leov

I run Bay Area Group Drives on Facebook ( www.facebook.com/groups/BayAreaGroupDrives )

I organize drives roughly twice a month.

All the routes start within an hour of San Francisco ( I live there) and have a convenient start and end point.

Routes are a mixing of cruising and spirited twisties

We usually have anywhere from 12 to 30 cars come out.

We start early, leaving no later than 7:30am. This avoids the bulk of bicyclists, local traffic and is usually around the time that CHP and Sherrifs have their shift change

Come join the group and come out with us!

wjk_glynn

Sorry for being so late getting back to this. I see your post is very similar to this previously posted route:

South Bay / Santa Clara County
...

• Bailey / McKean / Uvas / Watsonville Rd. to Hwy-152 - https://goo.gl/maps/EfJSBsi9ksL2 (~17 miles)
  • Starts near the IBM Research Lab in Almaden, and continues down to the Hecker Pass Hwy (152)
  • Road surface is more bumpy than expected (though not terrible), and the work rate (i.e. number of corners) is low
  • Upside is that once you get down to Hwy-152, you're near the start of the quite excellent Hecker Pass in Santa Cruz County
  • So it's a decent, but not great back road...

Added that under...

PS: Other sites with similar information/recommendations...
...

• Bay Area Group Drives on Facebook
  • See leov's post: https://rennlist.com/forums/west-us-...l#post18394523

Karl.

wjk_glynn

Rory Reid (ex Top Gear, now with AutoTrader UK) reviews a C8 Corvette in the following video:
.

• The canyon-carving bits seem to have been shot on the San Jose side of the road up Mt Hamilton - https://goo.gl/maps/5SZtntEdyYy
• I believe you can see some of the Lick Observatory domes in the distance at the 6:55 mark
• And away from there, you can also see local spots like Reeds Indoor Range in Santa Clara (2:25), and an In-N-Out in Seaside (4:20)

But can anyone spot anything that says it was shot on the other side of Mt. Hamilton?

I don't know that side as well as the San Jose side...

Thanks.

Karl.

PS: At the 10:27 mark, he says the C8 has a 7-speed PDK... it's actually an 8-speed Tremec...

tkurban

Just want to say thank you for keeping this updated. I ride motorcycle and in my search for good road around san jose I found this forum. Excited to try out some of the recommended places!

wjk_glynn

Haven't heard otherwise, hence added it to the top post as follows...

South Bay / Santa Clara County

• Mt Hamilton Rd to Lick Observatory (starting at Clayton Rd.) - https://goo.gl/maps/5SZtntEdyYy (~16 miles)
  • Great hill climb up to the telescopes at Lick Observatory, and has even been referenced in professional articles/features:
    • EVO Magazine drove this road when reviewing the Mustang (S550) GT350 in the May 2016 issue #221 (front cover) - Henry Catchpole spoke very highly of the road
    • Total911 listed in their Great Road series - https://www.total911.com/route-130-california-usa/
    • When Rory Reid (AutoTrader UK) reviewed a C8 Corvette, the canyon-carving bits seemed to have been shot on this road - YouTube
  • Others think the back-side of Mines Rd. to Lick Observatory (from Livermore) is even better
    • See East Bay section above...

UPDATE: Found the spot where he does the external walk-around. That starts at the 5m10s mark in the video.

The location is here: https://goo.gl/maps/AEBhHNsn5vNduJWQ8

And a pic at the same spot from this morning...





Karl.

Sharkiez

People in Highway 17 always drive like idiots. Idk what about that semi-winding road that bring out the worst driving / speeding habits in people. That's also one of the most heavily patrolled highway up here.

phuonger

Update requested-

theres two drives for the Need for Speed sequence, on in SF northbay and one in points further away from SF.

Suggested to keep the google link that ducktails provided with the forced waypoints at MVR is rough

wjk_glynn

Ollie Kew from Top Gear has been reviewing some cars here in the Bay Area.

In the following, you'll see scenes at Alice's Restaurant, Sempervirens Point, La Honda, Laguna Seca, etc.






Karl.

ltcjmramos

Friday and Saturday, had the pleasure of running some of these roads with my good friend david. We started by driving Skyline all the way to 17, then down to Hollister and Hwy 25, 198 to 33. We took 33 all the way to 101 where we spent the night in Carpinteria.

​Hwy 33 has always been my ideal drive, but the downhill side (south side) is a slog right now. Many landslides (6-8) have created one-lane sections controlled by stoplights. It's a slow cruise down the hill due to bunched up traffic.

Saturday morning because of heavy rain and the above issue, we took 101 to SLO. We picked up Hwy 58 just north of SLO. Had done 58 between McKittrick and SLO previously, but, unfortunately, forgot what a GREAT driver's road it is. Even if 33 were fully open, 58 is now my go-to. Good surface, wonderful curves, tremendous straights! Looking forward to doing it again soon.

ChrisF

@ltcjmramos thanks for posting. Have been trying to get out and do 33 since it opened but hard to get first hand reports from anyone. Hoping they get it repaired fully soon as it is one of the two greatest roads in CA (with 58 being the other as you now know).

58 is spectacular. It will be even better in 1-2 months when the superbloom explodes in the mid section of the Carizo Plain. That gives the most dramatic scenery to that road. Worth the trip if you haven’t seen it.

dpwracing

This route is my go to!

Alexbn921

Backside of Lick observatory all the way to mines Rd is a mess of tar and chip seal. Do not recommend. Mines road is in good shape and a great mix of speed and corners. Big Basson hwy off 9 is Santa Cruz was lots of fun. Narrow in sections, zero traffic and lots of corners.

david

Looks like the state is repairing this stretch of road so I would stay off of it for a while.