said:
I get that - and I'm a big Russian River fan; whenever I can I make the visit. I've been drinking Vinnie's beers since he was a home brewer and when he opened Blind Pig down here in Temecula his assistant early on was my roommate -- so I've even tried some of his bad beers ;-) Pliny is a beer of mythic proportions and it's a great beer - but it is just a beer and the OP's husband might find the itch scratched with a few hours at the Toronado instead of a 2+hour round trip drive on a limited vacation. It's also a tough to ship a case of beer home (says the guy who stopped to pick up a few cases on his way to Redwood National Park and then stopped again on the way home after leaving Lassen.) And there are many other excellent beers being brewed in our fine state that I hope he'll try. Still, I understand - it's like a pilgrimage every beer geek needs to make once in their life. It's our mecca.

I was talking to one of the owners of the store where I can find it. They get three cases a week. They used to limit sales to two bottles until they're down to one case when it goes to one bottle. I've been a long-time customer of the shop, so I don't think I annoy the owners like the random people who would only go there to track down a bottle of Pliny. There's barely anything from Russian River Brewing available outside of the brewpub. The place I can find theirs occasionally has a Belgian style beer, but mostly what they have is Pliny the Elder. I like Blind Pig, but very few retailers can get it.

The big PITA is waiting in line for a table. However, they seem to have a separate line for just buying bottled beer or just ordering a glass at the bar to consume on the patio.

They are building a second brewery in Windsor.

megan17 · Mar 22, 2017

Purrkins said:
In the City however is the Toronado (on the Haight) and Mikkeller (in the Tenderloin) which will keep any beer geek happy.

I'll definitely be looking up these places

Russian River is pretty much non-negotiable, it's the one place my husband requested we go when we first started planning our California vacation. On a trip to Vermont in the fall we drove an extra two hours out of the way to go to Hill Farmstead Brewery, so you could say he's a pretty big beer geek

We're thinking now of doing one or two nights in the Santa Rosa area, so we can go to Russian River and also some of the wineries in the area. From a quick google map search it looks like there are a lot around there.

Purrkins said:
I'd think a night in Monterey and then a night in Santa Barbara or SLO would make for a leisurely drive (You'll find cheaper rooms in SLO) before heading into LA.

Awesome! Thanks for the advice!

bcla · Mar 23, 2017

megan17 said:
I'll definitely be looking up these places
Russian River is pretty much non-negotiable, it's the one place my husband requested we go when we first started planning our California vacation. On a trip to Vermont in the fall we drove an extra two hours out of the way to go to Hill Farmstead Brewery, so you could say he's a pretty big beer geek

We're thinking now of doing one or two nights in the Santa Rosa area, so we can go to Russian River and also some of the wineries in the area. From a quick google map search it looks like there are a lot around there.

Santa Rosa isn't really the glamorous part of Sonoma County, but it's their biggest city. There's a decent enough mall a few blocks away from Russian River Brewing's brewpub. Outside of the brewpub, I think the other main attraction is the Charles Schultz Museum and the ice rink (Snoopy's Home Ice).

https://www.snoopyshomeice.com

You don't need to stay in Santa Rosa.

As far as Hill Farmstead goes, I heard they're complaining about a California brewery making a one-off beer they called a "Vermont farmhouse ale". They're citing some law in Vermont, although I'm not really sure how they would be able to enforce it on a beer made in California and not likely for sale in Vermont.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/insidesc...parks-feud-11017758.php?cmpid=twitter-premium
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/...play-vermont-beer-pops-up-out-state/99252424/

megan17 · Mar 25, 2017

Interesting articles and thanks for the advice on Santa Rosa!

I think we've got a general plan figured out now. Unfortunately we're skipping Yosemite this trip, but we know we'll be back in the next few years and will plan to see it then. Here's what we've got now:

San Francisco-2 nights
Napa- 2 nights (we'll stop at Russian River and maybe Muir Woods on the way up)
Drive down the coast- stay 2 nights along the way, probably Monterey and San Luis Obispo as Purrkins suggested
LA- 2 nights
Disneyland- 4 nights (looking at maybe Del Sol or Park Vue)

bcla · Mar 27, 2017

megan17 said:
Napa- 2 nights (we'll stop at Russian River and maybe Muir Woods on the way up)

I'm a little torn on Muir Woods. While I have great memories, it does have its downsides. Parking is a mess there, and as a far as redwoods go they don't necessarily have the most impressive examples. The main advantage they have for visitation is the proximity to San Francisco. It was apparently the last sizable stand of old growth redwoods left in the Bay Area (or at least reasonably close to San Francisco) after the 1906 earthquake and the cutting of trees to rebuild. It was in an extremely inaccessible location at the time. If you take the road in from Mill Valley you can get a feel for how hard it was to get there before modern road building.

There are places up and down the coast where you can see old growth redwoods, and none have the parking difficulties or crowds that Muir Woods has. I like Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park near Santa Cruz, which could be very convenient if you're going to Monterey anyways. The parking fee is less than two admissions to Muir Woods, and Muir Woods can cost more if you need to take the shuttle.

megan17 · Mar 29, 2017

bcla said:
I'm a little torn on Muir Woods. While I have great memories, it does have its downsides. Parking is a mess there, and as a far as redwoods go they don't necessarily have the most impressive examples. The main advantage they have for visitation is the proximity to San Francisco. It was apparently the last sizable stand of old growth redwoods left in the Bay Area (or at least reasonably close to San Francisco) after the 1906 earthquake and the cutting of trees to rebuild. It was in an extremely inaccessible location at the time. If you take the road in from Mill Valley you can get a feel for how hard it was to get there before modern road building.

There are places up and down the coast where you can see old growth redwoods, and none have the parking difficulties or crowds that Muir Woods has. I like Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park near Santa Cruz, which could be very convenient if you're going to Monterey anyways. The parking fee is less than two admissions to Muir Woods, and Muir Woods can cost more if you need to take the shuttle.

We were only thinking Muir Woods since I saw it in a tour book about San Francisco

We weren't really set on it but we know we'd like to see a "big tree" at some point on the trip. Thanks for the suggestion on Henry Cowell Park, looks like a great option!

bcla · Mar 29, 2017

megan17 said:
We were only thinking Muir Woods since I saw it in a tour book about San Francisco We weren't really set on it but we know we'd like to see a "big tree" at some point on the trip. Thanks for the suggestion on Henry Cowell Park, looks like a great option!

Just my opinion, but if you want to see big trees, you have options. The most impressive examples are along the North Coast - especially Redwood National and State Parks. The ones further south aren't necessarily as tall, but it can still be an impressive experience. This gives a map of where you can find old growth redwoods:

https://www.savetheredwoods.org/get-involved/visit/redwoods-finder/

This map shows old growth areas in red:

megan17 · Apr 12, 2017

Awesome map, thanks bcla!

This forum has been super helpful

bcla · Apr 12, 2017

And I was just going to say that last weekend I made a trip to Santa Rosa and got 6 bottles from Russian River Brewing. It wasn't quite as crowded as other times I'd been there, but it was still busy. I got three bottles of Pliny the Elder, and three of Blind Pig. It seemed different than the last time I'd bought there, as the bottles are different. Those are $5.50 each including tax. They also contain no UPC code and a note where the UPC would normally be that says "Not Packaged for Resale". My understanding is that some beverage stores would send someone over to buy it, then resell for double the price.

http://www.beerandlaw.com/blog/new-law-designed-to-deter-unauthorized-re-sale-of-craft-beers-ab-776

megan17 · Apr 12, 2017

Wow, that's super interesting!

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