If I leave at 7 AM will there be a lot of traffic? What would be the best route?
Of Course, 101
Um, not sure why you would take 101... I would probably just do 680 to 80. I used to live in the Sac area and do the opposite run for Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving Day traffic is not as bad as Wednesday night. Just be careful, the people out on Thanksgiving day are usually the crazy drivers who are running late. 680 probably won t be too bad, in my experience it s not so much of a holiday route. 80 might be slow because of people heading to Tahoe, but there shouldn t be any weather delays. The one you REALLY want to stay away from is 1-5. On Wednesday and Sunday it will be a 500 mile long parking lot and it will definitely spill over onto 80 in Sacramento at those times.
Thanksgiving day should be OK early AM. The day before and Sunday following will be really bad.You can take - 680 North - to - 80 East(North to Sacramento) - to - HWY 49 or HWY 174 a little farther; 20 mi or so. You can also go 680 North - to 580 East - to - HWY 5 to 80 in Sacramento.There might be traffic issues after on 680/80 between Benicia and Sacramento. Overall the earlier you leave in the AM, the lighter traffic will be for most of the trip.Be Safe. (and bring me back some leftovers)
There will likely be heavy traffic at that time. Allot of people on their way to Tahoe to ski.
Go 680 to 80 to 49. Not sure about the traffic.