Thought it might be interesting to post our fave roads in Nor Cal.

So Post yours, and say why you like it.

Things I'd like to know:

__Cops__ -- How the road is patrolled, and if there are cops, how easy they are to detect.

__Slow Drivers__ -- Is the road nice and clear? Or infested with grannies?

__Pavement Quality__ etc, etc.

__Bikers__ (the ones with pedals)

__and some other stuff I can't think of right now__


I live in Benicia and two roads nearby I like to drive are: Franklin Canyon (off Alhambra exit, fwy 4) -> McEwen Road -> Carquinez Scenic Dr to Crockett; this drive is twisty after Franklin, rough pavement and tons of deer at dusk; it's a lot of fun tho' and no cops. Also: Lake Herman Rd; some deer, usually clear, no cops. Both roads are a short drive.

Roads I've heard about and need to check out:

Calaveras Rd (near Milpitas)
Skyline Blvd (near Half Moon Bay)
Gabilan Range, Hwy 25 (Near Monteray)
Hwy (or Rte) 9, (near San Jose)

Looking forward to your posts.

 

I enjoy driving to Santa Cruz on Hwy 17. There are no bumps on the road and I love the twisties. It's a good way to test out the handling of your car.

 

i live out here in brentwood and i work out in walnut creek and the only way i like going is from the beginning of marsh creek all the way into clayton.. i hardly ever see cops on it.. if you don't have anybody in front of you the z is one funnnn @ss car to drive on those turns.. there are some bumbs but what road doesn't..

 

these roads may be more suited to subbys than Zs due to our AWD and higher ground clearance, but if you want to feel like a WRC driver sometimes, check out quimby road in san jose that winds up the mountains...

extremely twisty, extremely narrow, and if you run off, you are going to either smack into the side of a mountain or fall off a cliff...

NO cops, and great view of greater san jose, winds back down onto alumrock about 20 mins driving from start to fnish at moderately fast speeds (i am talking about 30-40 as moderately fast cause if you go any faster you probably crash)

i suggest going at night so you can better see headlights coming the other way and great night view...

some hairpins are so tight and go up in elevation you may even scrap your side skirts if you have a kit...not to mention probably loosing traction at the rear wheel

but its a nice rush

take 101 south capitol expressway east, right on quimby and keep on going

also, no cell phone reception up there so maybe its better to take a friend or have fun walking in the dark in the hills to find help if you crash

 

Redwood rd, which is a mountain rd, is also pretty fun. It stretches from Oakland to Castro Valley. Weekends during the day, tons of bikers and cops, but at night it's quiet and fun.

Road condition is usually decent.

 

The only local one I know is around Lake Berryessa, as long as its not summertime its a nice twisty drive with no traffic, summertime/warm weather stay away(boats/RV's). end of winter and beginning of fall are best. You can actually continue to Napa 121 and it gets pretty fun.
I have done a few meets/drives on it, it has a perfect pull off spot to regroup at the Dam(pic of dam pulloff below), we tend to split up there, people who want to drive reckless can take off ahead of the leisure drivers but its purty there.

Fun if you have a loud exhuast, lots of echos from the hills along the road.

 

on Marsh Creek Rd.

I used to live in Concord near Clayton, where this road starts (or ends, depending on your perspective). I frequently went for a drive on this road (in a 280Z that I owned at the time) just for the fun of driving with no particular destination. It is a narrow winding road with lots of tight twisties and virtually no traffic. Definitely fun to drive.

I also used to work in Pleasanton, and tried to avoid Ygnacio Valley Rd and 680 stop-and-go traffic during the morning commute by taking Marsh Creek Rd to Pleasanton on several occasions. Although I did not save any time, it was definitely a fun drive to work with absolutely no traffic until I reached Vasco Rd in Brentwood.

 

Yeah, I love those roads too -- saw someone get ticket there the other day, so watch out! High deer factor too!

 

old stage rd..... up 84 past woodside. left on old stage.... if u hit highway 1, uve gone 1/2 mile too far. its a 1 lane road. never see cops, or rarely other cars. lots of bikes on the weekends (mornings).

old page mill in palo alto is really fun, but the potholes suck.

highway 89 from north -> south lake tahoe is really pretty and can get pretty twisty.

