After Disneyland....

OhioStateBuckeye

DIS Veteran
Joined
Sep 7, 2007
We are going to DL over July 4th. After that we're spending a night camping at pinnacles and then we have a whole day where we have nothing planned.

We'll be headed vaguely towards san Francisco.

Anyone have any ideas of what we should do in-between pinnacles and San Francisco? We've already done Monterey Bay aquarium.
 
Santa Cruz has the beach and the boardwalk rides/games. You can also board a train there that goes into the mountains to Henry Cowell State Park. Or, you can just go to Henry Cowell State Park on your own. There's another train ride up there that goes further into the mountains.

San Jose has the Winchester Mystery House, which is very cool. I recommend the Explore More tour.
 
I second the suggestion for the Winchester Mystery House tour. Hearst Castle is on the way up the coast as well and is worth a tour. We just did the basic house tour (can't remember exactly what it's called off the top of my head.), but it was very interesting. There's an interesting hotel called "The Madonna Inn" that's on the way, as well. It's not a major excursion in any way, shape, or form, but definitely something worth checking out if you're looking for something to do.
 


We are going to DL over July 4th. After that we're spending a night camping at pinnacles and then we have a whole day where we have nothing planned.
King City is kind of boring. Are kids in the group? There are a few theme parks on the way to San Francisco, including Gilroy Gardens and Great America.

Maybe Roaring Camp Railroad?

https://www.roaringcamp.com
 
Thanks for all the suggestions :)

There are no kids in the group, just two of us adults. I'm going to look further into a couple of the suggestions!
 
Everyone beat me to my suggestions, but I'll second (or third) the Madonna Inn, Santa Cruz Boardwalk, and Winchester Mystery House.
 


Drive up highway 101 and visit the dutch town of Solvang. Great restaurants and bakeries.
While there visit some excellent wineries as seen in the movie Sideways.

Further up 101, Stop for breakfast or lunch at Fat Cats diner in Port San Luis (Avila Beach). Great food and great views.
In Paso Robles are 100's more wineries. Some of the best in California.
 
Since you are going to so close to Monterey have you done 17 mi drive? Pebble Beach is gorgeous and the food is amazing. Pacific Grove is also beautiful with lots of great dining. I’m from the Bay Area and even as a kid I wasn’t impressed with the Winchester Mystery House so I’d say skip it. Lots of much cuter places up north that are fun and scenic like Sausalito or Tiberon near SF. Consider what day you are driving north. If you are going 101 it will clog up around Morgan Hill and on weekdays it’s a very slow drive. It depends on what time you leave but you can definitely get to SF in one day but you might want to plan a stop along the way. Palo Alto is cute and has food and shopping. If you decide to stop in San Jose skip the huge mall, it’s a Westfield, on Stevens Creek because it’s undergoing a massive renovation with a huge expansion so everything is torn up.
 
If you decide to stop in San Jose skip the huge mall, it’s a Westfield, on Stevens Creek because it’s undergoing a massive renovation with a huge expansion so everything is torn up.
That's Valley Fair Mall. Definitely skip it. I don't know why anyone from out of town would go there, even if it wasn't completely torn up with renovation. I live in the area and avoid it if I can.
 
That's Valley Fair Mall. Definitely skip it. I don't know why anyone from out of town would go there, even if it wasn't completely torn up with renovation. I live in the area and avoid it if I can.

I figure if OP or anyone reading this was inclined to visit the Winchester Mystery House they might find Valley Fair in their searching for places to eat or things to do. As we know this would not be a good idea considering the massive construction going on. Otherwise it could be of interest to non-locals. I’m still fascinated that with malls dead all over the country this one just keeps getting bigger!
 
I too vote for the Monterey Peninsula. As pp mentioned, the 17 mike drive. See The Lone Cypress. Make a stop at The Lodge @ Pebble Beach. If there during sunset, sit outside on patio & watch/listen to the one bagpiper. Nice place to have a drink, the landscape is absolutely breath taking. Big Sur is also very beautiful. And then there’s Carmel By The Sea. Carmel Beach is gorgeous! Carmel By The Sea is a quaint town with shops & the best restaurants. Carmel Valley has wineries. Pacific Grove (PG) is ok. It’s pretty because of all the Victorian homes & being right by ocean but not much to do or see. In Carmel there is the Carmel Mission. Down the road from the mission is a restaurant called Mission Ranch, which is excellent. Owned by Clint Eastwood. I’ve seen him a couple of times there. I’m partial to Monterey Peninsula because I used to live there. Santa Barbara is also nice.
 

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