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I've driven Nacimiento Road before, going south on the 1. It's tight, twisty and adventurous and totally doable. I barely left first gear up the hill. Once you are past the steep hillside the open fields up top are magical, the roads empty, the speeds up there. We connected back to the 101 near an army base, but I forgt which one (Fort Hunter Ligget it is!).
It'll take you forever, but it's fun as an adventure.
101 is actually a pretty nice drive through that section. Hwy 1 is a must do but the last time I drove it all the way to OC I found myself saying “never again” because while scenic and thoroughly enjoyable, it also gets a little tedious.
There are some wonderful vineyards in Santa Maria and Paso Robles, definitely worth making some time for.
I just saw this post, I live in SLO and it is a good thing didn't go Nacimiento Rd. They are using that road to move all the heavy equipment in to get to the construction. You might of got caught behind ugly traffic.
Is that road pretty chewed up then? Besides that, IMO, it's not a road for anything other than a slow cruise. And, it's best taken east to west to enjoy the views as they open up.
Last edited by ltcjmramos; 03-09-2018 at 11:56 AM.
I haven't been on Nacimiento Ferguson in a few years but I remember it being single track in the steep section and not well paved with pot holes. A better route is Indian Valley Rd to Peach Tree rd to Hwy 25 all the way to Hollister. Tight sections, open sections, and not much traffic.
Have never driven south of 198. On the map, those roads look to be lesser roads than 25. How would you compare them, surface and twisties.
They are narrower roads than 25 with some single lane sections but it's all paved and remote enough that pot holes or any road impurities are easy to avoid. It's a better road than the south section of Carmel Valley Rd, which is another alternative backroad to 101 which puts you near the Monterey peninsula. Jolon Rd is another backroad that runs parallel to 101 South of King City. I get bored with traveling up 101 and take these alternate routes and enjoy the drive a lot more. If you keep the pace up on the Indian Valley / Hwy 25 route it's not any slower than 101 with traffic.
03-07-2018, 12:37 AM
Alternate route - Big Sur closure
