5 Overall
5 Technical Difficulty
5 Road Condition
5 Traffic
5 Wow Factor

Comments:
My favorite road in California!
The Pozo Loop’s big sister. Similar in almost every aspect, but longer and more scenic.
Ends in beautiful Carmel Valley wine country.
Only route North worth driving. Perfect for any vehicle.
Best in the morning when it’s less backlit. Easier to see the road when the sun isn’t in your eyes.
Twisty canyon sections, windy swtichbacks, and high speed drags make this road absolutely a must!

Location:
North from Greenfield at Elm Exit or South from Carmel Valley, CA.

Pairing:
Pair with Nacamiento Lake Road to the South or Laureles Grade road to the North.

3.5 Overall
5 Technical Difficulty
1 Road Condition
4 Traffic
4 Wow Factor

Comments:
Old Creek is a mid speed canyon drive like Perfumo.
Lots of blind turns, and uphill climbs heading North from Cayucos.
Santa Rosa is a slow twisty road in poor condition with great views of the Cambria Valley.
Stop at Linn’s farmstore along Santa Rosa and get some of the best pies in the state.
The CalPoly bicycle team races this route once a year, but this road is not recommended for motorcycles due to the road condition on Santa Rosa.

Location:
Between Cayucos and Cambria, links with HWY 46.

2.5 Overall
3 Technical Difficulty
1 Road Condition
1 Traffic
5 Wow Factor

Comments:
This road is worth doing at least once in your life. But Carmel Valley Road is much, much better.
The views are spectacular, but road condition and traffic are awful. So much so that it’s dangerous.
Traffic can increase the trip to 4+ hours with a stop along the way.
Best in the morning when traffic hasn’t picked up.

Location:
HWY 1 South of Carmel and North of Cambria.

Pairing:
Best paired with Nacamiento-Fergusson Road.

4.5 Overall
4 Technical Difficulty
5 Road Condition
4 Traffic
5 Wow Factor

Comments:
Shortcut thorugh the Pozo Loop. Not as fun as the whole thing, but great if you’re short on time.
Popular w/ motorcyclists and bikes, narrow road in good condition.
Twisty road with a large number of blind turns and some open ranch views.

Location:
Off Pozo road South of Santa Margarita connecting East to Parkhill near the turn for Huer Huero

Pairing:
Excellent to pair with HWY 229 or the Pozo Loop.

4.75 Overall
5 Technical Difficulty
5 Road Condition
4 Traffic
5 Wow Factor

Comments:
Most fun 10 minutes ever! Except the Nurburgring of course. Better than the track!
On coming traffic on one-lane road can make for some hairy turns, drive safely.
2 20mph turns w/ gravel can be dangerous. This is a great road to drive with a scout with a radio.
Sharp turns and great camber make for a track-like experience. This road is created by the track gods.

Location:
Off HWY 58 to Creston a few miles East of Santa Margarita.

Pairing:
Best with the Pozo Loop and/or Las Pilitas.

4.25 Overall
5 Technical Difficulty
4 Road Condition
4 Traffic
4 Wow Factor

Comments:
Excellent Central Coast getaway. My favorite romp in the San Luis Obispo area.
Fast and slow sections with plenty of valley and ranch views.
Can be slow if you get caught behind traffic. Beware of cops when there’s lots of traffic. Events at the Pozo Saloon venue draws large crowds a few weekends a year.
Only 15min north of SLO, best hour long drive in the county.
Fall colours in October/November which definitely adds to the Wow Factor.

Location:
South of Santa Margarita off of HWY 58.

Pairing:
Best paired with HWY 229 or Las Pilitas.

Map:
GMap

4.75 Overall
5 Technical Difficulty
5 Road Condition
4 Traffic
5 Wow Factor

Comments:
One of the best roads in California!!! Would be my favorite except for the traffic!
High speed and low speed sections with switchbacks, sweepers, and high-speed bends.
Amazingly beautiful road that’s fun and very challenging.
Lots of motorcycles and light traffic, but turn-outs everywhere for plenty of photos and letting slow traffic build distance.
Uphill and downhill canyon roads with a little gravel especially in the winter.

Location:
Connector between HWY 126 in Ojai, CA and HWY 166 in Cuyama, CA.

Pairing:
Best paired with HWY 150 for a better connector than HWY 126 and HWY 166 to get to Santa Maria. Possibly also good with Lockwood Rd. although I’ve never tried that way to get back to HWY 5 at Frazier Park.

Map:
GMap

5 Overall
5 Technical Difficulty
5 Road Condition
5 Traffic
5 Wow Factor

Comments:
One of the best roads in California!!! Simply perfect!
High speed and low speed areas divided into 3 sections, a high speed sweeper section near Santa Margarita, CA, a high speed straight section through the California Valley, and a very twisty section near McKittrick, CA.
The best road to go to Buttonwillow Raceway on, practically practice for the track.
Little habitation along the route and no cell signal, best in groups or driven carefully.
All that you could ever want in a road.
Beautiful views especially in the twisty section (the TougePhoto.com welcome photo in fact)

Location:
Connector between HWY 5 in Buttonwillow, CA and HWY 101 near Santa Margarita, CA.

Map:
GMap

Last Drive Data:
09-07-07
Total Time: 1:15
Average mpg: 12mpg
Average Speed: 65mph

4.75 Overall
4 Technical Difficulty
5 Road Condition
5 Traffic
5 Wow Factor

Comments:
One of the best roads in California!!!
Drive along the ridge of the San Joaquin Valley with stunning views of the valley floor on one side and beautiful rolling hills on the other.
High speed turns with ocassional twisty sections.
Plenty of vista points to stop and take photos. (Look up and you’ll see just one shot, the TougeForum logo.)
Rarely any traffic, just the ocassional motorcycle trios.
Road condition is usually perfect with a little gravel on some turns, and ocassional snow in the winter time.

Location:
Connects from HWY 5 in Frazier Park, CA at the top of the grapevine to HWY 166 near New Cayuma, CA.

Pairing:
HWY 33 or HWY 166

Map:
GMap

3.5 Overall
3 Technical Difficulty
4 Road Condition
3 Traffic
4 Wow Factor

Comments:
A very high speed road with a sweeping canyon and long perfectly flat section.
The canyon section is beautiful and full of 90mph sweepers that’ll dare you scared.
There’s quite a bit of truck traffic but plenty of passing opportunities even in the canyon section.
A steep downhill grade into the San Joaquin valley offers very challenging sweepers and amazing views of the valley floor.
If you need to get from HWY 101 to HWY 5 in a hurry this is a great choice.

Location:
Connects from HWY 101 in Santa Maria, CA to HWY 5 at the base of the Grapevine.

Pairing:
Best paired with Cerro Noroeste Road in the middle of HWY 166 to HWY 5 at the top of the Grapevine.
Also an excellent pair with HWY 33 in the middle of HWY 166 to HWY 101 in Ojai, CA. (Although this excellent road is quite a roundabout way to get North or South)

Map:
GMap