Driving from SF to Anaheim

tink89

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 13, 2017
The last few trips to DL have been by plane. This year we will be driving there. The last time we drove to DL was in 2015 i think. We usually take I5 all the way there.
Is there a faster route once we arrive to LA other than I5 or is I5 still the fastest.

We usually just stop at rest stops and grab a snack when we are getting gas. If the kids get hungry what is a good place to grab food that will not deviate from the route much?

We are leaving at 6 am. Any tips are greatly appreciated.
 
I-5 is the fastest way hands down.

Use Waze or Google Maps App especially once you hit So Cal and that will route you around any real time traffic should I-5 be backed up for some reason

My favorite pit stop is right at the base of the Grapevine...tons of great options.
 
I-5 is the fastest way hands down.

Use Waze or Google Maps App especially once you hit So Cal and that will route you around any real time traffic should I-5 be backed up for some reason

My favorite pit stop is right at the base of the Grapevine...tons of great options.
Thanks. I haven't used Waze much. does it work together with google maps? I'm downloading it now.
 
Thanks. I haven't used Waze much. does it work together with google maps?

Yes...Waze uses Google Maps as a backend. Google Maps will get you there quickest but keeping you on the major freeways and expressways. Waze will get you there quickest way possible even if it means taking you off the beaten path and through side roads and does a great job adapting to real time traffic conditions and ETA as you go.

I drive with Waze active even around home just for traffic monitoring.
 


I hate the 5 thru the valley. So, luckily 99 is closer for me.

That said, once you hit LA, depending on the time of day, the 5 may be the slowest way. I use sigalert to look at traffic as I am coming into Santa Clarita, then make decisions on which way to go. Often, I take the 210 East to the 605 south back to either the 5 if it looks decent or to the 91 East to the 5. If the 5 only has a very small number of red patches, I will stay on the 5, but can't remember the last time I did that!

But then again, I make this drive a LOT and know most of the back ways. (Made this drive 4 times in the last 5 weeks.... And going back down this weekend...)
 
I will try using it around here to see how it goes. it will probably help a lot at home to get anywhere. Bay area traffic is getting worse and worse.

We will probably be hitting LA around 11:30 am.

I guess ill have to just kind of wait and see how traffic is once we arrive.
 
We usually drive down 101 and then cut over to I5 via Gilroy (152). I like this route better than crossing the bridge and going over 580 and such. Pretty scenic route. For sure check Google Maps before you go and see if there are any issues. I5 is till the fastest route overall.

I find we have to stop off in Kettleman the most. It's when the kids have to have a potty break and we grab food and such (gas).
 


We used to be AP holders when we lived in Stockton, I-5 was the easiest and fastest route for us.

For stops I prefer In-N-Out Burger as the bathooms are almost always clean. There are ones at Santa Nella and Kettleman City that are easy on/off.

One of the big pluses to Waze over any other map routing application is that it's a social system, so people can drop info like where the police are at, accidents, hazards, etc. Google uses its own information and Waze for real time information and routing. Do play with the settings as any app, and Waze is no different, can take you through neighborhoods vs keeping you on a major road/highway. There are settings in Waze to help avoid this type of routing.
 
We usually drive down 101 and then cut over to I5 via Gilroy (152). I like this route better than crossing the bridge and going over 580 and such. Pretty scenic route. For sure check Google Maps before you go and see if there are any issues. I5 is till the fastest route overall.

I find we have to stop off in Kettleman the most. It's when the kids have to have a potty break and we grab food and such (gas).

If your on the peninsula I definitely recommend taking 280 to 101 to 152 - cuts 30-40 minutes of I-5 off the route. I stop at either Kettleman or Buttonwillow. Also the outlets at Tejon works well too. Also I try to leave the bay area at 5am - 5:30am. That usually gets me to Disneyland by noon and I miss all the traffic in the bay area and only hit the merging/ roadwork traffic in LA.
 
I-5, then 210E to 57S, which bypasses LA completely, exit Katella. About 20 miles longer than taking 5 all the way but there is a carpool lane for part of it. The stretch of 5 between Santa Nella and Lost Hills kills me, it's so boring. We have a choice to take 99 but it's slower and a tad more curvy/dippy which I hate if we happen to be driving at night. I'd rather get there faster.

I use Waze mostly for the traffic conditions but sometimes it takes you on really convoluted routes just to save a few minutes. You can preview routes and pick which one you want to take. I prefer Google Maps in an area I'm completely unfamiliar with because it's better about telling you what's coming up (what the next turn will be, which lane you should be in, etc).

We pretty much only stop at In-N-Out to eat because it's always reliably clean. And the cheapest gas tends to be at the Love's station in Lost Hills.
 
The Kettleman exit has most fast foods but also has Bravo Farms. Good food and interesting things to see.
Also if this is a gas stop, there is an older gas station about a quarter mile north on that exit that is much cheaper than the ones at the exit.
 
Thanks everyone. We usually do 101 to 152 to 5. It has always worked well except one time when we left the bay area at noon. I know there is always construction going on in LA and just wasn't sure if there was anything we needed to watch for. I will use both google and Waze to get us there.
 
Waze is great - once we get near LA we usually check the routes options again. Sometimes it'll try to take you off and through a neighborhood to save like 5 minutes. Make sure you have the carpool option turned on, as it'll warn you when you need to get in and out of the carpool lanes to make your exits.
 
Kettleman City has In n Out and Starbucks, but be warned, gas was $4.40 a gallon when we were there the first weekend in December! :crazy2: Gas was under $3 a gallon at Buttonwillow.


We use Waze usually once we get over the grapevine. Have a fun trip!
 

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