super-douper

Some friends and I are planning a 4 day 3 night camping tour. None of us have ever toured before but are very excited about it. We're having trouble choosing a route though. We don't want to drive anywhere either to start or return so a loop ride or an out-and-back trip is what we're looking for. We really want to cycle a part of HWY 1.

We were thinking of leaving San Jose on bike and pedal up the peninsula to San Francisco. From there we want to get on HWY 1 and travel south to Santa Cruz then on the last day leave Santa Cruz and head back to San Jose. We're planning on around 70 miles per day, San Francisco is only about 50 miles from San Jose, so we could cross the golden gate and camp in nort bay for one night.

We've got info about campsites along HWY 1 but no route or info about where to stay the first night (around San Francisco).

Has anybody cycled from San Jose to San Francisco? or camped around there? any suggestions?

I'm very excited about my first tour, the first of many I hope.

gf71

Hi Super Douper a good start for your research is a section on Palo Alto bicycles where they give details of rides in the Bay area. The link is https://www.paloaltobicycles.com/rides.html .
I had a couple of rides in the Bay Area and if you like climbing a great way to get to HWY1 is Page Mill Road from Palo Alto up to Skyline then down Alpine Road to the Coast or if you down San Lorenzo Valley to Santa Cruz. Wherever you go it is a great area to ride so don't worry too much as far as you avoid big traffic areas.

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the web site for bike tourists
www.cyclingtheworld.org
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gravelpot

You might want to check into camping on Angel Island. You can take a ferry across from S.F. It looks like you would want reservations, though...

Angel Island Campsites

super-douper

thanks for the suggestions, I just ran acrosse baytrail.org....was thinking of getting on that and riding that up the peninsula.

Have you ever ridden that?

rat

About two years ago I camped for free on the beach in Pacifica, about 15 mi south of San Francisco with no hassles at all. There are usually campfires burning until late on the weekends, and the atmosphere is very friendly. If you are a small group, you might be ok. There are NO campsites in the area and no affordable hotels. I think Half moon bay has camping, about 12 miles further south. Hwy 1 is one of the most impressive routes in the country, especially in the early spring when everything is green.