? about getting there from Nor Cal

[HeatherRaye]

I am coming from Northern Cal. I know I can take I-5 all the way down but a friend of mine suggested that I go I-5 to 210 to 57.

That it avoids a lot of the dowtown LA traffic. Is this a good idea? Has anyone gone that route?

Suggestions?

We are leaving Sunday morning - will that make a traffic difference?

 

[TrickStar Rider]

Depending on the time you reach LA, I would stay on I-5. The 210 takes you quite a bit around the edge. If it were traffic time or something it may differ. I just drove down last Friday afternoon and it wasn't horrible. The 210 has issues of its own at times.

Have a wonderful time in any event!!

 

[InLikeSin]

We've always gone the same way down... the 101 to the 46 to I-5. Its such a terrible drive! Super boring middle of nowhere drive ending with terrible traffic. I would love an alternate route.

 

[LuLusApple]

I have heard of that 210 to 57 route also. My gps says stay on 5; even with traffic in account it says it is faster. I am one to take the least amount of exits. It also depends on when you hit LA. We try for 10-11am and have been ok both ways so far. Once we drove at 6 am coming in and started to get worried it was crowding. And once we left DL at 3 pm and that was a nightmare.

 

[pixiewings71]

We go with what the GPS says, she says to stay on I5 so we do. Last trip she actually rerouted us because traffic on I5 was sooooooo bad. We go 12 to 5 and that's usually it for us.

 

[Belle Ella]

Somehow, the first time I drove there on my own we got the 210-57 directions and it was a bloody nightmare! It took forever, and after finding out we could have just stayed on I5, I wish we had done it that way. I've now gone I5 only every time I go and have always hit less traffic just driving straight through. Plus it's less confusing because of the fewer exits.

 

[Huff]

We've always gone the same way down... the 101 to the 46 to I-5. Its such a terrible drive! Super boring middle of nowhere drive ending with terrible traffic. I would love an alternate route.

101 is a heck of a lot more scenic than I-5!!! If you love wines Paso Robles is a great stop. Not sure how much further it adds but 101 through Morro Bay, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, Oxnard etc. is a really nice scenic drive with lots of great places to stop along the way.

On 46 you get to stop at the road side marker of where James Dean crashed. At 46 and I-5 one can stop at Six Flags Magic Mountain. A bit further south is Universal Studios.

 

[Huff]

Somehow, the first time I drove there on my own we got the 210-57 directions and it was a bloody nightmare! It took forever, and after finding out we could have just stayed on I5, I wish we had done it that way. I've now gone I5 only every time I go and have always hit less traffic just driving straight through. Plus it's less confusing because of the fewer exits.

I've always found the opposite. The junction of I-10 and I-5 can have the worst delays I've found anywhere. I've been stuck in over 1 hour traffic just to go about 10 miles through there and it wasn't rush hour. Trying to stay on I-5 through the junction means being funneled down to a one lane ramp causing massive delays. I avoid it every time!

The 210 can get heavy at rush hour in some areas but so does all other LA area freeways. I take various routes through the LA area depending on direction and time of day.

 

[LuLusApple]

101 is a heck of a lot more scenic than I-5!!! If you love wines Paso Robles is a great stop. Not sure how much further it adds but 101 through Morro Bay, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, Oxnard etc. is a really nice scenic drive with lots of great places to stop along the way.

On 46 you get to stop at the road side marker of where James Dean crashed. At 46 and I-5 one can stop at Six Flags Magic Mountain. A bit further south is Universal Studios.

My oldest DD used to live in San luis obispo and we left from her house one time ... Ugh is all I can say thru the hills and along the winding coastline. Much prettier but oh man it took 6 hours!

 

[keladela]

We go with what the GPS says, she says to stay on I5 so we do. Last trip she actually rerouted us because traffic on I5 was sooooooo bad. We go 12 to 5 and that's usually it for us.

I'm with you on this one, We always take 12 to 5 as well.

 

[pixiewings71]

I'm with you on this one, We always take 12 to 5 as well.

Hey, I know where you live!!! You're right out my backdoor just about! LOL

 

[WDW Princess 71]

Coming from the south (San Diego) taking I-5 all the way up, when are the worst times to get into the Anaheim area and leave the area on a weekday, as far as traffic?

