Pacific coast highway road trip with kids. We will be coming from Anaheim and want to drive the Pacific Coast Highway to Half Moon Bay. Enjoying the Unexpectedly Cool Pitchwood Ale House, All words and images 2013-2023 The Kolibro Group LLC. Youll have less distance (just the car and shoulder) instead of an entire lane of the road plus the shoulder. Any additional thoughts? You should drive the Pacific Coast Highway southbound! Wonderful trip sharing you made. Pacific Coast Highway - Tripadvisor Thanks for your comment, Jorge! I was, for the most part, ambivalent about the cities along the PCH. I stopped here to eat a to-go lunch I had purchased earlier in the drive, with my toes in the sand. Wifey and I did the PCH trip a while ago, shortly after we got married. Hi there, I am thinking of taking a solo trip down the PCH from Long Beach, WA to LA? Mendocino Your Pacific Coast Highway road trip begins at Leggett, so naturally, the first stop is the wonderful Mendocino. Thanks for reading, Teena! You also mentioned Suburbans are not great because they are so big, but I dont think we have much choice with the large family. Franke's first solo album is surprisingly melodic, highly accessible, and immaculately produced. Overwhelmed by the vastness of it all. Astoria, like Aberdeen in Washington, is a great destination for lovers of pop culture. Thank you for the pointers! Thanks so much for reading, Teresa! Ann, thanks so much for your comment. Bixby Bridge in Big Sur Choosing the top Pacific Coast Highway attractions isn't easy, as there are so many we love! Regarding I recommend an automatic car with a low center of gravity but skip the convertible! In this post, I promote travel across lands that are the traditional lands of many Indigenous groups. Again, thanks for great info and advice. That said, there are plenty of nice ones depending on which part of town you want to stay in. Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Follow California Highway 1 south. 3. Would you have any other suggestions since I am using 4 more days and not going south to Sa Diego and strarting in Vancouver? I am going to drive PCH 1 this summer and was going to drive from North to South but my son has driven it and suggested going South to North. We figured booking hotel in Seattle for 1 or 2 days for arrival and checking the college. Right, Mel? Stargazing along the PCH depends a lot on the weather; since there arent a lot of roads that connect the PCH inland, you kinda have to make do with what happens out on the coast. Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Carry on south on CA-1, the PCH. Hope to rent a car there? I didnt want to make all my reservations, but just go with it for one time in my life. 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 Have a wonderful trip! Next, youll pass through Point Reyes, which again seems underwhelming. When you drive on the Pacific Coast Highway, you will see sheer cliffs straight down to the water. 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 . 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. Its hard to do the drive one way in just 5 days from San Diego to Seattle adding on the time driving from Arizona and the return trip, I think you need at least 10-12 days. Okay, now youve got your car, youve got your basic itinerary. 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! Im trying to connect with the guide I found on pinterest. and so much more! If you need to stretch your legs on your day of driving between Los Angeles and San Diego, Huntington Beach is a great spot to stop. Sounds like youre well on the way to it . San Francisco has tons of cool neighborhoods, so its hard to choose which vacation rentals to recommend Check out this, Plan an overnight in Santa Barbara so you can soak in the charm. I am saving this to research more of the places you mentioned !! 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. Pismo State Beach is another great stop during a day of driving from San Francisco to Santa Barbara (or reverse). This is such a great resource. At this point you should take the exit to CA-1; this is now the Pacific Coast Highway. Pacific Coast | RaceDepartment We are thinking Crescent City to Santa Barbara? Starting in San Francisco, you'll cruise south along the Pacific Coast of California, visiting vibrant cities, secluded beaches and stunning State Parks as you go. Old Highway 101 is now called the Avenue of the Giants, and I highly recommend slowing down to enjoy this 31-mile stretch through some of Californias oldest living and tallest! Its impossible to reduce all of the amazing things to do in San Francisco down to a small paragraph or overnight stop on a Pacific Coast Highway road trip. Amazingly great article. Technically, Seattle is not on the Pacific Coast Highway, but you can fly into Seattle and drive one hour south to Olympia to start your PCH road trip. You can get a printable version by signing up on the forms in this post. Thanks for reading, Dale. 