The majority of this California road trip will take place on Highway 1, AKA the Pacific Coast Highway, AKA the PCH, AKA Cabrillo Highway, AKA Shoreline Highway, AKA The Prettiest Highway in the World. 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. Great question, Judy. Pacific Coast Highway - Wikipedia Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Seaside is a picturesque coastal town, a western interpretation of the East Coast summer destinations along the Atlantic. I mapped it here so you can see the option to add in Crater Lake and what youll miss: https://goo.gl/maps/2A4GYTKnBcADVdRw5. While driving southbound, youll approach Marshall first. Sea the possibilities. The Ultimate 10-Day California Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Itinerary If I were youI would do a leisurely drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles/San Diego. I also agree that Point Reyes (and the lighthouse) is spectacular and my top place to go when in North Ca. Explore the beach then hit the trails to find waterfalls, massive redwoods, and an abandoned limekiln. Pacific Coast, region, western North America, possessing two unifying geologic and geographic propertiesthe Pacific Ocean, which constitutes a natural western border, and the coastal mountain ranges that form the eastern border of the region. My favorite place is Mendocino if the skies are clear! Thanks for your comment, Archimedes. Anyway, we are looking to do the very same drive. Donna, thanks for your comment! I have no idea what the case will be for forest fires next year, unfortunately! Gavin Newsom and . Well, now we will have to wait to see how this Covid-19 progresses. I am traveling with my husband, brother and our 4 year old. Thank you. The only places you can fly would be Crescent City but itll require changing through San Francisco anyway. 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! I havent been to Yellowstone so I cant say if its worth it, unfortunately. Enjoyed this 14 day article! I do too (ish Im in Oakland!). "I'm California dreamin'." The. Youre all set to start filling in the gaps! Nope, headed northbound is not a bad way to go its actually the way I went on my first drive! . 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! Note: Due to heavy rainfall in California in January 2023, California Highway 1 is closed around Ragged Point; this means you will not be able to do a complete route down the Pacific Coast and will instead divert inland from Monterey to San Simeon (southbound). Thanks for reading, Kay. 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. When in doubt, stay on the coast. I dont think you can do Yosemite in a day its a four hour drive from the coast to Yosemite (one-way) and youll probably want a full day in the park at minimum. Therefore, its an amazing place to start your Pacific Coast Highway trip! Portland! Also known as Big Sur, the route winds along the rugged California coastline (from Cape San Martin to Ragged . The longer you spend, the more youll get to see and enjoy. You have the same recommendations? I appreciate any help you can provide. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated: Day 1: San Francisco (Arrive late in the evening) Day 2: San Francisco Day 3: Santa Cruz Day 4: Carmel-By-The-Sea Day 5: Big Sur Day 6: San Luis Obispo Day 7: Santa Barbara Day 8: Los Angeles Day 9: San Diego (leave early in the morning). Were making a shortlist of 3 or 4 likely hotels for each expected stopover. Thank you again for all of your information. Its a small detail, but totally uncalifornian to say the PCH. The rest of time will hopefully be in small towns all along the coast. 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. It sounds like youll have a great trip no matter what! 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. How long is the Pacific Coast Highway? Im thinking of doing this trip from Seattle to San Diego. 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. Thanks for the great ideas! Thanks for sharing. The drive travels 655 miles along the coast of California and along the wa. I didnt want to make all my reservations, but just go with it for one time in my life. Great content here, thank you! I hope you have an amazing time! Stop and admire the views in Big Sur, too! Were staying just outside of Long Beach, in cute little Ilwaco, WA, at Salt Hotel & Pub. I drove one and I hardly ever got to enjoy it!.why were you hardly ever able to enjoy driving a convertible???? In Washington, Oregon, and at the northern end of California, the Pacific Coast route follows US Highway 101. 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. Well be camping out at most stops except for SF. So heading east eventually to round out the trip. A couple of reasons: 1. My wife and I (with our dog) are driving from Pismo Beach to Cannon Beach and staying at a beach house there. Along the way we plan to stop at the Benbow Inn near Garberville, CA and in Newport. Camp at Second Beach in Olympic NP Photo: Michael Matti My wife and I were planning to fly to San Diego to start the trip, but your point about southbound visibility makes total sense. Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Its a short drive south and a little east along U.S. 101 from Long Beach to cross the Astoria into Oregon. Lastly, Pismo is a great stop for a midday workout on the road, with a huge stretch of beach to walk/run on. One of the longest state routes in California (after Interstate 5 and U.S. 101), California 1 sees some of the most . ), this post will give you all you need to know. We always wanted to do an RV trip, but maybe the PCH is not the one to do that on?? Have a safe trip!! They all offer budget rentals, run regular deals and specials, and have one-way rental options. My English is very very basic but if you write to me I can understand it. Portland has loads of great hotels, but my favorite is the, For vacation rental options, consider this. If I were going to recommend a route, Id do something like the National Parks in California or the Utah/Arizona/SoCal loop. It's renowned as one of the most scenic road trips in America, and of course there are dozens of fun places to stop and check out along the way. Also, I love your pictures! Whether you just want to see the top highlights and sightseeing hotspots or want to dive into L.A.s booming food scene, you can find it all in Los Angeles. Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Head south from Ruby Beach along U.S. 101. Next, youll pass through Point Reyes, which again seems underwhelming. Thanks so much, Lois and glad to help! Thoughts? The most easily accessible and breathtakingly stark part of the PCH is a short drive (about 3 hours) sound of San Francisco, so many people in the Bay Area do it as an overnight or weekend trip. What are must see spots. I am doing this trip with the boyfriend end of this month. 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. Thanks for all of this great information! Sorry, but theres no way to do the drive to Seattle and back along the PCH in just 7 days. Do you highly recommend the LONG route OR is thru Mendocino only enough? 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. Valerie-thanks for the great overview. The Ultimate Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip - Valerie & Valise For bigger cities, there are probably enough options that you can wait until you arrive to book, even during that time of year. The Perfect Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Itinerary (25 Stops + 3 But never mind those technicalities, because equally bewitching ribbons of Hwy 1 and Hwy 101 await all along this route. We detoured at Reedsport to go to Crater lake, which turned out awesome, there was a ELK reserve on the way, it took about 3 hrs to get to Roseburg, where we stayed the night, the next day the drive to Crater lake was about 3 hrs, the drive was absolutely beautiful. Let me know if you need any extra tips whenever you start planning! Thanks for your comment, Vicky! Find and save ideas about pacific coast highway on Pinterest. You will miss Seaside & Cannon Beach on this route, so your next stop will be Newport (#9). You may encounter some rain up north near Portland and Seattle, but you shouldnt experience any snow! Angie, thanks so much for your comment! If you see an error, please contact me. Bonus- Rent A Car To Drive The Pacific Coast Highway. I would hate to plan a trip only to find out that things are shut down or there are big restrictions placed on free movement. Thanks, Id take those days and visit the San Juan Islands: https://www.valisemag.com/visit-san-juan-islands/, You could also give yourself more time in the cities: https://www.valisemag.com/3-days-seattle/ https://www.valisemag.com/3-days-san-francisco/ https://www.valisemag.com/portland-city-guide/, Valerie, My husband and I are wanting to fly from Denver to California on December 27th. Valerie, I am so glad I found your guide to the PCH! I am currently living in crescent city and plan to make the drive in a couple of weeks. Credit: Bigstock.com Pacific Coast Highway is one of the most famous and beautiful road trips on earth. For flights, I recently heard theres a flight from the Bay Area to Crescent City check out Contour Airlines (they come up when I google OAK > CEC). There are a few restaurants in town and 17 miles of beautiful beach to explore. So doing our 101 bucket list too, but want a 2-3 days near Ocean Beach, CA. Basically, you cant start/end in Crescent City if you want to rent a car. Thank you so much for sharing this informative article with all of us. Now that Ive moved to this part of California, I know this is true. I would like to follow the route on the map. Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) SR-1 CalTrans Lane Closures lol. Thank you, and your blog is fantastic! This is exactly what I was looking for. If I am going to follow your 10 day itinerary from Washington State to San Diego, how many overnight stays can I have? Plan accordingly when you design your PCH itinerary. Thanks for your comment, Manny. Or, do you think one could just take a chance and stop and book a room when in need??? To help you plan your road trip, here are two possible road trip itineraries you could take. Thanks again! Stretching from Washington to California, the Pacific Coast is picturesque, with cliffs, sea stacks, gorgeous urban spaces, and the raging ocean. Have a great drive!! 14,685 Pacific Coast Highway Stock Photos, Images & Pictures 90 Famous West Coast Quotes and West Quotes Sayings How Long is it? Also, we were thinking with the additional days to do a detour over to Yosemite. As this post is over 6,000 words long, I typically dont provide extra additional itinerary services for free. Super excited. We stayed in Seattle and drove south to Olympia, to pick up the beginning of the 101. This will be a great tool in planning. The Pacific Coast Highway is the ultimate road trip - and it's certainly the best one in America. Hello Valerie; my family and i are thinking about a trip from northern CA to San Diego along the coast. Santa Barbara marks the threshold to the southern California section of the pacific coast. After reading your blog we are excited to visit San Jose. So it adds about 3 hours of driving time, but it also means youll miss out on basically all of the Oregon Coast. If youre a fan, make sure to stop in Aberdeen to see the house where he grew up. Explore seaside scenery along the east coast, taking you off the beaten track to some of the most beautiful beaches including Mount Maunganui - voted as New Zealand's best beach. Depending on the timing of your itinerary, you may want to do an overnight here. But the hills inland will go even steeper! Glad this was helpful! Are people moving about freely or are things locked down with the covid? Hope to rent a car there? We only wish to go South as far as Salinas (more family) or Santa Barbara the furthest. Have a great trip!! Sounds like it will be well worth it. Life is made for the ocean. Those little beaches overlooking the water below is freaking amazing. I strongly recommend making reservations in advance, and also please be aware that hotels and other accommodation are not currently allowed to accept leisure travelers during the current mandates. The best time of year to do this will be in the summer (June/July/August), probably sooner in the year rather than later. Pacific Coast Highway | 100% Pure New Zealand I appreciate this guide. 1. Dont be in a hurry and be cautious so you can enjoy everything. We are from FL and east coast and know very little about west coast, so this is great!! Here are the stops I suggest for a Pacific Coast Highway California road trip itinerary. I do not care to get into the Los Angeles areaHowever, the Sequoias are a must. I love road trips & he tolerates them so I am looking forward to all these sights to see! 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. Thanks Valerie. I had lots of recommendations from a friend, specific to Big Sur, but your article was so encompassing and complete.
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