Highway 25 in California
Your tour guide: Curt Ingraham of Oakland, California
This is a fun detour for travelers on Hwy. 101 or Interstate 5 in central California. After last year's 02 Fest West in San Luis Obispo, my son and I did half of this beautifully scenic but remote and deserted detour about 25 miles west of I-5 between the split and Hollister, and it was one of the best parts of the weekend.
On our trip home, we bypassed about 100 miles of Hwy. 101 by going east in San Miguel, just north of Paso Robles, and following Indian Valley Road and Hwy. 25 north to Hollister. It was very much like the poker rally route, following scenic canyons and rolling hills on a narrow two-lane country road. Best of all, the road was practically deserted -- we saw only about 10 cars in the 80 miles between those two towns. (The stretch between Hollister and Gilroy was rather overdeveloped and busy.) We decided this detour was the best part of the weekend. Got to test the top speed a couple of times; it was about [censored].
You could add about 100 miles to the detour by starting it much farther south by going west on 166, north on 33, west on 198, then north on 25. When you get to Hollister, skip the suburban congestion north of there by going east on 156 and 152.
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