We are thinking of taking this drive during the week of Christmas. Thanks Valerie. I travelled alone from San Francisco to LA while on a work trip years ago and havent stopped thinking about getting my husband out there. Were using it to plan our itinerary for June/July this year, 3 weeks, Seattle to LA. I am going to mostly follow the path you outlined in your 10 day itinerary. I would rather guess on the high side than the low side so Im prepared. Thanks for your comment, Patty! One of the ultimate road trip destinations has to be the Pacific Coast Highway, or Highway One, which spans 600 miles of the California coastline from San Diego in the south to San Francisco in the north. I wouldnt advise doing this one in an RV, to be honest. Were on day 2 of our 8-day PCH Tour.and its great to have your help! Id find an interesting podcast for everyone in the car and have the kids keep an eye out for whales and wildlife. Thanks for reading, Lynda! We continued on until we picked up the beginning of CA Hwy 1. Any ideas? 1. Thanks for sharing. Carry on the fantastic work!|. The most important thing you need to decide first when driving the Pacific Coast Highway is which direction you prefer to travel the Pacific Coast Highway (northbound or southbound). I hope you can make it happen sooner! Thanks for reading, Dave. I am beginning to plan a family trip and loved all the recommendations. Thanks for your comment, Catherine. Your website is very helpful. This is such a great article. Thank you so much for passing on your wisdom and experience. 8. Thank you. Here, California Highway 1 carves a sinuous path along steep cliffs; the road is beautiful at a price, since mudslides arent uncommon along this stretch of highway, and can close the highway for months. Pacific Coast Highway Directions: If you are on a shorter Pacific Coast Highway road trip, continue south along I-5 to Grants Pass, then turn southwest to Crescent City (#11).If you are taking a longer PCH drive, turn west out of Portland along Oregon Highways 99W and 18 to connect with U.S. 101 near Lincoln City. Use them in commercial designs under lifetime, perpetual & worldwide rights. Similar to Haystack Rock, your experience stopping at Devils Punchbowl will depend on the tides. I dont plan to change any of my travel plans based on the Coronavirus unless there are required quarantines. 4 Baths. In this forest, youll find amazing old growth trees and is incredibly verdant. This is such a great resource. Awesome, Tim! 8. From there we are planning on 4 days drive/stop on high 1 (PCH) up to Santa Monica/Malibu then flight out LAX. The Pacific Coast Highway is an ambitious road trip, but totally possible in as few as five days. If I wanted to follow your trip but stop off a day at Yosemite what might the drive look like? My only additional rec for anyone would be to add the Great Tide Pool in Monterrey to check out little worlds of marine life. You might have even stopped to take a picture of the sunset from a beautiful lookout along the Pacific Coast Highway and can caption it with, "Just say the word and we'll go back." Every. You probably wont have any snow its usually just rain in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon & Washington). Thanks! Love it. Great question, Sharon! Thanks for your comment, Manny. So it adds about 3 hours of driving time, but it also means youll miss out on basically all of the Oregon Coast. Sorry about the delay, Scott. Wondering about forest fires and how they affect the trip. The weather also wasnt great for most of the route; after moving up out of SoCal, youre much more likely to experience clouds and/or the marine layer on the PCH. Just wondering about restrictions? Awesome, you can sign up using the forms in this post to get the PDF! I did a bit of research into this seems like its a Los Angeles thing to drop the the but as I lived up in Northern California, we use the the. Since my post is referring to a much larger area than just SoCal, Im still going to keep the the. Thanks for providing me this opportunity to learn about a quirky bit of California lingo! The first time, we (I) had it all planned out. Thank you for the pointers! My best advice is to take a look at the app Roadtrippers and start plugging in where you might want to go to get a sense of travel time then you can decide whats must-do, what extra you have time for, and what needs to be cut.I hope that helps! 