Hagerty Road of the Year 2024: California State Route 33
As the summer driving season approaches, Hagerty’s new Road of the Year award is meant to encourage Hagerty Drivers Club members and all automotive enthusiasts to get off the freeways and explore a great road in their own region. Our first annual Road of the Year winner: California’s Highway 33. This epic two-lane road is within easy reach of residents and visitors to the Los Angeles area. If you’d like to make your voice heard and discuss your favorite road, comment below and share the love of driving with fellow enthusiasts.
As important as what you drive and where you are going is how you get there. Because any wheel-driven vehicle cannot function without a surface upon which to exert its motive force, the road is as important to a car as oxygen is to the human body. OK, there are a few exceptions, including the lunar rover, but one characteristic shared by almost all automobiles built between the 1885 Benz Patent-Motorwagen and the 2024 Tesla Cybertruck is that they function to their full potential only on a prepared surface. Unlike the USS Enterprise, cars go best where others have gone before.
There are more than 4 million miles of road in the United States, from the Aleutian Islands to the Florida Keys. We’ve built roads over and under mountains, across sweeping spans of water, through the eastern forests and the western deserts, around nearly every island, and over the southern swamps. Picking one to single out as the best is impossible. The best for what? Since Roman times, roads have been engineered to do one thing and one thing only: link points on a map so that travelers may more easily journey between them.
However, as we all know, roads are capable of so much more. They can provoke delight and terror in equal doses. They can be vaults for our memories and incubators of our dreams. They can pay riches and serve as the best schools from which to get an education. Whether you press an accelerator or twist a grip, something is going to happen to you on a road, and there are a few worth recognizing for the extent to which they stir our spirits as much as get us to where we are going.
![California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-mountain-curves](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/JL21536.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=426&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
In our selection, the first of what we plan to make an annual feature, a few rules were necessarily applied to help winnow down the endless possibilities. First, the road had to be no more than a one-day round trip from a major urban center, the thinking being that anyone should be able to access the route easily as a day excursion and while perhaps visiting this urban center for work or vacation (we may change our mind on this point in future selections). Also, the pavement had to be in good condition. Plus, it had to have some dining amenities, and we leaned toward roads with outlets to other roads, such that they could be run in one direction rather than merely to a turnaround point.
The best roads tend to pass through majestic scenery, and majestic scenery tends to have extreme weather. Thus, always check the conditions before departing. It’s a living landscape in which rivers swell and mountains move, sometimes onto roads, making published routes suddenly impassible. Great roads often don’t have continuous cellphone coverage either, so best to bring some tools and an extra set of points if going in an older car. Hagerty Roadside is good, but they’re not psychic; they can’t find you if you can’t call them.
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMANDJI_0479-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=426&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
None of which should deter anyone from venturing out onto this or any other road, the one and only place our cars truly belong. “Wealth I ask not, hope nor love, nor a friend to know me,” wrote the poet Robert Louis Stevenson. “All I ask, the heaven above, and the road below me.”
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California is a fever dream that has been riling up folks since well before it became the 31st state back in 1850. Then, people didn’t worry too much about asking permission for stuff—they just went out and did it. Indeed, when the car came along, the state’s public works barons laid out the first highways that way, spreading maps of the still wild and remote state with its serial mountain ranges and yawning valleys and drawing arbitrary lines between the dots of settlements. Then they went out and slashed and dug and bored and dynamited their way through, confronting a rough and merciless terrain that does not give up its miles easily.
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL21739-1-scaled-e1715344207386-870x1024.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=753&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
Those early road builders were pitted against a formidable foe: the ancient tectonic forces that lurk beneath California’s roiling landscape. The northbound Pacific Plate and the southbound North American Plate are experiencing a slow-motion crash, scraping against each other like two continent-size semis sideswiping over a double-yellow. The movement at their meeting point, the 750-mile-long San Andreas Fault, happens in famously rattling fits and starts, the bigger jerks making the national news.
The hills and granite peaks shoved skyward by this 30-million-year-old collision are like the wrinkles in a crumpled fender, and they are not easy to go under or around. So, California’s first road builders (as well as its current ones) mostly went over them, contouring their routes to the ridges and folds of this messy landscape and unwittingly creating thousands of apexes and on-camber thrillers for later generations to enjoy.
