best attractions on interstate-5 to San Diego?
My family is going to San Diego to comic-con . We want to leave early to enjoy our time together . We thought we could stop along the way and see what ever our state has to offer. We are taking interstate 5 all the way. Anyone have ideas ? Thanks
Sorry I’m in the east bay / San Fransico area.
You don’t identify where your trip begins…..please tell us that and we can help you.
Let’s assume you’re beginning your roadtrip from the northernmost point of I-5 in California (since you forgot to tell us your hometown) ….
Most drivers take 2-3 days to drive on I-5 from Oregon. The first dramatic moment would be Mt. Shasta. It’s just south of the forgettable town of Weed. You don’t have to hike Shasta, but if you have the time, just get off the McCloud (or Weed) turnoff, and just gaze at the mountain. It is just a beautiful view. Even better when there is more snow, which unfortunately is NOT in the summer.
Redding is a good place to stop for lodging, but you’d have to check the weather conditions with the current fires.
Another hour south is Lassen Peak National Park. There’s hiking and viewing. Again, the fires have pretty much scared folks away.
From here until you get to Los Angeles County there really isn’t much to enjoy. Most Californians take I-5 because it’s the fastest way to get from one point to another. The San Joaquin Valley has farmlands but it’s essentially something you view from a distance and enjoy in your imagination.
When you reach the top of a lengthy climb to the Grapevine, you near Magic Mountain. It’s an amusement park. I think the official name is Six Flags. If thrills, rides, standing on long lines in the hot sun, etc. are your idea of a diversion, then you might be interested.
From there you drive into Los Angeles. Best to avoid it during rush hours. Even on the Diamond Lane, it’s hectic. But it’s L.A. and you’ve got your fill of choices. The Getty Museum on I-405 is free, if you’re into art. You have to park and take a shuttle.
The turnoff into Santa Monica or Venice is an interesting diversion if you’re not from a beach town, but San Diego has more than enough beaches to satisfy you, especially La Jolla Shores.
IF YOU AVOID I-5 :
Take 101 South. It’s a much scenic drive, and plenty of diversions. Such as :
San Francisco
Carmel / Monterrey (off Highway 1) ..
San Simeon (Hearst Castle)
Santa Barbara
101 eventually reaches Los Angeles and you have to decide whether you want to go quickly to San Diego (take I-405) or into the heart of L.A. downtown. 101 passes Chinatown, Hollywood, Little Tokyo, etc.
Again, be sure to avoid the rush hour (best to drive through L.A. between 9:30 a.m. – 2:15 p.m., or after 8 p.m.
FINAL THOUGHT :
If that’s a lot to process, well, just focus your vacation on San Diego. After the Comic-Con, you have so much more in San Diego — the Zoo ; the Wild Animal Park ; Sea World ; Balboa Park ; the beaches ; etc.
There are many wonderful and interesting places in Southern California where you can visit with your family, such as, Marina Del Rey, UCLA & Westwood Village, The Grove at Farmers Market, The Universal City Walk, Mann’s Chinese Theatre, La Brea Tar Pits, beautiful La Jolla Beach in San Diego, J. Paul Getty Museum to the amazing LA County Arboretum & Bontanical Garden. I usually visit this informative website: http://www.californiafamilydaytrips.com/ to get most of my information on where to go in Southern California. Good Luck and have a great time with your family in San Diego!
Head to Oceanside. We have awesome beaches, jetties, and the longest pier on the west coast.
Interstate 5 through the Central Valley is boring, borning, boring, but it sure is fast.
If you are into big roller coasters, Magic Mountain in Valencia is a good stop.
You might want to consider transitioning to 405 once you get south of Magic Mt. for two reasons: as bad as traffic is on 405, in almost all instances, 5 will be worse. Another reason is that the carpool lane on 405 will reduce your grief a bit. Second motivation to cut over to 405 is that it gets you near some interesting places: Santa Monica – a great beach town with the 3rd St. Promenade an outstanding place to visit. Other beach towns I like would include Manhatten Beach. Near Santa Monica is UCLA in Westwood if that would interest you. Also, the Getty Museum is right off 405 north of UCLA; the architecture is probably more impressive than the art.
I’d recommend spending the $4-5 dollars it takes for the highway 73 tollroad to get back to highway 5 – it’s going to save you time and avoid a couple of traffic bottlenecks.
If you’ve been to Santa Monica and/or Manhatten Beach, skip Oceanside. You might like stopping in the funky little beach town of Encinitas, cool little family beach (Moonlight), interesting little restaurants along Coast Hwy, famous surf spots and the Self Realization Temple and Meditation Gardens with spectacular coastal views.
La Jolla is elegant beautiful beach town, lots of trendy shopping and restaurants, San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art if you like that stuff…if you don’t the views are wonderful. Downtown La Jolla Shores area has companies that do guided kayak tours of La Jolla Caves…lots of fun, I recommend getting the combination kayaking/snorkeling trips…probably about 3 hours long.
Once at the SD Convention Center be prepared for sensory overload with ComicCon. The Gaslamp areas a few blocks away for fun and evening entertainment. I’d usually recommend Padres games at the nearby Petco Park but they are currently the worst team in baseball so only go if you are a fan of the visitor club.
Along the downtown Embarcaders you can do a Harbor Cruise and visit the Maritime Museum, a collection of in the water old ships. If you’d be interested in touring a retired Navy ship, the Midway is parked downtown too.
Have fun!