Northern California - route suggestions for ride to Santa Cruz

Tomorrow, I am planning on riding from Redwood City to Santa Cruz to meet up with some of my family. My plan is to ride over OLH and possibly Haskin's Hill. After I get into Pescadero, I have never ridden anywhere south of there along 1. My question is: what are some good roads along the way which are bike friendly that I can go on so I do not have to spend all my time on the highway? How are Cloverdale and Swanton roads?

I rode from Palo Alto to Santa Cruz on Friday morning. I took Page Mill to Skyline to Highway 9 West. This is a very nice descent I did for the first time. Gently sweeping curves you can ride without braking almost the whole way. Then I took 236 thru Big Basin park, where you can refill your bottles (there is also a fire station on Skyline right before 9). My plan was to go up Jamison Creek to Empire Grade, but was running late, so instead took 9 all the way to Santa Cruz. The traffic between Boulder Creek and Felton made it not so pleasant, but the ride turned nice again after Felton, with a mild climb and a descent into Santa Cruz.

Highway 236 is a beautiful quiet ride under redwoods, and harder to do in the weekend because of heavy traffic, so I was happy for the opportunity to do it on a weekday. On the other hand, I saw signs that the highway 236 will be closed at Acorn Dr starting 6/22 (today), so I don't know if Jamison Creek will still be an option.

You might want to double check, but I've heard 236 is currently closed.

If you take Haskins into Pescadero, a left onto Cloverdale followed by a right onto Gazos Creek will take you down to the 1 with 25 miles to go along the 1 until you reach SC. It's a nice ride, especially with a tail wind on the 1. Just be careful of the railroad tracks that cross the highway in Davenport.

Cloverdale is excellent. Beautiful and no traffic. It hits Hwy 1 at Gazos Creek. From there, Hwy1 is actually pleasant. Not too much traffic (especially on a weekday), wide shoulders, downwind and scenic all the way down to Santa Cruz. I do it all the time.

I've not been on Swanton, so no comments there.

Swanton is fine for cycling. There's a monthly local time trial on it in the spring and summer. The Swanton Berry Farm at the south end has a discount for cyclists.

But I'd still recommend staying on Hwy 1. It avoids the left turns leaving and returning to Hwy 1. From the north, Swanton starts with a 1 mile climb of about 400ft, which may or may not be welcome near the end of the ride. Swanton is mostly shielded from the wind, which would probably be a tailwind on Hwy 1. Swanton bypasses the descent to Scott Creek.

All these sound great. I just found out a few mins ago that may family is going to the beach further north, Pescadero. So much for the longer ride that I was hoping for.

I will definitely keep these in mind for the future though. I want to bike from Redwood City to Monterey or Carmel sometime this summer.

You can still do a longer ride to Pescadaro. Here's a 57 mile route via Pacifica:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2941832

Highway 236 is a beautiful quiet ride under redwoods, and harder to do in the weekend because of heavy traffic, so I was happy for the opportunity to do it on a weekday. On the other hand, I saw signs that the highway 236 will be closed at Acorn Dr starting 6/22 (today), so I don't know if Jamison Creek will still be an option.

You can just stay on 9 headed south and take Felton Empire (easier) or Alba (harder) up to Empire Grade. Or you can take the long way around on 236 (via Big Basin) to get to Jamison Creek.


But I'd still recommend staying on Hwy 1. It avoids the left turns leaving and returning to Hwy 1. From the north, Swanton starts with a 1 mile climb of about 400ft, which may or may not be welcome near the end of the ride. Swanton is mostly shielded from the wind, which would probably be a tailwind on Hwy 1. Swanton bypasses the descent to Scott Creek.

I'd recommend staying on Hwy 1 going south and taking Swanton going north.


If you take Haskins into Pescadero, a left onto Cloverdale followed by a right onto Gazos Creek will take you down to the 1 with 25 miles to go along the 1 until you reach SC. It's a nice ride, especially with a tail wind on the 1. Just be careful of the railroad tracks that cross the highway in Davenport.

Yep, actually most people take a left on Butano Cut-off which connects to Cloverdale.


All these sound great. I just found out a few mins ago that may family is going to the beach further north, Pescadero. So much for the longer ride that I was hoping for.

Another longer route is to take OLH to 35 to 9 to Felton Empire to Empire Grade. Then take Ice Cream Grade to Pine Flat / Bonny Doon which is a fantastic descent down to 1, then head N to Pescadero on hwy 1 taking the side route on Swanton and also Gazos Creek / Cloverdale. The headwinds on 1 will suck but the rest of it is a really nice ride.

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/OLH-to-Pescadero-via-35-9-1

Thanks for the input msincredible (Paula I think).

What I decided that I will do is to ride half before hanging out at the beach and then half after since they will be a lot closer. It will still be about 60 miles with at least 5000 feet of climbing.

my bike ride (http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ca/atherton/992124573898081122)

Also, that liks like a good part of a century there. Might have to add W. Alpine or Tunitas to that in the future.

Thanks for the input msincredible (Paula I think).

What I decided that I will do is to ride half before hanging out at the beach and then half after since they will be a lot closer. It will still be about 60 miles with at least 5000 feet of climbing.

my bike ride (http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ca/atherton/992124573898081122)

Yep that's me. Hope you have a good ride! :)

Ahh, I love family. Well, it looks like we are going to Santa Cruz as it is. Oh well, I'm for it.

OLH to Haskins Hill to Cloverdale to HWY 1 it is. Running short on time for other side routes.