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL21688-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=427&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024 aerial](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMANDJI_0492.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=426&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL21872-1-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&ixlib=php-3.3.0)
California State Route 33, about two hours’ drive north of Los Angeles (give or take, depending, as always, on traffic), is a perfect example. It squiggles and wiggles its way from the quaint village of Ojai up and over the Topatopa and Pine Mountains, rising to 5160 feet at the Pine Mountain Summit before plunging thrillingly into a gorge created by the Sespe Creek, eventually spilling out into the broad agricultural and ranching valley of Cuyama. If you don’t feel the need to immediately U-turn and run it backward, there’s an achingly beautiful option just to the east that recrosses the mountains to join up with Interstate 5 and the express route back to LA.
![Route-33-Map-Infographic](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/Route-33-Map-Infographic.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=438&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
This road has everything: technical challenges, gob-smacking vistas, relatively light traffic, generally hospitable weather, a very tourist-friendly walking town as its jumping-off point, and the option of returning to the same bed in LA from which you arose that morning. And if you prefer to overnight in Ojai and make an early start, we can highly recommend it, with accommodation choices ranging from relatively inexpensive motor lodges such as the Casa Ojai and the Hummingbird Inn to the ultra-ritzy Ojai Valley Inn and Spa. There’s even a NAPA auto parts store and a tire shop in town if needs arise, and a main drag fronted by old Spanish-style colonnades and lined with pleasant eateries and shops.
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL12783-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=427&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
Just west of town, State Route 33 branches off Ojai’s main drag, or State Route 150, and heads north. Take on fuel here or elsewhere in town before heading out, as you won’t see another petrol pump for a long time. After passing a few subdivisions and bar/restaurant establishments popular in summer with the biker crowd, you’ll enter Los Padres National Forest and civilization will disappear in your mirrors.
The view forward won’t look much different than it did a century ago when state planners envisioned a wagon trail to connect the seaside village of Ventura with the inland valleys of the San Joaquin and Cuyama. In 1891, when the first stakes were planted for the route, the obstacles must have seemed overwhelming as the route climbed inland from the coast. From the village of Nordhoff (which sounded too German after the outbreak of World War I and was changed to Ojai, or “Valley of the Moon” in the native Chumash language), the Topatopas tower like a wall, leering over this serene enclave of orchards and horse farms like the mossy ramparts of an ancient castle. Behind this wall lay a vast wilderness ruled by mountain lions and circling condors that was accessible only via pack mules on old Chumash trails. No doubt this is why it took 45 years for State Route 33 to go from planning to reality.
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024 aerial](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMANDJI_0512.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=426&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
With the Great Depression on and California flush with a substantial share of a $400 million national road-building fund, the state got serious about completing the route. It spent $1.5 million to construct the Maricopa-Ventura Highway, aka U.S. Route 399, aka California State Route 33, finally completing it in 1935. The road’s most ardent supporters (and its primary economic benefactors) were the ranchers of the Cuyama Valley, and they threw an epic barbecue to which 25,000 came to feast on some 67 cattle slaughtered and roasted for the occasion.
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As the condor flies, it’s a mere 36 miles from Ojai to the T-junction with State Route 166 at Cuyama, but as the ’66 Mustang rolls, it’s about twice that distance, meaning you’re in for a lot of twists and turns over the next hour and a half. A series of tunnels bored and blasted through granite spurs welcomes you to Wheeler Gorge and the start of the rough country. One day in 1888, Wheeler Blumberg discovered the hot springs that burble from the rock here when he shot a buck that rolled down and parboiled itself in the warm waters. It’s believed the inhabitants of the nearby Chumash settlement may have cursed the invaders of their private spa, because after founding a successful resort in the canyon, Wheeler went mad, shooting 15 holes in the walls of his hotel before he was captured by a posse. He died in 1907 screaming in a padded cell. Successive owners of the resort have struggled through floods, falling trees, and repeated fires with limited success. After sitting abandoned for years, its latest incarnation is as a yoga retreat.