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! These stops are numbered to match my Roadtrippers map and trip above (click here to open the trip in a separate window). We are coming from Pennsylvania. OPEN SUN, 1PM TO 4PM. Portland! Thats it! Long Beach is and always will be one of my favorite destinations in Washington. Im going to publish a suggested 7-day PCH guide soon! 4 Baths. Hey Valerie great name yourself! Let me know if you need any extra tips whenever you start planning! I hope you had a good trip! I have no idea what the case will be for forest fires next year, unfortunately! We are just wondering if you have an estimate on how much it would be to travel the PCH! Cherie, thanks for your comment. memory cards before you know it. Devil's Slide Trail - Tripadvisor This was a 6 day trip. I dont plan to change any of my travel plans based on the Coronavirus unless there are required quarantines. 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. Victoria Beach has the famous pirates tower of Laguna Beach, which is was built to allow the resident down from their home to beach below. The turn-out for Ruby Beach occurs right as the highway reaches the Pacific coast. We planned to start in Seattle and drive to San Diego. Highway 1 Self-Driving Audio Tour (Pacific Coast Highway) 11 Adventure Tours from $24.99 per adult Monterey, Carmel and 17-Mile Drive - Full Day Tour from San Francisco 310 Bus Tours from $105.00 per adult Yosemite National Park and Giant Sequoias Day Trip from San Francisco 584 Full-day Tours from $199.00 per adult (price varies by group size) Make sure you have enough guidance resources. Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip. Is this possible?? Thanks, CJ! Manage photos The Pacific Coast Highway is arguably one of the most famous drives in the entire world. Im nervous go excited. If you're starting your PCH drive from Seattle . If youre not sure (or not loyal to any particular car rental company), consider using a tool like Kayak or TripAdvisor to compare a bunch of options (yes, TripAdvisor does rental cars!). After about 15 miles, you will reach Highway 1. (Be prepared for fog from the marine layer! trees. Eileen, thanks for your comment, and for reading! My wife and I are planning an 18 day trip in the coming months to fly into San Diego and then make the drive up to Seattle. We plan a trip to San Jos, California because of its diversity, beautiful scenery, and exceptionally high outputs. 15 Best Stops On Your Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip - California Sort of the opposite of sea stacks like Haystack Rock,Devils Punchbowlis another beautiful natural rock formation along the Oregon Coast. Have you heard any issues with the Covid and being able to rent places on the way down? Such a thorough guide! ?? Im saving this post to reference when I think about doing this trip, because that has to happen! 01 of 04 Thanks for reading, Angel! Solvang If youve ever seen The Goonies, you know exactly what I mean. Can you recommend where to spend time and in which cities to plan to spend the night? Especially watching the sun set over Morro Rock in the distance! my best friends and I have talked about driving down from San Francisco to some of the Orange County, CA cities. The ocean's energy is magical. Were using it to plan our itinerary for June/July this year, 3 weeks, Seattle to LA. Hello Valerie & Valise, I love this trip information on, it is so amazingly helpful. 75 Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Stops Off-the-Beaten-Path (If you decide to fly to SF, heres a recent post I wrote: https://www.valisemag.com/california-coast-road-trip/). Love it. Adrian, great to hear from you! Thanks for the great ideas! Hoping to do this mid Sept 2020. Pacific Coast Highway Attractions, those must-see sights along PCH, include Hearst Castle, Big Sur, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Golden Gate Bridge. Great post. The Pacific Coast Highway is located in the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and California. I am not a family travel expert so I dont have advice there! 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. Planning a mother/son trip after my son graduates HS next year. 24 Best Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Stops. I live in Florida and have never been to the pacific coast. There are plenty of things to do in Long Beach for more than an overnight stop! Thank you! My fiance & I want to do this for our honeymoon next month! From the perspective of California Highway 1, it might seem like just a few buildings alongside the road. Id like to make a 10 day trip with a couple days in San Francisco and San Diego. You can even stretch it out by spending a few extra days exploring some of the cities along the route if you want to. Will we be able to enjoy the drive in March? 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. Which Direction to Drive the Pacific Coast Highway? I am planning a 10 day trip the last two weeks in May down the entire PCH from Seattle to San Diego. The ultimate guide to road tripping California's Pacific Coast Highways Thank you so much for this information! Christopher Franke - Pacific Coast Highway Album Reviews - AllMusic I havent been to Yellowstone so I cant say if its worth it, unfortunately. We will only have 7 days. Im assuiming youve read the whole post, as I do cover a 7-day suggested itinerary, and cover overnight stops along the Oregon coast. Big Sur is defined as the stretch of coastline and adjacent state park between Carmel and San Simeon. $2,785,000. Its the best time for good weather on the whole coast! Portland? 