Traffic flow on PCH/ Best route from Huntington to The Block?

[danacath]

Upon arrival in So. Cal., DH and I want to spend our first afternoon/evening sightseeing along the coast from Newport Beach up to Huntington Beach. From there we want to go to The Block at Orange to pick up some food (gift certificate) and then back to our Anaheim hotel to check in.

Now for my questions: What will the traffic flow and speed of cars on PCH be like on a Wed. afternoon from 2 PM and after? Will we be crawling or going 45 mph, etc.? Are there lots of traffic lights? What will be the best way and best time of day for us to get from Huntington Beach over to the Block at Orange? Should we stick to city streets and avoid 22? Should we stay put at the beach until a certain time of day to avoid traffic?

TIA

 

[almostGoofy]

I'm not sure about traffic flow at 2:00 p.m. along that part of PCH. I'm pretty sure by 3:00 p.m., you'll be hitting heavier traffic. You won't be crawling but you certainly won't be going 45 mph either. It's definitely better along PCH during rush hour than the freeway. There are a number of traffic lights but I consider them fairly spaced out from one another.

From Huntington Beach to the Block of Orange: the 22 fwy will be congested during rush hour (2:30 p.m. to about 7:00 p.m.) so I'd take the streets during those hours. I've driven from H.B. to DL by street but not to the Block so I'm not sure what the best route would be. You might check Mapquest for driving directions and click on "street only" for your directions. You also might want to hang out and have a drink out on the beach patio of Chimayo's (next to the pier) and watch the sunset. Maybe even have dinner there or upstairs at Duke's. You'd miss the traffic that way.

 

[AmyJ of Ca]

I live in Huntington Beach and the way I would go is probably to get on the 22 freeway. It probably would take longer but sometimes getting stuck at every light takes just as long. Even in traffic, if you took Beach Blvd to the 22 and got on it would probably be about 25 minutes if the traffic is stop and go (as it often is). The other way you could go is going to Garden Grove Blvd from Beach Blvd and it should get you to the Block. Great suggestions for dinner at the HB pier. HB is one of the few beaches around that isn't totally developed and you can actually see the beach from PCH. Any other ?? just ask. Amy

 

[danacath]

Thanks for the tips, almostgoofy and Amy. I do have a couple of other questions... If DH and I would decide to take city streets, are those fairly decent areas that we would be driving through or would we be wise to put up the convertible top? Also, I was trying to research out an "easily accessible" grocery store (Albertson's, maybe?) somewhere along our route-- after the beach and before we reach our hotel. Got any ideas?



*Side note/trivial remark--Isn't it funny how rush "hour" has expanded to rush "4.5 hours"? And it's not like any of the people in that mess are actually able to "rush" anywhere either. lol

 

[AmyJ of Ca]

As long as you stayed on the main streets, I wouldn't worry about being in any danger. Some areas are nicer than others but in the middle of the day I would feel safe driving the area with my kids in the car. Beach Blvd has MANY grocery stores between the beach and the 22 including an Albertson's around Adams I believe although that's not my neck of the woods so I'm not positive. I do know that if you go up Beach there is a Vons Pavillion store that has everything you could ever need. That is right before you would cross the 405. Any??? Let me know...Amy

 

[almostGoofy]

AmyJ is right about the Albertson's location: it's on Beach Blvd. between Adams and Yorktown. That's about 3 miles from the beach. The shopping center at the Pavillions supermarket also has a Target. If you need to visit a Target too, the Pavillions store might be a better choice than Albertson's. BTW, if you happen to have a Safeway club card, it should work at any Pavillions or Vons too. I use my Pavillions card at Vons all the time and just recently used it at a Safeway store in Hawaii.

There is also an Albertson's on Harbor Blvd. just off the 22 fwy. if you're looking for a store closer to DL.

 

[danacath]

Hey, thanks for the helpful info and clear directions! I'll be adding it to my Disneyland vacation notes.