5 Beds. It was just gorgeous with a 360 degree view. How can we apply this info in the reverse, Catherine, its pretty easy just plan it out by reading my article from the bottom to the top! Thanks for your comment, Rex! You could do this road-trip in as little as five days, but I recommend taking at least seven or maybe 10 if you have the time! Also, further north, you could fly to Portland and do the Oregon coast too. My blog posts likely contain affiliate links, including for the Amazon Associates program.If you click, book, or buy from one of these links, I may earn a commission. Travelling from Australia and would like to spend 3 weeks driving around . $23.99 $ 23. I appreciate you taking the time to answer everyones questions. Let me know if you have any other questions while planning or on the road! Pismo is a popular camping destination, so the most common amenities youll find if you decide to stay longer than a few hours are camping-oriented. Now Im going to lay out step-by-step directions for a Pacific Coast Highway road trip based on all my tips so far. While the glass is technically part of MacKerricher State Park and you cant take it home you can still spend time out of the car searching for different colors and shapes of beautiful sea glass that wash up from the Pacific Ocean. Thank you for the article. Gavin Newsom and . You also mentioned Suburbans are not great because they are so big, but I dont think we have much choice with the large family. Portland has loads of great hotels, but my favorite is the, For vacation rental options, consider this. There are loads of cool things to explore in/around this small PNW town, including Olympic National Park! Great questions, Julie. Pacific Coast Highway stops include big city vacation destinations like Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, and smaller places like Monterey. My favorite place is Mendocino if the skies are clear! Starting at San Francisco ending San Diego. Travelling from Auckland to Napier, you'll experience lakes, wildlife, vineyards and a tranquil lagoon. Hah, sounds like a good bonding experience, Angela! Sireesha, thanks for reading. Sounds like youve got a great plan drive safe! We will be coming from Anaheim and want to drive the Pacific Coast Highway to Half Moon Bay. We are just looking to site sea on our way back home from Disneyland I was looking at Hearst Castle and the Elephant Seal Vista Point but dont see much reviews on them with kids. The route between Los Angeles and San Diego is not as popular as the classic long road trip between Los Angeles and San Francisco on Highway 1.San Francisco is one of the most important cities in the United States and, thanks to its charm and favorable location on the way to visit the national parks, is often preferred over San Diego, which shares the Pacific Ocean with San Francisco and Los . Be sure to stop at Nicks Cove in Marshall, CA for a meal or Hog Island Oyster if you love oysters! Also known as California Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway is the longest state route in California at just over 656 miles. Other cool attractions include Hurricane Ridge (a popular hiking spot), Elwha River Valley, and Olympic Hot Springs. South of Seaside, be sure to stop in Cannon Beach to admire Haystack Rock. San Diego was the starting point of my Pacific Coast Highway road trip; for you, it may be the end. Also, we were thinking with the additional days to do a detour over to Yosemite. Youll have a great time! Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Itinerary: Day 3 Take in the majestic sights of the Central Coast while cruising across the famous Bixby Bridge in Big Sur. I am thinking 5 days from Portland to LA. If you dont have the time, plan an overnight stop and make a late start after brunch at one of Portlands many amazing restaurants. Regarding I recommend an automatic car with a low center of gravity but skip the convertible! The Pacific Coast Highway runs along two highways: In Washington and Oregon, the best weather of the year happens between June and September. We are planning on a 7 days trip in Dec 2021. This post was originally published in August 2014, and was updated regularly including most recently in May 2022. Here are some different starting/ending points for a PCH road trip: As you can see, you have options! Were driving south-to-north. November should be a good time, but you may experience some days where the Marine Layer rolls in be sure to pack layers in case its cooler/less sunny than expected! I am planning for this roadtrip this December- starting from Dec 25th. We are thinking of late September of 2022 doing a two week drive from north to south. It'll take you about three hours to reach Big Sur from San Francisco, and by then you'll be ready to stretch your legs. Also, niece is vegan and I am meat eater. Click on the image to learn more about the stop. Blow your budget and stay the night at Fairmont San Francisco, one of the nicest hotels in town. Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip. Seattle is one of my favorite destinations in the world. Thanks again for this excellent resource. When I drove the PCH in 2014, I drove a northbound San Diego to Seattle road trip, and lament that I wasnt on the outer side of the road. Pacific Coast Highway Map, Direction & Start/End Points. Its less than 10 minutes drive from Newport to Devils Punch Bowl. Required fields are marked *. I hope you have a great trip whenever you can make it! These make perfect Instagram captions for dreamy sunsets or foggy mornings on the Pacific. Bonus- Rent A Car To Drive The Pacific Coast Highway. I think once we hit Los Angeles we will just take the I10 home to Phoenix. I dont remember providing that advice but off the top of my head, I wouldnt go bigger than a Tesla Model X (swoon! My husband, myself and our four kids always take adventurous vacations every summer. Nate, thanks for your comment. If youre planning a PCH trip and want to pass through San Francisco, you can either skim over along the side of the city as you drive down the coast, take a detour inland to visit Yosemite National Park or dive in for one night knowing it will only make you want to come back for more. Santa Cruz. I can't stop looking at that ocean. My husband are I are planning 20 days to do the PCH(starting in Seattle and ending in San Diego) We are using your the ultimate pacific coast road trip itinerary as a guide. 