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL12370-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=427&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
From Wheeler’s place, the road begins its climb up the long, spectacular valley, hugging the canyon walls and tracing each fold in the earth with lovely constant-radius corners that feed into short chutes that lead to more corners. A circular gravel turnoff 15 miles up from Ojai affords an excellent picnic spot with a stunning view out to the distant Pacific Ocean. Many a car-magazine spread, including photos from our five-generations-of-Corvette feature story back in 2020, has been shot here.
The unusually stormy winter of 2022 may have proved that the Chumash curse still has legs; parts of State Route 33 disappeared under rock slides or simply slid down the mountain, and the road was completely closed for almost a year. Last December, Caltrans, the state highway agency, finally reopened it with five one-way sections controlled by traffic signals. Work with heavy machinery was evidently in progress when we photographed this story, and it’s hoped that the one-way sections will be gone by the time you read this.
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL12150-1-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&ixlib=php-3.3.0)
Near the top of the Topatopas, the Rose Valley Campground offers tenting and RV options for the hardy. And for the truly adventurous, a foot trail and primitive camping network spreads from here into the vast Sespe Wilderness. This whole untamed area shows that much of California, even with its 39 million people, crowded cities, and astronomical housing costs, remains in many places empty and undeveloped, even this close to Los Angeles.
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL21741-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=427&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL21715-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=427&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
A descent down into Sespe Canyon leads across some bridges and through the gorge cut by the Sespe Creek, which the road tracks with now gentler and faster curves. Another climb hauls you up to a sign announcing the 5160-foot Pine Mountain Summit, after which it’s all downhill from here. Big-sky views at the turnouts supply grand vistas over the mottled green and brown hills and sandy valleys that form the arid landscape, the single road sluicing through it the only real evidence of human hands.
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL12506-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=427&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
Eventually the writhing road comes to the U.S. Forest Service Ozena Fire Station, and the option to short-circuit the loop back to Interstate 5 by hanging a right on Lockwood Valley Road. However, this narrow, sparsely trafficked ribbon can be in even worse shape due to ever-present sand in the corners and tire-slashing rock falls. And you may have to wade through Reyes Creek, as it tends to spill over the road during wetter months.
Continue north on State Route 33 through the widening valley and past the pistachio farms and new-age meditation centers and you’ll run into State Route 166. Hang a left and run the few miles into New Cuyama to a restored 1950s roadhouse and inn called the Cuyama Buckhorn for some of its locally famous barbecue. Be aware: Though the bar serves food until 8:30 Monday to Wednesday, the restaurant is closed on these days, as are many hospitality businesses up here owing to the utter lack of traffic on weekdays.
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL12701-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&ixlib=php-3.3.0)
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL12689-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&ixlib=php-3.3.0)
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024 Cuyama Buckhorn](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL12678-scaled-e1715345740952.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&ixlib=php-3.3.0)
Tanks refueled, you can either return to Ojai or keep going via our optional route back to Interstate 5. If you choose the latter, continue heading east on 166, past the State Route 33 junction you just came from (166 and 33 actually merge here, 33 eventually turning north, at times merging with other roads to finally terminate near Stockton, east of the Bay Area). Just a few miles on, hook a right turn at Hudson Ranch Road. This rural byway romps through empty meadows and shoots along high ridges, then roller-coasters around the fringes of 8800-foot Mount Pinos. Lofty views of California’s Central Valley to the east are in the offing on clear days, and when you turn around, you’ll see the mountains to the west that you just drove through on State Route 33, now from a new perspective.
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMANDJI_0492-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=426&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
The road plunges into a pine forest and passes through the Pine Mountain Club, a cluster of week-end-getaway-type homes (though surely some are year-round residences) centered on a small commercial strip with a general store, some cafes, and a bed and breakfast. If you’re here in winter, carry tire chains and be prepared for icy conditions. The mountainous section of Interstate 5 known as the Grapevine isn’t too far ahead, but even that mighty and vital thorough-fare is subject to closure by the California Highway Patrol during snowstorms, lest the traffic be stalled on the black ice of its steep grades.
There’s no end of adventure on this route, even once you reach the freeway. Which is why we selected California State Route 33 as our 2024 Hagerty Road of the Year. Now it’s time to go find your own best road, and if you can beat this one, tell us all about it. We need some ideas for next year.
