U.S. Highway 101 (US-101) is a major north-south U.S. highway on the west coast. This itinerary will take you the entire 1,535 mi (2,471 km) from Los Angeles, California to Tumwater, Washington.
Understand
[edit]US-101 does not serve major cities like Portland or Seattle. Those cities are instead served by Interstate 5, a more inland route. However, US-101 runs along the coast, connecting other major cities like San Francisco and San Jose.
Prepare
[edit]US-101 starts in really dense suburban areas, but after San Francisco and Santa Rosa, there is not many cities over 10,000 residents. Instead of heading inland to big cities like Redding, Eugene, or Portland, it instead stays on the coast to smaller but historical cities like Eureka, Crescent City, and Tillamook. Be prepared and stock up on food and gas before leaving a city.
Be weary of rain, as they can make the road slippery.
Get in
[edit]By plane
[edit]All codes in parentheses are IATA codes, unless otherwise stated.
General Aviation/Private Airports
[edit]- Camarillo Airport (CMA)
- Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX)
- Salinas Municipal Airport (SNS)
- San Martin Airport [Untowered] (FAA Identifier: E16)
- Florence Municipal Airport (FAA Identifier: 6S2)
- Newport Municipal Airport (ONP)
- Astoria Regional Airport (AST)
- William R. Fairchild International Airport [Port Angeles] (CLM)
Commercial Airports
[edit]- Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA)
- San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC)
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
- Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport [Santa Rosa] (STS)
- Arcata–Eureka Airport [Humboldt County Airport] (ACV)
- Southwest Oregon Regional Airport [North Bend] (OTH)
Go
[edit]By train
[edit]The closest train route to US-101 is the Coast Starlight, running from Los Angeles to Seattle.
Drive
[edit]
Note: State highways are referenced by their postal abbreviations, e.g., CA-60 means California State Highway 60, MS-15 means Mississippi State Highway 15, etc. Attractions and cities are listed in bold are linked to their respective Wikivoyage articles for further reading and discussion. If no such article exists on Wikivoyage it is linked to its Wikipedia article. Please feel free to plunge forward to edit this or another article or create a new Wikivoyage article that does not yet exist.
This itinerary will take you south-north. Exit numbers may be different going north-south.
Day 1: Los Angeles to Salinas
[edit]Route
[edit]
From 1 Los Angeles, US-101 starts at the East Los Angeles Interchange with Interstate 5 
, Interstate 10 
, and CA-60 
(Mile 0.0). Immediately after, you hit the interchange with CA-110 
, which leads to 1MISSING WIKILINK Dodger Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. Soon, you must keep right to stay on US-101 at the interchange with CA-170 
and CA-134 
, with the right three lanes leading to US-101. In the LA suburb of 2 Sherman Oaks, you will reach Interstate 405 .svg){kind=small}
(Exit 18). You will then pass by the cities and suburbs of 3 Thousand Oaks, 4 Camarillo, 5 Oxnard, and 6 Ventura before an interchange with CA-33 
(Exit 70B) to the San Joaquin Valley. US-101 then rides along the coast, passing by the cities of 7 Carpinteria, 8 Santa Barbara, and 9 Goleta before cutting inland and ending the freeway section with a couple of intersections. The 1 Gaviota Rest Area is a rest stop with parking, vending machines, and direct access to Gaviota State Park. US-101 has an interchange with the Pacific Coast Highway (CA-1) 
(Exit 132) in the unincorporated community of Las Cruces. US-101 stays north, heading towards the cities of 10 Buellton and 11 Santa Maria before riding the coast in the cities of 12 Arroyo Grande and 13 Pismo Beach before going inland towards 14 San Luis Obispo, the county seat of San Luis Obispo County. It then runs parallel to the Salinas River, where the drive starts becoming rural. You will still find some cities, including 15 Atascadero, 16 Paso Robles, 17 King City, and 18 Soledad, before you arrive in 19 Salinas, where you can stop for the day.
Sleep in Salinas
[edit]- 1 Days Inn, 1226 De la Torre St, ☏ +1 831-759-9900.
- 2 Hampton Inn & Suites, 523 Work St, ☏ +1 831-754-4700.
- 3 Holiday Inn Express & Suites, 195 Kern St, ☏ +1 831-737-1160.
- 4 Best Western (Salinas/Monterey Hotel), 175 Kern St, ☏ +1 831-784-0176.
- 5 Courtyard by Marriott, 17225 El Rancho Way, ☏ +1 831-775-0491.
- 6 Motel 6, 140 Kern St, ☏ +1 831-268-5727.
Eat in Salinas
[edit]- 1 Salinas City BBQ, 700 W Market St, ☏ +1 831-758-2227.