24255 Pacific Coast Highway Malibu, CA 90263 310.506.4000 Map Driving Directions From Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) From Orange County, San Diego and points south of Los Angeles From points east of Los Angeles From the north on Interstate 5 From Pasadena/ San Gabriel Valley From the north on Hwy 101/Santa Barbara and Thousand Oaks We both have a lot of vacation all the time, so 10 days or more would be fine. P.S. Camp at Second Beach in Olympic NP Photo: Michael Matti I know we wont see everything, but its the only time frame we have. Making the drive in 2 days. This is a 23km section of real roads on California Highway 1, one of the great all-American roads on the scenic West Coast, and is widely considered among the best driving roads in the world. For campsites, Im not super sure as Im not a big camper, but this might help: https://www.theoutbound.com/theoutbound/camping-along-the-pacific-10-seaside-campsites-for-your-west-coast-road-trip. Thank so much for putting together a wonderful and comprehensive itinerary of the PC scenic drive. If not, spend your day exploring the Seattle waterfront to see all of the city from above. Crescent City is the first city youll enter when driving southbound into California along the Pacific Coast Highway (or last if youre headed northbound). I am currently living in crescent city and plan to make the drive in a couple of weeks. Newport is a great destination to stretch your legs for a few hours once you arrive back on the Pacific Coast (you can also drive straight down Highway 101 from Cannon Beach if you decide to skip a stop in Portland). As the tallest lighthouse on the U.S. Pacific Coast, Pigeon Point Lighthouse is picturesque, and you can view it from several different angles along the nearby coastline. Thanks for your comment, Kathy! When driving the PCH south from Portland, how much of a detour would it be to see Crater Lake on the way? Pacific Coast Highway Directions: South of Humboldt Redwoods, theres a junction where California Highway 1 (CA-1) begins. Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Continue south along U.S. 101 to Crescent City always stick to the coast! We are coming from Pennsylvania. Mendocino Your Pacific Coast Highway road trip begins at Leggett, so naturally, the first stop is the wonderful Mendocino. Thats it! I am flying into Portland to meet my niece and we will rent a car and drive down the coast to LA to meet another nephew. The reason I recommend doing your Pacific Coast Highway road trip north to south is that youll be on the coastal side of the road. If youre considering a drive down (or up) the western coast of the U.S., look no further. Should be pretty good it might be a bit rainy up in the Pacific Northwest, but the weather once you reach California should be great! I dont have it I just want to make sure businesses are open? Its a small detail, but totally uncalifornian to say the PCH. Now my only problem is trying to figure out how many extra days were going to need! Also, I love your pictures! I recently discovered Mendocino on a weekend trip and fell in love with the small town. If you go to the Big Sur Crater, you will be a full one mile (1.6 km) above sea level while remaining only three miles (5 km) inland from the ocean. Great read! Also known as Route 1 or Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway is the road of the American Dream, a U.S. route that offers beautiful views of the coast along the 620-mile road from Orange County (near Dana Point, south of Los Angeles) to Mendocino County (just above San Francisco, in Leggett), that covers almost the entire California coast.. A Pacific Coast Highway road trip passes through . This post was so helpful! I am planning to start my road trip in Vancouver BC and ending in San Francisco. I agree, go north to south. Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Continue south along CA-1. Have a safe trip!! Youve put together one awesome road trip! Valerie, First off, congratulations on your recent wedding! Cant say enough how appreciative we are. Valerie, valuable tips ! maybe to get a car, which adds about 6 hours of driving time. At low tide, you can hike down into the hole or go tide pooling; at other times you can have a picnic while trying to spot whales off the coast. Taking my granddaughter on an epic journey. memory cards before you know it. Just give yourself more time and end n LA. Do you have any tips? From Ventura. Question, if we were to add a stop, possible one night stay at Crater Lake, where would you suggest doing this from without missing much, (or any?) Great tips, Kathi! I love all the details that you are recommended here. The worst that happens is you might end up in a slightly less nice place than you had planned. Solvang Although I live in San Francisco, Ive yet to visit several of these places on this list. Pacific coast highway road trip with kids. 2. I was wondering if you could suggest a place for stargazing. NEW CONSTRUCTION. Im glad you booked LA and Seattle, because those are the two you most need to have arranged! I plan to rent a car in Los Angeles in the summer and make a similar journey, Hello! If you're starting your PCH drive from Seattle . Astoria, like Aberdeen in Washington, is a great destination for lovers of pop culture. , Hi. Which Direction to Drive the Pacific Coast Highway? I would definitely do some research on inland options Im not as familiar with whats inland though. Here are my suggestions: Therefore, the best month to drive the Pacific Coast Highway is September, when youre most likely to have great weather along the entire length of the road trip. Santa Barbara marks the threshold to the southern California section of the pacific coast. What would be a good hopping on point? With respect, I make a formal land acknowledgment, extending my appreciation and respect to the past and present people of these lands. Oregon & California are both pretty vegan friendly states so Id expect lots of restaurants have at least an option thats animal-free. Im glad to surpass the AAA level. "I'm California dreamin'." The. Now let me break down a few itineraries to choose from, based on how much time you have to do your Pacific Coast Highway road trip. Thanks for asking, Helen! Any recommendations will be appreciated! First thank you for all the work you put into this! So nice to hear from you, Silvia! So the verb lament is correct in the present tense, and the tense of recommend earlier in the paragraph. Planning a trip on PCH last week of July 2020. In a few weeks, we intend to start a 10-ish day loop from San Jose, drive up on the inland route to Seattle, and do a southbound coastal drive. Hello good morning my name is Cherie Carmona, Wealth to California a little over a year ago I love it I live in Dana Point California, my husband will be moving here in a few weeks and Im so excited my daughter lives in Seattle so we were considering a road trip to Seattle realistically how long do you think it would take thank you so much God-bless. It depends a lot on how long you plan to make the drive do you know how many days youll be driving? Officially, only the short, sun-loving stretch of Hwy 1 through Orange and Los Angeles Counties can legally call itself Pacific Coast Highway. Thank you, and your blog is fantastic! We plan a trip to San Jos, California because of its diversity, beautiful scenery, and exceptionally high outputs. Did you try searching my site using the search in the sidebar? Thanks again! Lastly, Pismo is a great stop for a midday workout on the road, with a huge stretch of beach to walk/run on. Am interested in your upcoming 7 day itinerary of PCH. LA's vast size may seem daunting, but if you plan what you want to see and do, it can be a really rewarding place to visit. Have a great trip!! Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Continue along CA-1 to San Diego, your final stop on this PCH road trip. Thanks, Larissa! Pacific Coast Highway Directions: From Seattle, head south along US Highway 101 to Olympia. We live in Colorado, so more interested in Ocean more than hiking, so 101 is ideal. How Long is it? To help you plan your road trip, here are two possible road trip itineraries you could take. The best time of year to do this will be in the summer (June/July/August), probably sooner in the year rather than later. If youve just stayed overnight in Santa Barbara or started your road trip in San Diego, that may not make as much sense. Unsurprisingly, a private car is the absolute best way to make the most of a trip along the legendary PCH. Yes, I do have San Francisco guides! Hello, Thanks for sharing your trips and valuable tips. Id recommend booking or at least searching every hotel you want to stay at, and the nights you want to stay, so you can get a sense of exactly how much its going to cost. Youve got so much time, thats awesome! Any thoughts on this as it pertains to weather? Have a great drive! Thanks for your comment, Terri! Im not sure there are many good airports to leave a rental car in the region youre suggesting you may end up driving into L.A. to do so and to fly home. There are plenty of things to do in Long Beach for more than an overnight stop! Thank you for any other tips. Love all the comments ideas and suggestion, will try and make this trip happen in about 2-3 years . Is this doable in 7 days, with stops during the day and to spend the night? My wife and I have been to Cali a couple of times, our daughter once from Diego to Fran (Berkeley) and loved it, and just us once to Seattle and Portland, but flying in and out only. Would you have any other suggestions since I am using 4 more days and not going south to Sa Diego and strarting in Vancouver? #addittothelist. Just starting to