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. Thank you for all this information. Have a great trip and drive safely! We plan on doing the 7 day trip June/July. Just starting to think about a 1st time road trip from Az to Washington and back among the PCH!!?? We then headed to San Fran, our ending point. The PCH begins south of Dana Point in Orange County and ends at US 101 in Mendocino County. 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! If you go as big as a Suburban or Tahoe, youll be way to big and clunky to enjoy the road! Have a great drive! For the California portion, I recommend September & October! Great question So Crater Lake is pretty far inland. Thanks. 3 days trip to Joshua Tree/stay at Twentynine Palms, then swing to San Diego. Southern California has great weather year-round. Theres a link to that at the end of the post. Great question, Judy. Any ideas? The Outdoor Blueprint team pieces together an incredible guide featuring all the best coastal stops from Vancouver, B.C. You can stretch your legs with a short walk before getting back on the road. Heather, you saw the rest of the post, right? Best trip ever! The only places you can fly would be Crescent City but itll require changing through San Francisco anyway. We will go from Seattle to San Diego using your itinerary as our planning guide. There are loads of cool things to explore in/around this small PNW town, including Olympic National Park! This is such a great article. You may encounter some rain up north near Portland and Seattle, but you shouldnt experience any snow! Karen, great question! The sweetest shade of blue. Start here. I have one question where is the best place to fly into? I havent been to Monterey but its high on my list! Hi, My wife and I are planning a 7-day drive from San Fran to Portland in late June of this year. Hi We have just 1-day and will be starting in Fortuna and heading to San Francisco. The Classic Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip | ROAD TRIP USA Glad this was helpful! Am interested in your upcoming 7 day itinerary of PCH. I appreciate all the information! Thanks for reading, Lynda! Planning for 5-6 days of Seattle to San Diego. Oregon & California are both pretty vegan friendly states so Id expect lots of restaurants have at least an option thats animal-free. Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip {25 Stops - California Through My Lens My English is very very basic but if you write to me I can understand it. Youd need to drive about 7-10 hours out of the way depending on the bridge, and miss major stretches of the road . Hurricane Ridge. skip Santa Cruz, skip San Francisco Day 2 and just hit the highway) OR if you had a suggestion on swapping out one of the spots with a different one (ex. Point Reyes is arguably my favorite part of the Pacific Coast Highway and that is saying something as its really hard to choose favorites from over 650 miles of California coastline! Looking forward to follow your tips. I am doing this trip with the boyfriend end of this month. Thanks for sharing. I have 22 foot van camper are their any length height(9.5 ft) restrictions I am hoping their are amp sites along the way? Thanks for asking! The jagged coastline, infinite blue water, sunny days, gorgeous sunsets these are just a few of the reasons California Highway 1 became a popular route in the first place! My husband, myself and our four kids always take adventurous vacations every summer. Is Yellowstone worth the long detour? 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. Thanks for reading and asking, Hunter! I love small beaches and in less popular destinations like this! I am planning to take this trip with my family of 5 as you have lined out for the 10 days this coming June. Thanks for sharing this great itinerary. Your email address will not be published. Credit: Bigstock.com The Pacific Coast Highway runs along two highways: In Washington and Oregon, the best weather of the year happens between June and September. Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Head south from Ruby Beach along U.S. 101. Im sure someone else has asked this but..When is the best time to travel PCH (traveling Southbound through California to San Diego in hopes of warm days and cool(ish) nights)? My favorite place is Mendocino if the skies are clear! Is this going to be a big disappointment? Sorry about the delay, Scott. I will be driving from Dallas to Seattle. Great content here, thank you! Stop 5: Hearst castle. Crescent City is a great spot for an overnight stop (or longer) depending on your itinerary. In particular, plan a long foray out to Point Reyes State Park and Lighthouse. We are doing the PCH this July and August coming from Yellowstone, Glacier and Teddy Roosevelt NP it has been on our Bucket list for quite some time after this trip we only have Alaska to visit and we will have visited all the States !! You can find the Cobain house at 1210 E 1st St, and right next door you can see a memorial to Cobain in Kurt Cobain Memorial Park (the house now a private residence, so dont disturb the owners!). State Route 1 - AARoads - California Highways Stop 4: Bixby bridge. I am planning a trip in late July. Your second choice is where to start your road trip. But the hills inland will go even steeper! Thanks for your comment, Erin! Day 2: Forks, WA to Cape Kiwanda, OR. But my priority for this trip is just going straight down the PCH so that should help me prioritize. Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip: 25 Breathtaking (& Bizarre!) Epic Stops A few years ago I started saving (unbeknownst to my husband) for his 50th birthday this summer. Would love to do the northern parts of PCH though I loved Portland and Seattle, but would like to see more of the coastal regions! 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). It was actually quite a lot colder than I expected so I usually ended up too cold with the top down. . I hope this helps! Thanks for your amazing feedback, and Im so glad to help! We will be stopping to see the sights along the way but not for strenuous hikes. Seaside is a picturesque coastal town, a western interpretation of the East Coast summer destinations along the Atlantic. Its a small detail, but totally uncalifornian to say the PCH. Crescent City is the first city youll enter when driving southbound into California along the Pacific Coast Highway (or last if youre headed northbound). Id go with a mid-size car for your rental. We are so overwhelmed. 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. Let me know if you have any other questions while planning or on the road! Did you drive it alone and what do you think about being able to see well driving north to south? Ive put together some tips on how to choose the right car for the PCH, but in short, I recommend an automatic car with a low center of gravity but skip the convertible! 0:42. Also, I will have 3 weeks to do this, I like small towns, Vegan food, and too out of shape for extended hikes. Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip itinerary: driving on Route 1 in California Driving California's Pacific Coast Highway | Audley Travel Unfortunately, when I drove the PCH it was pretty foggy and cool most of the week. What would be a good hopping on point? Thanks for your comment, Rex! Hey there! Tim & Janice, what kind words! Also known as Big Sur, the route winds along the rugged California coastline (from Cape San Martin to Ragged . Whats your thought on late availability rooms at that time of year? The skies are guaranteed to be blue, the weather begs for a convertible, and the passing sands are alive with . I make all of my must see recommendations in this post, so I recommend checking out the section on California to find the ones that sound interesting to you. I dont have it I just want to make sure businesses are open? Donna, thanks for your comment! Though I have visited a few cities in California over the years, I (we) are looking forward to that California coastal drive. We continued on until we picked up the beginning of CA Hwy 1. 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. Congrats on finishing your Pacific Coast Highway road trip. anything you can suggest extra the girls would be wowed by would be great. I hope this helps. They all offer budget rentals, run regular deals and specials, and have one-way rental options. I am traveling with my husband, brother and our 4 year old. 90 Famous West Coast Quotes and West Quotes Sayings Were on day 2 of our 8-day PCH Tour.and its great to have your help! I have a question in regards to your amazing experiences and my hopes to travel the PCH with my older kids. 21 Perfect Big Sur Captions for Instagram - California Crossroads I hope you had a great drive, Mindy! The worst that happens is you might end up in a slightly less nice place than you had planned. Thank you for the recommendation! Heres a Pacific Coast Highway map and schedule for 10 days: One of the most popular questions I get about driving the Pacific Coast Highway is about when to drive the PCH. The Ultimate Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip - Valerie & Valise Am planning to do a 10 day PCH drive in August. If I were going to recommend a route, Id do something like the National Parks in California or the Utah/Arizona/SoCal loop. Looking to travel with your recommendations southbound! Thanks for your comment, David! I think once we hit Los Angeles we will just take the I10 home to Phoenix. I love road trips & he tolerates them so I am looking forward to all these sights to see! Also wondering if you can tell me where I could get a printable version of your article. The Oregon Coast Aquarium lets visitors explore the marine ecosystems around this part of the Pacific Ocean. We are planning a trip next year from New Orleans while my husband has a conference in Portlandwe were thinking of driving Hwy 1 down to Disneylandand catching some of the beautiful beaches and state parks. Amazon.com: pacific coast highway map I hope you have a great trip whenever you can make it! 1. Now that Ive moved to this part of California, I know this is true. San Jose is a creative and thriving high-tech culture epicenter. Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Continue south on CA-1, the Pacific Coast Highway. Sounds like a great trip, Rudy! If not, spend your day exploring the Seattle waterfront to see all of the city from above. Thank you for sharing your travels and still helping others along their journey! Any suggestions. But never mind those technicalities, because equally bewitching ribbons of Hwy 1 and Hwy 101 await all along this route. Thank you for sharing. Hi, and thanks for this terrific resource. Enjoyed this 14 day article! There are a number of epic hiking trails in the area, ranging from a 0.5-mile loop to 16-mile out-and-back trails. Is Pacific Coast Highway the same as Highway 1 or Highway 101?