Anyone drive Hwy1 from CA to WA?

[PLUS EV]

If you want to hug the coastline in California, SR1 veers southwest off 101 at Leggett. (This is quite north of the Laytonville Supercharger.) There are ample destination chargers in Mendocino and in other small communities along SR1. I would surmise that a 90%+ charge at Eureka would get you easily to the Mendocino County coast where you might consider spending the night and charging, or maybe arranging in advance a one-hour session and pay the proprietor for the juice. On the other hand, you might have enough charge to avoid charging at that spot. You'll just have to monitor your state of charge as you head south on SR1.

There are a number of routes to return to 101 from the Mendocino and Sonoma County coasts. Superchargers are abundant along 101 from the planned Windsor location south to the Golden Gate.

After you pay your $8.00+ toll to cross the Golden Gate, there are ample Superchargers along the coast. SR1 has one in Scotts Valley

This is a more detailed version of what I was saying. I cut it off at Scotts Valley because he said he was only going as far south as Santa Cruz. The key takeaway is that you definitely want to take Highway 1 along the coast through Fort Bragg and further south. It is a much more interesting drive in that area than 101, but you will need to arrange some alternate charging along the coast. Among, other things, I would recommend stopping at Fort Ross if you get the chance. The drive out to the Point Reyes Lighthouse is also nice if you have the extra charge (and extra time).

If you really want an adventure, try taking the road along the coast that goes through Capetown and Petrolia. That small stretch along the ocean is probably my favorite scenic drive along the west coast and I've done pretty much all of them (in the US). A couple words of warning on this route though... there are some gravel stretches with switchbacks between Petrolia and Bull Creek as you head back towards 101. So definitely don't do this route at night or in inclement weather. And you may want to pass entirely if you are driving a brand new Tesla or something. I suppose if you wanted to avoid the gravel stretches, you could drive from Loleta to Petrolia and then just turn around and head back to Loleta. Doing this, you would see the amazing drive along the coast that I like while also avoiding the gravel, but it would be quite the detour so it really depends how much of a hurry you are in. Also, there is very little along this route in the way of amenities, so you'll want to be sure to stop in Ferndale (or further north) for lunch or at least to pick up some snacks to eat along the way.

Lastly, the Golden Gate Bridge has automatic tolling in the southbound direction with no option to pay at the now shuttered toll both. You can pay in advance by phone if you want to avoid paying by mail but last time I did this it took a while to navigate through the automated options.

 

[Bwettt]

I drove from Astoria to Marin County on 101 in the fall 2016. The Brookings SC was still under construction, so I had to charge at the golf course at 40A for about 30 minutes to ensure I had enough charge to reach Crescent City. Other than that, the spacing along 101 allowed for an effortless drive.

If you want to hug the coastline in California, SR1 veers southwest off 101 at Leggett. (This is quite north of the Laytonville Supercharger.) There are ample destination chargers in Mendocino and in other small communities along SR1. I would surmise that a 90%+ charge at Eureka would get you easily to the Mendocino County coast where you might consider spending the night and charging, or maybe arranging in advance a one-hour session and pay the proprietor for the juice. On the other hand, you might have enough charge to avoid charging at that spot. You'll just have to monitor your state of charge as you head south on SR1.

There are a number of routes to return to 101 from the Mendocino and Sonoma County coasts. Superchargers are abundant along 101 from the planned Windsor location south to the Golden Gate.

After you pay your $8.00+ toll to cross the Golden Gate, there are ample Superchargers along the coast. SR1 has one in Scotts Valley, two in Monterey, and Big Sur. Then back onto 101 at San Luis before departing again at Pismo Beach. San Luis Obispo has one at the Madonna Inn. By the time SR1 meets 101 again just north of Gaviota, you will be on 101 through Sta. Barbara, Ventura, and Oxnard before taking SR1 again through Malibu towards Sta. Monica.

With the exception of the drive south of Eureka, I would assume that a 250-mile range would be more than adequate for your driving needs as the Superchargers are conveniently spaced.

It puzzles me why your routing steered you onto Interstate 5. Get a paper map and plot it manually (but then I am old school, and do not trust some hifalutin' computer gyration that may or may not understand what I want to do!)

Thanks for your input. I have a couple months to plan this out so I will probably go the old fashion route and write some things down one of these days lol. I think I might try to do the SR1 route and just plan accordingly! Ive never been so excited to drive long distance. Pretty pumped for this long one.

 

[Bwettt]

This is a more detailed version of what I was saying. I cut it off at Scotts Valley because he said he was only going as far south as Santa Cruz. The key takeaway is that you definitely want to take Highway 1 along the coast through Fort Bragg and further south. It is a much more interesting drive in that area than 101, but you will need to arrange some alternate charging along the coast. Among, other things, I would recommend stopping at Fort Ross if you get the chance. The drive out to the Point Reyes Lighthouse is also nice if you have the extra charge (and extra time).

If you really want an adventure, try taking the road along the coast that goes through Capetown and Petrolia. That small stretch along the ocean is probably my favorite scenic drive along the west coast and I've done pretty much all of them (in the US). A couple words of warning on this route though... there are some gravel stretches with switchbacks between Petrolia and Bull Creek as you head back towards 101. So definitely don't do this route at night or in inclement weather. And you may want to pass entirely if you are driving a brand new Tesla or something. I suppose if you wanted to avoid the gravel stretches, you could drive from Loleta to Petrolia and then just turn around and head back to Loleta. Doing this, you would see the amazing drive along the coast that I like while also avoiding the gravel, but it would be quite the detour so it really depends how much of a hurry you are in. Also, there is very little along this route in the way of amenities, so you'll want to be sure to stop in Ferndale (or further north) for lunch or at least to pick up some snacks to eat along the way.

Lastly, the Golden Gate Bridge has automatic tolling in the southbound direction with no option to pay at the now shuttered toll both. You can pay in advance by phone if you want to avoid paying by mail but last time I did this it took a while to navigate through the automated options.

Thanks for your input. Although I really do want a scenic route, tbh I don't know if I wanna hit a gravel road quite yet as the car is so new. The SR1 will definitely be in the plan though.

Have you done any Canadian road trips? Thought it would be cool to go from Seattle to Toronto through the new network in Canada.

 

[PLUS EV]

Thanks for your input. Although I really do want a scenic route, tbh I don't know if I wanna hit a gravel road quite yet as the car is so new. The SR1 will definitely be in the plan though.

Have you done any Canadian road trips? Thought it would be cool to go from Seattle to Toronto through the new network in Canada.

So disregard the route through Petrolia and just take Highway 1 through Fort Bragg, and then go out to Point Reyes Lighthouse if you have the charge/time. Mendocino, Fort Ross, Bodega Bay, etc. are worth checking out.

I drove the Transcanada Highway in 2009 in an ICE and I will probably do it again this spring in my Tesla. Northern Ontario is pretty far "out there."

 

[Bwettt]

Sweet man thanks for the input! Ill post on here on how it goes!