This is taken from www.docwong.com

We go up Woodside Road, through Woodside, and on up the hill to Skyline Blvd.

From there, we head down Hwy 84 (name now changed to La Honda Road). We'll stop at the San Gregorio General Store at Stage Road and Hwy 84 for a short break.

From San Gregorio, we go south on Stage Road to the little town of Pescadero (which is a veritable METROPOLIS compared to San Gregorio). Then we head east on Pescadero Road a short ways to Cloverdale Road, where we turn south (right) again. We follow Cloverdale road down to Gazos Creek Road, where we turn west (right).


We follow Gazos Creek Road to Highway 1 where we can take a break. There is gas here, so fuel up if you need. This point is about 25 miles from my office.

Then take a trip down 1 to Davenport, where we stop for lunch. After lunch, it's south on Highway 1 again to Bonny Doone Road, where we turn east (left). Don't turn right there, or you'll be surprised at the lack of floatation a set of air bags provide. ;-)

Up Bonny Doon Road to Smith Grade, right on Smith Grade to Empire Grade. North (left) on Empire Grade to Jamison Creek Road, down Jamison Creek Road to Highway 236. Right on Highway 236 to Highway 9 in Boulder Creek. Another short break in Boulder Creek (gas, if needed), then up Highway 9 (east) to Skyline, where we assemble at the little rest area.

 

Stewarts point/ Skaggs springs road hands down.

Typically the road has next to no traffic except in the summer. Not uncommon to ever see another car on the 12 mile stretch that is well known.

I have ridden bikes dozens of times on it and seen one Ranger once in my life.

 

Lake berryessa. Like sleepy said, but there are cops out there

Calveras rd in SJ. No cops and nice tight turns. I dont know how bad traffic is there in the daytime.

Lake Herman rd. moderately short but seems like everytime i go there, theres a cop.

 

Calaveras: is a really nice road, alot of gravel on the floor and during night time alot of deers so i gota watch out for that.

Redwood Rd: Dont really recommend due to the high amout of cops that patrol that road. i mean ALOT.

Mt Hamilton: Been up there once, nice road but some of the hairpins you will scrape, good road for Subys

 

Skaggs Spring road, its like a race track especially when on a bike.

 

It is a good road. used to drive it in a friend's TT Z32 15 years ago. Do be aware that this weekend is the HB pumpkin festival. If last year is any indication, going along 92 from 280 to highway 1 will take *well* over an hour. The alternate route was the La Honda road to the 1 and then north to 92. So expect lots of traffic in the area, this weekend.

My personal fave is still 35 from 92 to the 17.

 

HWY 25 south.
Down by hollister.

Great twisties.

No authorities.

 

Lake Herman has cops by the lake parkin lot most of the time... My detectro saved me there one time.. He was pointing my way coming from Benicia.. There's a hill you come on and coming down he can see you directly from the gate... Haven't tried it there at night...

 

Surprised you guys like lake herman rd, I dont in my car due to the trucks carrying rocks near the vallejo end, they drop them all over the road.....then again that was a year ago for me when I used to work out that way. BTW easy to lose cops on that road at night....ha(shhh) kill the lights if you know where you are and disapear on a side road or at the lake since there is no lighting out there....gets scary but they cant find you. That was the past, I changed now.

 

Thanks for the heads up with cops on Lake Herman -- I drive it a lot, never see any and feel safe -- guess I was very lucky cuz I've been screaming along that road.

Were the cops there to catch speeding vehicles or there to hassle the dumb a$$ kids that go to the lake parking lot to smoke weed etc?

 

can't go wrong with high 5 open it up til top speed!!

 

one of my fav's to this date is highland rd/ collier canyon. going from black hawk to livermore. its a nice one lane windy road. in my 15 years of driveing on it ( mostly with my dad when i was a kid) i have seen very little cops. maybe like 5-7 times in those years. its a very fun drive. but on the weekends bicycleist have been active during the day.