 

[InLikeSin]

101 is a heck of a lot more scenic than I-5!!! If you love wines Paso Robles is a great stop. Not sure how much further it adds but 101 through Morro Bay, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, Oxnard etc. is a really nice scenic drive with lots of great places to stop along the way.

On 46 you get to stop at the road side marker of where James Dean crashed. At 46 and I-5 one can stop at Six Flags Magic Mountain. A bit further south is Universal Studios.

The 101 part of the trip is just fine. But man oh man does the 46 put me to sleep, or it would if my daredevil husband wasn't passing 4 cars at a time doing 95 geez! We don't go that route home though, we go 101 all the way north beautiful!

 

[Boo Bear]

I will take the 101 from Santa Barbara for most of the way. The view is beautiful for a ways.

 

[bzkds]

How far North are you? I'm in San Jose and my son goes to school near Disneyland. We always drive 5-210-605 back back to 5. 210 does get backed up on weekdays after about 3pm, but I have no idea on a Sunday. We did stay on 5 the whole way on a recent trip, and that was a NIGHTMARE! Every time another freeway merged onto 5 (which happens frequently) traffic was at a standstill. And let's not even discuss all the trucks! lol

I guess you just have to pick one and try it. People seem to have their own preferences, my son's roommate's parents always stayed on 5 the whole way and prefer it.

Beth

 

[PinkBudgie]

When we go to see my sister we take 5 down to 210. However there is a part on 210 that gets very backed up in the afternoon when we go through, so now we get off 210 and go to 2 to 134, which then runs into 210 again. The area looks like a big triangle and our way takes the two longest legs of the triangle but it is faster than that part of the 210 that cuts across.

All of this occurs before you would get to 57 so I'm thinking that is where the PPs ran into the traffic on the 210. It is in the Pasadena area. Did that make sense?

For us, as much as I hate the fifty zillion freeways you have to take to get anywhere down there, we get more confused in the Bay Area. We drive down through Oakland to get over to 5 and you have to watch carefully where to go. And coming home we missed a time when we should have stayed right and we ended up going through SF instead of around it.

 

[Huff]

My oldest DD used to live in San luis obispo and we left from her house one time ... Ugh is all I can say thru the hills and along the winding coastline. Much prettier but oh man it took 6 hours!

Why did it take you so long? 101 is as good as any interstate so 70mph is the norm. If you took highway 1 where it exists then ya, it would take you 6 hours! That drive is 250 miles or so. Should be about 4 1/2 hours although once you get into LA the traffic can make it much worse.

 

[Huff]

The 101 part of the trip is just fine. But man oh man does the 46 put me to sleep, or it would if my daredevil husband wasn't passing 4 cars at a time doing 95 geez! We don't go that route home though, we go 101 all the way north beautiful!

Ya, 46 is pretty dead. At the junction of 46 and I-5 is Lost Hills. It really is LOST!! Dumpiest town around!

I do like Paso Robles and visit the wineries there whenever passing through.

 

[InLikeSin]

Ya, 46 is pretty dead. At the junction of 46 and I-5 is Lost Hills. It really is LOST!! Dumpiest town around!

I do like Paso Robles and visit the wineries there whenever passing through.

We almost always stop in Lost Hills to get gas and get a cold drink, one trip we were in one of the junk food resturants and wee-man from the "*******" MTV show was there with a posse. We got out of there before they started acting up to their namesake haha

 

[Leofoenget]

I am coming from Northern Cal. I know I can take I-5 all the way down but a friend of mine suggested that I go I-5 to 210 to 57.

That it avoids a lot of the dowtown LA traffic. Is this a good idea? Has anyone gone that route?

Suggestions?

We are leaving Sunday morning - will that make a traffic difference?

I'm from Santa Clara and do the drive often. Sunday is the BEST day to drive you shouldn't have much LA traffic. Just stay on the 5 all the way to Disneyland I wouldn't switch freeways. We always stay on Harbor. It's 5 to exit 110 A. I have driven on Sunday many times and have gone straight shot from Santa Clarita to Anaheim in 40 mins.