think about a 1st time road trip from Az to Washington and back among the PCH!!?? Youll have less distance (just the car and shoulder) instead of an entire lane of the road plus the shoulder. I havent been to some of those national parks, but they sound amazing! But, we need to go the opposite way; starting in San Diego and heading north. Yes, we intend to stay a couple of nights in Portland and 2 or 3 in San Francisco but well probably look for hotels on the outskirts and travel in to the cities by car or public transport each day. The 17-Mile Drive between Carmel, Pacific Grove, and Monterey While driving southbound, youll approach Marshall first. Making a Pacific Coast Highway road trip is a popular bucket list experience - for good reason! My wife and I were planning to fly to San Diego to start the trip, but your point about southbound visibility makes total sense. Is this possible?? The turn-out for Ruby Beach occurs right as the highway reaches the Pacific coast. If you would like a customized itinerary, I offer that for a fee to help cover the time it takes me to put those tips together. Extremely informative. Thanks again! Pacific Coast Highway Directions: If you are on a quick PCH road trip, turn inland along the Columbia River and then south on I-5 to Portland.If your Pacific Coast Highway road trip includes the Oregon Coast, skip Portland below and drive south along U.S. 101 to Seaside & Cannon Beach (#8). Great trip! Stop 2: Santa Cruz and its boardwalk. Port Angeles is the place for that one-night stop. Also known as Big Sur, the route winds along the rugged California coastline (from Cape San Martin to Ragged . Sounds like it will be well worth it. Loved your trip adventure and recommendations !! To access the map on Roadtrippers, you just need to click the map! San Simeon Drive for 45 minutes and start the day with a 15-minute excursion inland to San Simeon to tour the elaborate Hearst Castle. If youve ever seen The Goonies, you know exactly what I mean. 99. Would it be worth it to continue to San Diego then back to LA? It connects the beautiful harbor town of Dana Point in southern California's Orange County to Leggett, California, in Mendocino County, home to some of the largest trees in the world. But never mind those technicalities, because equally bewitching ribbons of Hwy 1 and Hwy 101 await all along this route. Your article was just what I needed!! Explore the beach then hit the trails to find waterfalls, massive redwoods, and an abandoned limekiln. Thank you! Ive just started planning our trip for this autumn. Phoenix77. An unanticipated problem was encountered, check back soon and try again Thanks for your comment, Shelly! Its a great spot for a short hike to stretch your legs. Please keep doing what youre doing. Pacific Coast Scenic Byway, segments of the U.S. Route 101: U.S. Route 101 in Oregon U.S. Route 101 in Washington Public transportation [ edit] I hope you can see it for yourself someday too. If you want to spend part of one day during your Pacific Coast Highway road trip beachcombing or hiking, Big Sur is the place to do it. You should have no problem finding vegan options! You did a fantastic job with this giude, everything is straight to the point but provided in a fun and educational way. Depending on whether you drive a Washington to California road trip or just drive portions in California, you can start/end your road trip at the various cities in this guide. There and back that is? If you do decide to spend an overnight in the area, I recommend stopping in the town of Mendocino first for late lunch, walking around the Mendocino Headlands, then continue driving south to spend the night at the beautiful Little River Inn for dinner at the Whale Watch Bar. Hi Valerie, I am doing the PCH drive southbound from Seattle and as far as we can go for 5 days. The skies are guaranteed to be blue, the weather begs for a convertible, and the passing sands are alive with . My question is: how to best use our time? Also being from Colorado, we would love to camp oceanside, do you have any recommendations on campsites? Crescent City is a great spot for an overnight stop (or longer) depending on your itinerary. The incredibly scenic California stretch is known for its oceanfront locales, rugged cliffs, hidden coves, and numerous beaches, making it one of the nation's most popular road-trip routes. Hope that helps you plan! Any suggestions. Thanks for reading, Heather! We are just wondering if you have an estimate on how much it would be to travel the PCH! I am doing this trip with the boyfriend end of this month. I do have OCD though, and Im having a really hard time getting past your use of the word lament in the paragraph suggesting to drive on southbound. AAA has no candle to this. We always wanted to do an RV trip, but maybe the PCH is not the one to do that on?? Though hard to believe, you have to find out that on the Pacific Coast Highway the phone signal will be almost inexistent most of the time. Thanks for reading, Brian. In Northern California, the best weather of the year happens between September and October.
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