Have any of you ever made the run down Highway 25 fom Gilroy/Hollister down to Highway 198? If so, how about the run through Los Gatos Creek Canyon (comes off 25 about 5 miles south of Pinnacles entance, on your left if you're headed south on 25) out to Coalinga? Twenty five is an awesome road once you get out of Hollister, long, long straights (120mph easy), lots of fast 4th gear on-cambers, no traffic (very isolated out there), Los Gatos Creek Rd is mostly one lane, very tight and twisty, lots of elevation changes. One night about 8-9 years ago my buddy and I went out there around 3:00am and found some fun with black ice and snow up there in his 16V GTI.....wow.
Anyway, it's a cool drive through a little-known and rarely visited area, and the scenery is decent too. Just take 25 south off 101 in Gilroy and follow it through Hollister all the way out of town. When you get to Coalinga, just follow Shell Rd to Highway 198 West (twisty with hills, awesome scenery), and take 198 back to 25 north or 101 north.

 

wow
i don't hit 4th gear til 80 90 MPH, thats gradual *** turn, or you can drive really well

 

yeah....that's a fun run......but I wouldn't go that fast at night around there....

another one in that area is 129 from San Juan Batista to Watsonville and there is always the lovely hecker pass...which I don't like so much...but it is quite the tech route. Have to do them both at night because of traffic and have to watch for deer and believe it or not....pigs.

 

25 is a nice road. I took Peach Tree rd/Indian Valley Rd on Down to San Miguel. This is narrower and even more remote than 25. I misjudged a rock on turn on the road and it bit my fuel tank, fortunately just a flesh wound but it made a big dent Also I had a full car so I couldn't have a much fun as I wanted to. I havn't done 198 but a some point I want to do the Parkfield grade and visit Earthquake central

btw remote+125+misjudged turn=RIP so make sure your affairs are in order before charging out there.

 

OOOOhhhh- Parkfield Grade -mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

Parkfield is cool, never been there in my Subaru, but went out there about 13yr ago in my 120hp VW Bus.....woo hoo, that was fun in the gravel. That entire area is laced with awesome roads.......Peachtree is cool, Bitterwater is cool, Hwy 198 from King City to Coalinga is fun, Los Gatos Creek road is fun, if you have a high clearance car, try the Clear Creek pass from Panoche/New Idria over into the Los Gatos Creek area....but don't go after rain....it is very muddy, and take note, this is an asbestos mining and old mercury mining area, probably not a good idea to go stomping around and making lots of dust with the windows down. I made the trek over this pass in my VW Vanagon....in December...it was hairy. Also check out Hwy 46 from Paso Robles to Lost Hills, Hwy 58 from Sun Luis Obispo area out to McKittrick (a very odd place, a remote wasteland dotted with asphalt pools, oil derricks, and miles of oil pipelines.) If you wanto to drive dirt, check out Soda Lake road from 58 down to 166 through the Carrizo Plain, also Elkhorn Grade and Hurrican Road/Mocal Road (a very steep dirt climb from Carrizo over the Temblor range and down into McKittrick, be careful!)

happy driving>

Jim R

 

A lot of the paved roads you mention are used for PanAm rallies down that way put on by ITN.

http://carzero.freeservers.com/

I did the NewIdria/Clear creek trip in my Audi a couple of years ago, and I agree that it is probably better done with higher clearence than our subies have, but there is some wicked fun stuff coming down off there!

It's hard to imnagine a vanagon negotiating the bumps and ruts above New Idria!

 

Yeah, my girlfriend at the time was pretty pale as we climbed up past New Idria and all the old mines....luckily I had old Wrangler AT's on it. I gotta say, however, the climb up over Hurricane from Carrizo was worse!