Youmna

There are tons of little roads all over which eventually get you to Santa Cruz. Depending on how much of a drive you want, how much time you have, and how far away from Santa Cruz you want to come out, you can find some pretty amazing roads between SJ and SC.

Slightly related: I was out Saturday afternoon on 9 and other lovely twisties, and encountered less traffic than expected. Sometimes, you get lucky!

soulicious

If you want to enjoy HWY9, then you have to go early in the mornings on weekends or during the weekday when ppl are at work. Otherwise, you have to deal with cyclist, squids, and traffic. You can go at night, but be on the look out for deer popping out in front of you.

Thateguhate

Agreed. Night time driving is much better, Unfortunately I can't see shit at night out there so I don't do it anymore but I would say I've had more fun driving out there after the sun goes down and before it comes back up. Just gotta be aware of the damp areas from fog/rain depending on what time of year you do it.

nguyening

Thanks for everyone's input, I really enjoyed the drive to Santa Cruz on 9 around 2pm-ish, was really fun with the top down. Except I did hit some traffic around Felton area because of a local school zone. There wasn't any cops, a lot of people used the turnouts as other cars other then myself was speeding and taking really fast cornering. I actually almost hit a baby deer before boulder creek on a sharp 15mph right turn. It was passing through the woods between me and some RX7 I was behind. Maybe I can post a short video later..

TougeHorseman

Almost hitting a deer doesn't count! You have to hit it and project it vertically in the air by >30 feet to score points!