SF Bay Area - Best driving roads for a Sunday morning blast?

[wjk_glynn]

Added...

• DesmoSD & david's recommendation:
  • Winters, up around Lake Berryessa to Hwy-29, back down to Angwin - https://goo.gl/maps/AicGhLze7gD2

[CheetoNYC]

Originally Posted by wjk_glynn

Mixed Bag

Roads with pros & cons...
[LIST][*]Hicks Road down to New Almaden (passing Guadalupe & Almaden Reservoirs) - https://goo.gl/maps/wzBpUny7Lhm

• Run down through Almaden Valley to New Almaden
• The section down to the junction at Almaden Quicksilver County Park / Mt. Umunhum Rd. is more bumpy that I like
• But the road surface improves after that
• It's a bit on the short side at ~8.5 miles...

I've done this road twice in the last month in an M3 and in MDX with the family. The road up from Hicks and Camden is very bumpy and tight, not a lot of fun and my M3's springs could not keep up with the chop (this road convinced me go to back to stock springs). My kid also puked on me in the MDX on the way back down, but that's a story I'd rather not retell. My suggestion is to entirely skip the northern portion from Hicks & Camden, and instead loop in from the back side (i.e., south): Almaden Expressway -
Almaden Rd - Alamitos - Hicks - Mt. Umunhum and then head back out the same way. They recently repaved Mt. Umunhum road and it is worth a drive up to the top. It's also pretty tight with Park Rangers all over the place so don't expect too much speed but it's very smooth all the way up from Hicks.

[wjk_glynn]

Originally Posted by CheetoNYC

...My suggestion is to entirely skip the northern portion from Hicks & Camden, and instead loop in from the back side (i.e., south): Almaden Expressway -
Almaden Rd - Alamitos - Hicks - Mt. Umunhum

Thanks.

I've added that to the top post...

Karl.

[wjk_glynn]

Matt Farah recently reviewed an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio as part of his signature 'One Take' series.

He normally does his reviews down in SoCal, but this one was mostly on Hwy-9 (between Hwy-35 and Hwy-236).

Karl.

[wjk_glynn]

1mang added Mines Road, then Del Puerto Canyon Road out to I-5 - https://goo.gl/maps/BKVVNxYPvAS2 (~52 miles)

Karl.

[wjk_glynn]

Added...

Others' Recommendations

• iphilips' recommendation:
  • Diablo Grande Pkwy back out to I-5 - https://goo.gl/maps/5vLJSed6rc32 (~7 miles)

Other Websites

• Road Adventures
  • As recommended by 1mang on 1addicts

Karl.

[CheetoNYC]

Originally Posted by wjk_glynn

1mang added Mines Road, then Del Puerto Canyon Road out to I-5 - https://goo.gl/maps/BKVVNxYPvAS2 (~52 miles)

Karl.

I did this drive this morning starting from Livermore except insted of heading east to I-5 I stayed on 130/Mines/San Antonio Valley road which took me up to Mt Hamilton and then back to San Jose. It was a blast. Shortly after the turn off to Del Puerto I ran my M3 behind a pretty fast bike for a good 15 miles with zero cars in front of us. There are cyclists on this entire loop so you have to keep an eye out for them on the weekend and I had to slow to a crawl a few times in blind corners when cyclists were in front of me, but overall its a great low-traffic route with both tight and long turns, long stretches in the plains (easily can hit triple digits if you aren't paying attention), climbs, and descents.

[wjk_glynn]

Thread's been kinda quite for a little while. Does anyone have any new roads to recommend adding to the list?

Thanks.

Karl.

PS: And now for a completely unnecessary & gratuitous pic from my Sunday morning run on Hwy-9 (earlier today)...

[wjk_glynn]

Added the Bolinas to Mt. Tamalpais recommendation under the Rennlist section as follows...

• david's recommendations:
  • From Point Reyes Station to Sea Ranch (via Hwy-1), and then east to Geyserville - https://goo.gl/maps/yJvGwZtwdHR2 (~122 miles!)
  • From Bolinas to Mt. Tamalpais - https://goo.gl/maps/spfWExeSKqS2 (~10 miles)
    • Note that david does add some qualifying comments in post #95

Karl.

[wjk_glynn]

I've re-organized the top post to group the roads by region as follows. I think it helps with readability...

• North Bay
• East Bay
• South Bay / Santa Clara County
• Santa Cruz Mountains & County
• Peninsula / San Mateo County
• Points further South & East of the SF Bay Area

Additionally added the following new recommendation:

North Bay

• Calistoga to Clear Lake via Hwy-29 - https://goo.gl/maps/13JRMjQYF5m (~36 miles)
  • Recommended by archizzzz

Karl.

[derbo]

East bay:
Redwood Rd https://goo.gl/maps/Po7nYGGP5Fy 10.5miles

In the middle, there is a road called pinehurst as well.