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL21725-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=427&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMANDJI_0480-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=426&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL21699-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=427&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMANDJI_0505-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=426&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL21653-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=427&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL21859-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=427&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL21808-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=427&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL12509-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=427&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL21494-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=960&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
![California Route 33 Road of the Year 2024](https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2024/05/California-Route-33-Road-of-the-Year-2024-LIPMAN_JL21744-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=960&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=640)
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John and his comments are of the foolish
Highway 33 has been sort of secret for years, starting in Tracy, the first 200 miles running thru the western side of the Central Valley is straight and other that the dozen farm towns not much to see. It’s the section south from Highway 58 that is a challenge, so many curves and many times obstacles in the roadway. The fires and heavy rains closed that section off and on and some roadwork is still being done. From Ojai to Ventura can have heavy traffic on weekends. Good loop is 58 and 33 with #1 /101 in the middle
Oh heck yes! As an Ojai resident, Classic Mustang owner, and fan of the open road, you’ve picked a true gem. I’ve driven Route 33 countless times and include the epic journey of twists and turns for guests that come to visit our home. The past couple winters have created a few slides and lane closures but this road does not disappoint. For anyone looking for adventure, come join the fun along the route. You will truly LOVE it!
I was in Ojai once only – and driving a semi, so taking a route like this would likely have been insanity. But I was plenty happy to get back down to the 101 and on up to Santa Barbara and then back down to L.A. after my deliveries were done. But now that I see this writeup and photos, I’m thinking that this will be on my to-do list nest time I’m in SoCal (which admittedly is a lot less often than it was in my trucking days)!
As of today highway 33 above Ojai still has five traffic lights due to continuing road construction. Also Lockwood valley Road is closed about 2 mi east of highway 33 since both of its lanes have washed out completely. Just a big hole where the road used to be.
We appreciate the comments and the ideas. For those who live in Ojai, I am jealous! Great little town with an insanely good driving road in the backyard.
Utah’s Scenic Byway 12 also known as “Highway 12 — A Journey Through Time Scenic Byway”, is a 123-mile-long state highway designated an All-American Road. It passes through Red Canyon, Bryce Canyon National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and over Boulder Mountain in the Dixie National Forest to its conclusion near the entrance to Capitol Reef National Park. Kodachrome and Petrified Forest State Parks are nearby.
As others have pointed out, we could use more than road every year. Your rules are great! I fed them into . I added a limit of 3 roads per state
“What are the 30 best driving roads in the USA that satisfy these rules: First, the road had to be no more than a one-day round trip from a major urban center, the thinking being that anyone should be able to access the route easily as a day excursion and while perhaps visiting this urban center for work or vacation. Also, the pavement had to be in good condition. Plus, it had to have some dining amenities, and we leaned toward roads with outlets to other roads, such that they could be run in one direction rather than merely to a turnaround point. No more than 3 roads for any given state”
Here are 30 of the best driving roads in the USA that satisfy the given rules, with no more than 3 roads per state:
1. Tail of the Dragon, Tennessee/North Carolina (Near Knoxville, TN)
2. Cherohala Skyway, Tennessee/North Carolina (Near Knoxville, TN)
3. Natchez Trace Parkway, Tennessee (Near Nashville, TN)
4. Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia/North Carolina (Near Roanoke, VA)