- 2 Elli's Great American Restaurant, 1250 S Main St, ☏ +1 831-759-8455.
- 3 Waffles Breakfast & Lunch Restaurant, 1465 N Main St, ☏ +1 831-442-8880.
Route
[edit]
Getting back on the road, US-101 shifts inland to 20 Prunedale, 21 Gilroy, 22 San Martin, and 23 Morgan Hill before reaching the so-called "Silicon Valley" with its most populated city, 24 San Jose. In San Jose, it has major interchanges with CA-85 
(Exit 377A), Interstate 680 .svg){kind=small}
and Interstate 280 .svg){kind=small}
(Exit 384), Interstate 880 .svg){kind=small}
(Exit 388B), and CA-237 
(Exit 396C). It then turns back to the coast, running up the Bay Area Peninsula with the cities of 25 Mountain View, 26 Palo Alto, 27 San Mateo, 28 San Bruno, and 29 South San Francisco before entering the cultural center of Northern California, 30 San Francisco. There, you hit your first traffic lights along the route, as the road runs as Van Ness Avenue and Lombard Street after an interchange with Interstate 80 
(Exit 433B, southbound exit on the left). You can visit places like Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, or one that is directly along your route, the 2 Golden Gate Bridge. Tolls on the golden gate bridge can cost anywhere from $9.75 with a FasTrak card to $10.75 for a toll invoice with a normal, 2-axle car. Carpools with a FasTrak Flex card cost $7.75. Across the Bay, you will reach the cities of 31 Sausalito, 32 Corte Madera, 33 Larkspur, 34 Novato, and 35 Petaluma before splitting off from the coast for the rest of the day (it will rejoin the coast near Eureka). You then enter wine country with the city of 36 Santa Rosa, probably the last city along your path with more than 100,000 people. In Santa Rosa, there is an interchange with CA-12 
(Exit 488B), a major east-west highway in California. 37 Cloverdale is the next city on the route.The highway then enters Mendocino County, with the historic towns of 38 Hopland and 39 Ukiah, where you can rest for the day.
Sleep in Ukiah
[edit]- 7 Holiday Inn Express & Suites, 1270 Airport Park Blvd, ☏ +1 707-462-1514.
- 8 Motel 6 (Downtown Ukiah), 1208 S State St, ☏ +1 707-213-4933.
- 9 Motel 6 (North Ukiah), 1340 N State St, ☏ +1 707-213-4925.
- 10 Hampton Inn, 1160 Airport Park Blvd, ☏ +1 707-462-6555.
- 11 Days Inn, 950 N State St, ☏ +1 707-462-7584.
Eat in Ukiah
[edit]- 4 The Alley Grill, 1245 Airport Park Blvd, ☏ +1 707-462-2110.
- 5 Super Taco, 506 E Perkins St, ☏ +1 707-462-5979.
- 6 Stan's Maple Cafe, 295 S State St, ☏ +1 707-462-5221.
Day 3: Ukiah to Crescent City
[edit]Route
[edit]From Ukiah, US-101 has an interchange with CA-20 
(Eastbound) (Exit 555B) that goes to Yuba City. US-101 then starts going towards the coast, meeting with the city of 40 Willits, with an interchange with the other side of CA-20 (Westbound) (Exit 568). A few miles later, there is an intersection with CA-162 
that goes to Willows. The road then turns left towards the city of 41 Leggett, with the end of the Pacific Coast Highway (CA-1). US-101 then starts following (most of) the bends of the South Fork Eel River, passing by the small towns of 42 Piercy, 43 Benbow, 44 Garberville, 45 Rio Dell, and 46 Fortuna.
Sleep in Crescent City
[edit]Eat in Crescent City
[edit]Day 4: Crescent City to Tillamook
[edit]Route
[edit]Sleep in Tillamook
[edit]Eat in Tillamook
[edit]Route
[edit]Sleep in Aberdeen
[edit]Eat in Aberdeen
[edit]Day 6: Aberdeen to Port Angeles
[edit]Route
[edit]Sleep in Port Angeles
[edit]Eat in Port Angeles
[edit]Day 7: Port Angeles to Tumwater
[edit]Route
[edit]Stay safe
[edit]US-101 is known to have dense coastal fog, causing low visibility and major pileups. Roads are also known to be slick, made even worse by the fact that most of the affected route is a 2-lane undivided road winding through the Redwood forests.
Go next
[edit]-
U.S. Route 1 - On the opposite side of the coast, US-1 goes north-south from Florida to Maine. -
Interstate 5 - The modern version of US-101, it runs from California to Washington, passing through major cities like Sacramento, Portland, and Seattle. -
The Pacific Coast Highway - The Pacific Coast Highway follows the coast of California, ending at US-101 in Leggett, California.
