SLOMosport

Carmel Valley Road / Arroyo Seco Road, Monterey County, CA
25-75mph; 2-4 gear; 1-1.5hr

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.

Old Creek / Santa Rosa Creek Road, Cambria, CA
10-50mph; 2-4 gear; 45min

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.

Las Pilitas - Pozo Shortcut, Santa Margarita, CA
15-50mph; 2-4 gear; 20min

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.

HWY 229 - The Sprint, Santa Margarita, CA
10-50mph; 2-4 gears; 10min; last drive 12-09-07

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.

Pozo Loop - Pozo, Parkhill, Huer Huero, Santa Margarita, CA
20-60mph; 2-4 gear; 45-1hr; last drive 12-09-07

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

HWY 33, Ojai, CA
25-100+mph; 2-5+ gear; 1hr; last drive 11-24-07

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

HWY 58, Kern County, CA
15-100mph; 2-5+gears; 1-1.45hr; last drive 09-09-07

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

HWY 166, Santa Barbara County, CA
55-150mph; 3-5+ gear; 45min-1hr; last drive 06-15-07

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

Pecho Valley Road, Morro Bay, CA
20-30mph; 2-4 gear; 15min;

2.5 Overall
2 Technical Difficulty
3 Road Condition
2 Traffic
3 Wow Factor

Comments:
The main road to Montana de Oro just south of Morro Bay, CA.
Great road for any vehicle, especially in the morning when there’s less traffic and the sun is just peeking through the trees.
There is often gravel on a number of the turns and requires some caution.
This drive is best paired with a stop at the beach, a hike, or mountain biking at the national park.
There’s quite a few scenic spots worth stopping at and even better views are just a half hour hike into the park.

Location:
At the end of Los Osos Valley Road just south of Morro Bay.

Pairing:
Can be easily paired with Turri Road in Los Osos on the way to or from San Luis Obispo.

Map:
GMap

Image: