lacyjo

Can someone tell me what is the worst or best time to go through LA and San Francisco ? Are those the worst 2 or are they all about the same for traffic ? I'm in the Midwest, so driving out there is going to be a treat ! Thanks for the info.

here_today_gone2Maui

As for L.A, it depends on where and which direction you will be travelling. Anytime of day on the 405 will be slow, but going east-west, as on the 10, or 210 will vary depending on the time of day and where in the Southland you are going. The Westside is always a rough commute, as are most parts of Orange County. Mornings are heavy heading into downtown, and evening drives are heavy heading out. Most freeways start to load up by 3 for the afternoon commute. But one little fender-bender or construction can make a major mess of things, let alone what a Sig alert can do! Best bet is to tune into NPR or some other radio staion with frequent traffic reports.

Aloha, from Kellee, who did the LA commutes for 20 years and will never have to drive another freeway again

rjw_lgb_ca

For LA metro, on weekdays your worst times will be 6:30 AM to 9:00 AM, then 3:30 PM to 7:30 PM. At least in my experience. It depends on the freeway in question, weather (if it's raining, all bets are off), construction status and number of accidents. CA-91 is notorious for delays and snarls, especially in the Anaheim area and in Riverside where there's construction currently.

Happily, roads and freeways are clearly marked, so at least you'll know where you are while you're sitting in traffic.

LA and SF are probably the worst, although San Diego can get busy as well.

lacyjo

We will be leaving Oceanside either Thursday or Friday morning, heading to San Francisco. Best ways to get there ?
Also, its says the Windsor is about an hour past San Francisco, that is where we are thinking of staying so that we can go north to the redwoods, and south to SF. Do you think that driving back and forth from Windsor sounds ok? or too much ? Thanks again

clarkgriswold

Stick to the weekends for both! And hotels on the coast in between will be cheaper on the weeknights.

easytraveler

What's the Windsor? A town? A hotel? No, it really doesn't make any sense to keep driving down to SF if you want to spend time there. Better to have a hotel in SF and no car, if at all possible. Parking is expensive in SF and you'll probably need to take public transportation at some time anyhow. Bridge toll on the Golden Gate Bridge is now $5. Put that into your SF hotel costs.

The worst traffic in the whole US is the 405 in LA, according to a recent survey.

In the Bay Area, the one stretch that made the top 10/15 list was south of San Francisco. It's where 880 joins 101 in San Jose.

You really don't want to be on any of the Bay Area freeways during peak commute time. Highway 101 from San Jose to SF can be clogged. Interstate 280 from SJ to SF is OK until you get close to SF Airport.

Or heading southbound, Highway 101 is jampacked again during peak commute times. Everyone wants to get home. 880 on the east shore of the Bay is just as bad.

So, just like LA, you want to avoid the peak commute times, when you are in the Bay Area.