[iturbo_bmw]

subscribed!

there is road behind fremont bills in a valley called Palomeres Rd

[kshaikh]

Originally Posted by iturbo_bmw

subscribed!

there is road behind fremont bills in a valley called Palomeres Rd

How is the road quality?

[wyatth]

I did the Briones/Bear Creek loop this weekend. The road was closed in the back (north) for a while, but it's open now. That said, the Bear Creek portion had a ton of loose gravel on it. I would avoid that spot for a few more weeks at least.

[wjk_glynn]

Originally Posted by derbo

East bay:
Redwood Rd https://goo.gl/maps/Po7nYGGP5Fy 10.5miles

In the middle, there is a road called pinehurst as well.

Thanks, I'll add that to the list over the weekend.

Originally Posted by iturbo_bmw

subscribed!

there is road behind fremont bills in a valley called Palomeres Rd

Ditto.

Originally Posted by wyatth

I did the Briones/Bear Creek loop this weekend.

I can't see any reference to "Briones" near Bear Creek Rd: https://goo.gl/maps/6sGMphDydcS2

Can you give us a more exact location?

Thanks.

[wyatth]

Originally Posted by wjk_glynn

I can't see any reference to "Briones" near Bear Creek Rd: https://goo.gl/maps/6sGMphDydcS2
Can you give us a more exact location?

It's the Bear Creek / San Pablo Dam loop next to Briones Regional Park outside of Orinda. Although your Bear Creek looks more fun. The Bear Creek portion in blue was covered in gravel. Alhambra Valley Rd was closed for a while for reconstruction. It's a good loop considering how close to the city is. Good sweepers and scenery, a couple straights where it's safe to rip a few gears, etc. But it's not totally smooth and at times there can by cyclists.

[wjk_glynn]

Originally Posted by wyatth

It's the Bear Creek / San Pablo Dam loop next to Briones Regional Park outside of Orinda.

Thanks.

I'll add it to the top post during this coming weekend.

Karl.

[wjk_glynn]

Added the following to the top post...

North Bay

• Need for Speed movie sequence from Ukiah to the Point Arena Lighthouse - https://goo.gl/maps/NYT7XCLQGeH2 (~48 miles)
  • Recommended by phuonger

East Bay

• Redwood Road - https://goo.gl/maps/F8sEXuf7bYs (~11 miles)
  • Recommended by derbo
• Pinehurst Road - https://goo.gl/maps/Qb16dsU6KWs (~7 miles)
  • Recommended by derbo
• Palomares Road - https://goo.gl/maps/oLnnD4MwbHS2 (~10 miles)
  • Recommended by iturbo_bmw
• The Bear Creek / San Pablo Dam loop near Berkeley / Orinda - https://goo.gl/maps/dNfc7GhHS8A2 (~19 miles)
  • Recommended by wyatth

Karl.

[wjk_glynn]

I've added the following to the top post.

North Bay

• From Point Reyes Station out to Limantour Beach - https://goo.gl/maps/YtHLWei8Evn (~9 miles)
  • Recommended by TheBruce

Separately...

I noticed a few roads that were recommended in this old Reddit thread that haven't been mentioned here to date:

South Bay / Santa Clara County

• Stevens Canyon Rd - https://goo.gl/maps/FVUtWXhDdaq (~6 miles)

Santa Cruz Mountains & County

• Mt. Madonna Rd / Summit Rd - https://goo.gl/maps/NWhomhaBSGL2 (~26 miles)

East Bay

• Calaveras Rd - (the road is closed at the time of writing, can't generate a Google map URL)
• Niles Canyon Rd. - https://goo.gl/maps/HPan27K5r532 (~7 miles)
• Marsh Rd - https://goo.gl/maps/EziVuVrLo5H2 (~7 miles)
• Wildcat Canyon Rd - https://goo.gl/maps/1SBbCxDCT4u (~4 miles)
• Grizzly Peak Blvd - https://goo.gl/maps/uWMSc1Lepaz (~5 miles)
• Skyline Blvd - https://goo.gl/maps/aTGh3thLPsS2 (~12 miles)

Does anyone here have any feedback/advice on the above from that Reddit thread?

Thanks.

Karl.

[petar7408]

Having so many BMW's over the course of my lifetime, I drove most of those and most of em with other norcalbmw people!

Sadly, moved to sacramento and have almost no good roads to do

[wjk_glynn]

Came across this one earlier today...

Santa Cruz Mountains & County

• Soquel San Jose Rd - https://goo.gl/maps/NAPo78oLx6B2 (~10 miles)
  • The road itself is quite nice (good surface, nice flowing corners in a number of places)
  • Downside is that there's more residential along it than I like

Karl.

[derbo]

Calaveras Rd is amazing but it is a 2-way traffic road that has a section with no yellow lines to divide the lanes. It's pretty packed with cyclists on weekends and it has its share of blind corners.

A VERY old video of my turbo civic on this road at night.

excuse the potato quality.