5. Skyline Drive, Virginia (Near Washington D.C.)
6. Back of the Dragon, Virginia (Near Roanoke, VA)
7. Deals Gap/Tail of the Dragon, North Carolina (Near Asheville, NC)
8. Linn Cove Viaduct, North Carolina (Near Asheville, NC)
9. Mount Mitchell Scenic Drive, North Carolina (Near Asheville, NC)
10. Overseas Highway, Florida (Near Miami, FL)
11. A1A Scenic Coastal Byway, Florida (Near Jacksonville, FL)
12. Tamiami Trail, Florida (Near Miami, FL)
13. Red Rock Scenic Byway, Arizona (Near Phoenix, AZ)
14. Coronado Trail Scenic Byway, Arizona (Near Tucson, AZ)
15. State Route 89A, Arizona (Near Flagstaff, AZ)
16. Pacific Coast Highway, California (Near Los Angeles, CA)
17. Mulholland Highway, California (Near Los Angeles, CA)
18. Angeles Crest Highway, California (Near Los Angeles, CA)
19. Trail Ridge Road, Colorado (Near Denver, CO)
20. Million Dollar Highway, Colorado (Near Denver, CO)
21. Peak to Peak Scenic Byway, Colorado (Near Denver, CO)
22. Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina/Virginia (Near Charlotte, NC)
23. Newfound Gap Road, North Carolina (Near Asheville, NC)
24. Foothills Parkway, Tennessee/North Carolina (Near Knoxville, TN)
25. Going-to-the-Sun Road, Montana (Near Missoula, MT)
26. Beartooth Highway, Montana/Wyoming (Near Billings, MT)
27. Trail of the Cedars, Montana (Near Missoula, MT)
28. Acadia All-American Road, Maine (Near Portland, ME)
29. Kancamagus Scenic Byway, New Hampshire (Near Boston, MA)
30. Park Loop Road, Maine (Near Portland, ME)
This is great. I think I’d take the PCH from SFO rather than from LA, however. You’ll bop through Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur. An ambitious driver could make it to Ragged Point where you’ll often pay the highest price for a gallon of gas in the entire US. Lucky you.
I’m quite lucky to have this in my back yard. The Hudson Ranch Road was once called Cerro Noroeste. There is a great road sign that says twisty roads 29 miles. It doesn’t disappoint. There are also some good camping sites through there. Pine Mountain Club has gas as does New Cuyama — most of the time. Stations have come and gone there in the 25 years I’ve been driving/riding those roads.
Overall, a good choice for a Road of the Year, but I agree with other commenters…more please.
Highway 12 in Northern California (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_12) will take you from the Central Valley into the coastal wine country. But don’t stop there. In Saratoga the highway becomes Bodega Bay Highway (yes the town in the Hitchcox movie “The Birds”) and you can follow it all the way out to the coast and CA1.
Sorry….Sebastopol…not Saratoga
Seeing your pick of Hwy 33 was, for me, like a visit from an old friend. Many years ago, whenever I had to go to Ventura or Santa Barbara, it was my default route. I felt empowered racing-no smoky bears-over the road in my BMW 2002; driftin’ through the many curves…great times. thank you.
Mike (Miguel) Hinojos
33 looks like a fantastic road to drive and the French plated Mustang is a pretty car but in my mind a road like this requires rowing through gears. Call me old but driving with two hands on the wheel or with your elbow asleep on the centre armrest just isn’t driving. It’s more like taking a Prius to a drag race. Give me the same Mustang with upgraded suspension, American Torque Thrusts and a Tremec 5-speed and I’ll be a happy camper…does Ojai have a campsite?
What a nice video by Don Bogart. Thank you.
My wife and I bought my bucket list/forever car, a 1997 993 Twin Turbo and thought what a great road to start our new relationship. Ran 33 today from Ojai to I-5. What a Road!!! What a car!!!
3 days before our road trip to California, I got the latest edition of Hagerty magazine.
We were flying out from Boston, renting a car in San Diego, and visiting several family members in Southern California and also doing a few sight seeing things. Our itinerary included visiting Sequoia National Forest, Yosemite park, over to Carmel, and then a final drive down to LA to see my cousin.
In my wife’s searching she found this way out of the beaten path motel, the Buckhorn. Booked a room for a night, this past Thursday [5/30] and the following day was a leisurely drive to LA on this obscure road in the middle of nowhere.
Well, looks like we got the early jump on drive of the year.
As of Thursday, there are still 5 washout points, but they are working on it, and the drive was great.
I kept expecting to see sports cars, motorcycles, and the like, leaning into these curves, carving foot pegs into the asphalt.
Well, it was empty, no one on it except 1 rental Explorer.
Weather was perfect. Road was perfect, and sometimes a bit hairy, but fun.
Unexpected great find that we happened upon and were able to read about on our flight out.
*and the Buckhorn Motel is an absolute gas in the middle of the proverbial nowhere.
A destination point for bikes and rodders alike. They do it well.
Bar, restaurant, rooms, pool, and the best shower pressure of any place I stayed at.
I rate them as an 11 in a 10 scorecard.