Just one small thing, its not the PCH, its just PCH. If youre a fan, make sure to stop in Aberdeen to see the house where he grew up. Once you are on Pacific Coast Highway, it is a straight-shot to virtually any beach destination on your road trip list, including San Luis . Well be camping out at most stops except for SF. The Pacific Coast Highway has long been considered a "dream drive" and the ultimate road trip. As I mentioned above, both are southbound itineraries. 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 . Big Sur is defined as the stretch of coastline and adjacent state park between Carmel and San Simeon. Thanks for putting this fantastic guide together! I have been reading your blog posts about the PCH and think I read where you mentioned a couple of crossover vehicles that would be good rental cars. Donna, thanks for your comment! Thanks for your comment, Shelly! I am not fond of the cold and a bit fearful of icy driving in the mountains. Tim & Janice, what kind words! In particular, plan a long foray out to Point Reyes State Park and Lighthouse. Lastly, Pismo is a great stop for a midday workout on the road, with a huge stretch of beach to walk/run on. Thanks again! Awesome, Im hoping to do the PCH and NorCal next summer. Its a very winding cliff-side road and doing it in an RV is going to be laboriously slow and probably make you a bit nervous at times. And thanks for confirming what I thought (hoped) that southbound is the best way to go. I will be driving alone and he thought I would be able to enjoy the view better looking to my left than to my right while driving. Any other advise you could give us. Mike, great to hear from you and thanks for reading! Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Head south from Ruby Beach along U.S. 101. Explore the beach then hit the trails to find waterfalls, massive redwoods, and an abandoned limekiln. Thanks Valerie. Plan accordingly when you design your PCH itinerary. I appreciate your asking for clarification! You may encounter some rain up north near Portland and Seattle, but you shouldnt experience any snow! For accommodation, try a small hotel like the. Did you drive it alone and what do you think about being able to see well driving north to south? Or, do you think one could just take a chance and stop and book a room when in need??? . Also being from Colorado, we would love to camp oceanside, do you have any recommendations on campsites? I drove one and I hardly ever got to enjoy it!.why were you hardly ever able to enjoy driving a convertible???? What you suggested (Anaheim > SLO/Madonna Inn > Half Moon Bay) is a great two-day itinerary. Drive Time: About 3.5 Hours. I am going to mostly follow the path you outlined in your 10 day itinerary. We are planning our trip for the first half of April, SF to LA. Even an email answer is fine!! NEW CONSTRUCTION. 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. When you drive on the Pacific Coast Highway, you will see sheer cliffs straight down to the water. I am planning a 10 day trip the last two weeks in May down the entire PCH from Seattle to San Diego. We fly out of LA. When in doubt, stay on the coast. Hope to rent a car there? Is Pacific Coast Highway the same as Highway 1 or Highway 101? 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. Thanks for reading, Dave. FREE delivery Sat, Jan 7 on $25 of items shipped by Amazon. The Pacific Coast Highway is arguably one of the most famous drives in the entire world. I love Portland and San Diego. Thanks for your comment, Victoria! I did a quick search and heres how it breaks down: Newport > Crescent City (what I originally suggest) = about 5 hours of driving Newport > Crater Lake > Crescent City = about 8 hours of driving (and none of it is on the coast), If you chose to go from Portland > Crater Lake > Crescent City instead = 7.5 hours of driving. Have you heard any issues with the Covid and being able to rent places on the way down? Sort of a round trip Oregon adventure. I lived for 15 years in Alaska, as well as four years each in California and Washington. Were renting an RV in Seattle (after few days in hotel) and have 30 days before we drop it off in San Fran (and hotel for a few days). Im thinking of a four day road trip for easter next year but thinking along the lines of vegas to grand canyon and so. I appreciate all the information! Crescent City! I hope this helps. The coast near Crescent City is dotted with the gigantic rock formations out at sea that characterize most of the northern and central California coastline. Thank you so much for creating this itinerary! Sounds like youve got a great plan drive safe! Great info . If your PCH road trip includes the Olympic Peninsula, follow U.S. 101 west and then north along the eastern side of the Olympic Peninsula toward Port Angeles. Thank you! We are planning to do Northboundfrom Ventura to Wine country but only have 5 days returning on the 5th day. Youd need to drive about 7-10 hours out of the way depending on the bridge, and miss major stretches of the road . Any recommendations will be appreciated! We continued on until we picked up the beginning of CA Hwy 1. I am saving this to research more of the places you mentioned !! This post was so helpful! To ensure accommodations, I was thinking to book all of the hotels in advance. State Route 1. Amazing! This will be a great tool in planning. But you missed it and it was so incredible. Thanks for your comment, Catherine. One of the longest state routes in