Places you cruise around for fun/leisure?

[PMok]

Well you will soon learn, owning a sports car makes you a god amongst men. You must learn to step lightly, lest you trample upon the mere mortals.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[leicaboss]

And that's why you either pass those suckers like a maniac or do what I do - drive late at night! No traffic, just you and the high speeds

[Drive]

Other than Highway9/Vista Point and Mt. Hamiliton / lick's observatory, what are some other places that aren't too long of a drive and has somewhere you can park for a few minutes for a good view?

[PMok]

Originally Posted by Drive

Other than Highway9/Vista Point and Mt. Hamiliton / lick's observatory, what are some other places that aren't too long of a drive and has somewhere you can park for a few minutes for a good view?

assuming you mean from San Jose, there aren't too many other options that are short drives. Try the Felter/Sierra drive I mentioned above.

Another one, take Hwy 9 to Skyline and head north. Shortly past Page Mill Rd there is a small parking lot on the right, with a vista point. View is nice there and you may sometimes run into other car/driving enthusiasts there too. Or see/hear as they roar past in either direction.

[crono]

Nice suggestions! Went through Stevens Canyon today. Didn't realize such fun roads were right in the backyard.

[Cjymiller]

Originally Posted by leicaboss

Highway 9 at night is my favorite. Generally don't run into others driving around. Only thing is deer are out and about...

You must be driving too early or late. If you try Friday and Saturday nights between midnight and 3am, you will see plenty of other street cars. The warmer it is, the more cars. Its awesome.

[Drive]

Originally Posted by crono

Nice suggestions! Went through Stevens Canyon today. Didn't realize such fun roads were right in the backyard.

Yep, Stevens Canyon is fun and short

[crono]

Originally Posted by Drive

Yep, Stevens Canyon is fun and short

The drive took longer than I expected because I got lost and ended up driving the 9 up to the 35 and back. Some intense turns in that area. Had to take it easy since I was so unfamiliar with the roads but I can't wait to go for another spin.

And as someone mentioned, you get to see a lot of cool cars too. Ran into a wide variety from porsche, to bmw, and even an aston martin. Was hoping to see an frs/brz because the whole drive was inspired by this thread.

[MagicBobert]

I take 280 to Page Mill Rd., then do the Page Mill Rd -> Skyline -> Hwy 9 loop. Loads of fun, and only takes about 1-1.5 hours.

Careful on Page Mill, though. It's easily the most fun of the 3 but there are lots of bikers out as well.

[leicaboss]

Originally Posted by Cjymiller

You must be driving too early or late. If you try Friday and Saturday nights between midnight and 3am, you will see plenty of other street cars. The warmer it is, the more cars. Its awesome.

Well, I go when it's cold and dark... I really have yet to run into others while driving at night. I know others do go out so maybe I've just gotten lucky?

[cpnslow]

I often drive Mt Hamilton Road to Lick Observatory and back. I live at the base of the hill in Alum Rock, and a round trip is about 1.5 hours not including a stop at the top. Easily my favorite road in the South Bay!

Shorter options:
Mt Hamilton to Quimby (short loop is 40 min)
Mt Hamilton to Clayton (even shorter loop is 20 min)

And for traveling to the coast:
Old Santa Cruz Rd to Summit Road to San Jose Soquel Road (Hwy 17 alternative)
Bailey Rd to Uvas Road to Watsonville Rd to Hwy 152 (in south county)

[FUN BRZ]

Since you're in San Jose you could also try San Felipe -> Metcalf. It'll drop you right off by 101 and then you can take 101S to Bailey (just 1 exit) and head up Bailey to McKean/Uvas and it'll take you all the way to 152 just West of Morgan Hill.


That's my usual leisure drive/ride.

[HighContrast]

May be far for some but highway 84, the section in between highway 1 and 280 is a blast with our vehicles

[sdlynx]

Depend on how much time I have. Quick jaunts take me from Lake McSwain to Catheys Valley via Hornitos Rd. If I have more time, I'll head out to Hwy 49 and drive "little dragon" between Mariposa and Coulterville.