California (after Interstate 5 and U.S. 101), California 1 sees some of the most . Let me know how it goes! Therefore, its an amazing place to start your Pacific Coast Highway trip! Then flying back to Michigan. The Pacific Coast Highwayalso known as PCH or, more commonly, Highway 1runs north-south along most of the United States' West Coast. I started this site to share my travel stories and inspiration to help you complete bucket list trips. Im looking forward to have the same experience with my wife and my son. Chinquel, nice to hear from you! As the title suggests, this music would make the perfect soundtrack for a drive up the California coast. Im planning on doing the PCH from Seattle to SF next Sept. (We did SF to SD in 2019). "In America, the colors sing, they don't just glower at you. Is Yellowstone worth the long detour? The PCH heads inland near Lompoc but is the main road you can take to Santa Barbara. Sounds like youve got a great itinerary planned! 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. I loved the harbor and wharf, was surprised by the food scene, and lightly dabbled in the historical significance of Santa Barbara enough for me to want to return. My husband and I plan to do this trip in June. San Diego is known for its Zoo and was made Instagram famous for Potato Chip Rock. Hi, My wife and I are planning a 7-day drive from San Fran to Portland in late June of this year. I was, for the most part, ambivalent about the cities along the PCH. Aretta, thanks for your comment! I love road trips & he tolerates them so I am looking forward to all these sights to see! Thank you, Archimedes. Technically, it starts in Washington State, but it's best known for the stretch through California from the stunning redwood forests and wild, rugged coast down to the sun-drenched beaches of San Diego. I hope you can make it happen sooner! Looking forward to follow your tips. Thank you for sharing. 0:42. Pacific Coast Highway Directions: At this point in Northern California, the PCH is still U.S. 101. Login or Register an account to download this content. If youve ever seen The Goonies, you know exactly what I mean. Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Follow CA-1 south out of L.A. to avoid the citys notorious traffic as you make your way along the coast. hi planing to do the PCH however we will be in Las Vegas and driving to San Francisco will be there for 2 or 3 days and dont know witch is better to do San Francisco to L A back to Vegas or go north San Francisco to Seattle and then drive to Vegas i will have a extra 3 to 4 days what is your thoughts, we are nature and wildlife lovers not to big into visiting towns. But never mind those technicalities, because equally bewitching ribbons of Hwy 1 and Hwy 101 await all along this route. Thanks for reading, Jennifer. I want to fly out to the NW and drive to Crescent city, then go inland to see the redwoods, Bend, and Mt. I recently discovered Mendocino on a weekend trip and fell in love with the small town. Also, you can probably get away with booking hotels/vacation rentals in the smaller towns only a few days in advance but if you want to stay in any of the big cities, I would book those 2-3 weeks in advance at the latest! California 1 is the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and Cabrillo Highway, following the coastline from San Juan Capistrano in Orange County in Southern California to Leggett in Mendocino County in Northern California. 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. Sorry, I could not get past it, and I may not even be correct, but I truly loved this page. Whats the best time of year to do this? Where does the Pacific Coast Highway start and end? I would love to take this vacation but not fall short on money. I do you can sign up using the email forms in this post to receive a short version! So the verb lament is correct in the present tense, and the tense of recommend earlier in the paragraph. We will only have 7 days. Sounds like a great trip either way drive safe! San Diego is high on my must-visit-longer list, so Im again a bit short on recommendations here. Next, youll pass through Point Reyes, which again seems underwhelming. Sounds like a great trip, Rudy! The West Coast especially is fantastic. The views of the colors changing in the trees were surreal. Is this possible? Thank you for the article. I think once we hit Los Angeles we will just take the I10 home to Phoenix. Thanks. Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Continue south along CA-1. (Be prepared for fog from the marine layer! 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. I live in Florida and have never been to the pacific coast. Now that you have all the details you need to plan a PCH road trip, you need to know which destinations are worth a stop along the Pacific Coast Highway. 2. Required fields are marked *. I am planning a trip for next year, saving and researching. Carry on the fantastic work!|. We were 70s teenagers all around! Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Follow CA-1 south its a meandering route, but if you follow it all the way until Muir Beach you can make an optional stop at Muir Woods if you want. Driving south on the right-hand side of the road, youll have a great view of the ocean and coastline. Have a great trip! The only places you can fly would be Crescent City but itll require changing through San Francisco anyway. My overnight stop in Santa Barbara changed my mind. This is such a great article.