planning a trip down the pacific coast highway

• WORK WITH US

Photo Presets

The Mandagies

The Perfect Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Itinerary (25 Stops + 3 Itineraries!)

Post Summary: The Ultimate Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Itinerary + All The Stops Along The Way

The Pacific Coast Highway is easily considered to be one of the most iconic road trip routes in the world !

It’s not hard to believe either. From the moody beaches in Washington to the spectacular natural bridges in Southern Oregon to the winding roads of Big Sur, California , there is something new to see around every bend.

Berty and I drove the entire route back in 2017, and have returned to deeply explore sections every year since then!

Because we know this route so well, we wanted to create this comprehensive guide for iconic stops and places to see along the entire length of the Pacific Coast Highway, all 1,700-ish miles between Seattle, Washington and Orange County, California !

In this power, we’ll share the best PCH stops in Washington, Oregon, and California to make your Pacific Coast Highway road trip your most epic trip yet.

Let’s get planning!

Step By Step Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Directions (Download)

Where is the pacific coast highway how long is it.

The Pacific Coast Highway has many names.

You can also recognize it by its abbreviation (PCH), and referred to as the California Coast road trip , Pacific Coast Highway road trip, Route 1, Highway 101 (through Washington and Oregon), or even just Highway 1 (in California).

All names aside, they all lead you down the same road, which is the route that parallels the Pacific Ocean and the western border of the contiguous United States.

The traditional Pacific Coast Highway (Route 1) is 655 miles long. The full Pacific Coast Highway (Orange County to Seattle) is just over 1,700 miles.

We’ll be talking about the entire Pacific Coast Highway itinerary in this blog post. (Seattle to Orange County)

Pacific Coast Highway Map, Directions, & Best Times

Which direction to drive the pacific coast highway.

Where should you begin your Pacific Coast Highway itinerary? Northbound or Southbound?

There are two directions to do a Pacific Coast Highway road trip – driving south or driving north! Honestly, both are great options but being from Washington, Berty and I began in Seattle and made our way south.

If you are searching for the best weather conditions, here are pros of each direction:

• Southbound (Seattle to Orange County): Driven during spring break, you can escape the Pacific Northwest rain and enjoy the warmth of Southern California.
• Nortbound (Orange County to Seattle): Driving north will help you escape California’s hot weather in late summer and fall.

Pacific Coast Highway Start and End Points

Traditionally, the Pacific Coast Highway is considered to be the entire Highway 1 of the California Coast. This spans between Capistrano Beach is Orange County to Legget in Nortoerhn California. Highway 1 is 655.84 miles.

However, we like to think of this drive spanning three Pacific Coast states: Washington, Oregon, and California.

The traditional starting point in Washington is Seattle (with a detour through the Olympic National Park). The traditional starting point in California is San Diego .

When To Drive The Pacific Coast Highway

We also began our trip in June, but this trip is good to take any time of year.

If you decided on making it a winter road trip route , that means you’ll have a lot fewer crowds to deal with! Driving along the coast, the weather is more temperate and usually doesn’t get cold enough for snow, so you won’t run into many driving issues.

However, if you’re looking for the “windows-down, sunsets every night” kind of trip, we recommend taking this drive any time between June-September for the best chance of good weather.

Pacific Coast Highway Map

Top Tips For Driving The Pacific Coast Highway

So, how can you plan a Pacific Coast Highway road trip? Here are our suggestions of things to do before your trip:

Plan Your Stops Carefully: Carefully creating an itinerary will help make reserving hotels and activies a LOT easier. However, make sure to leave just a little wiggle room for surprises! Book Accommodations In Advance: The Pacific Coast Highway is a popular road trip route. Once you know your trip dates, plan to book hotels and campgrounds ASAP. We like to split accommodations between car camping and hotels for a good mix. On a budget? Here are 20 car camping hacks to consider. Check Road Closures: Check you route for any major road closures. This actually happens a lot more often than you might think Big Sur often has landslides. Rent a Great Car (or RV!): You can rent a car and book hotels, OR you can rent a campervan and book campgrounds for a budget-friendly trip. Outdoorsy has cool recreation vehicles vans to rent – it’s like Airbnb but for RVs! Decide When To Embark: Determine when to plan your PCH trip and how many days you have. Keep scrolling to the bottom of the post for PCH itinerary examples. Use a Good Navigation App : Good navigation apps make a huge difference. Read our favorite road trip planner apps here. Get a Convertible…or a Harley! If you are driving only a small section of the PCH, rent a fun vehicle! This isn’t mandatory, but it sure is iconic to drive on the highway in one of these cool rides. Ask Great Questions: You’re in the car for a long time. Make sure to have these road trip questions ready to brighten those dull moments. Download Podcasts + Playlists : Download these road trip podcasts and personalized playlists when you have wifi. You’ll thank me later. Pack Your Car With The Essentials: Here’s a list of road trip essentials you need to be packing. Prepare To Stop Frequently: The whole point of driving the Pacific Coast Highway is to take in the sights!

How To Choose a Car For The Pacific Coast Highway

Choosing the right vehicle for your Pacific Coast Highway road trip is probably THE most important decision you will make.

Option 1: Drive Your Own Car Make sure your car has had a tune-up, and its oil changed. It’s worth it to get checked out now, than risk something going wrong mid-way through your trip.

Option 2: Rent a Regular Car Renting a car is a great option for a reliable drive down the Pacific Coast Highway. Personally, we like Avis becuase they have a great rewards program. You can find cheap options

Option 3: Rent a Campervan or RV Renting a campervan is an awesome way to experience a little bit of vanlife. Search for the best campervans at Outdoorsy . Just note, it may be a little tricky to drive a campervan one-way. You may have to return it at your starting point via I-5!

Option 4: Take The Public us (Kind of possible, but not recommended) Yes, it’s possible to cobble together transportation on local transit. You’ll find that you can get around easiest in Southern California and the central Oregon Coast. However, there will be stretches of road with no transporation avaiable, or you may have to leave the coast and venture inland to find a route. It’s cheap yes, but takes quite a bit of pre-planning.

Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip On A Budget

Are you hoping to plan a Pacific Coast Highway road trip route on a budget ? Here are some budgeting hacks we like to use to plan a budget PCH trip:

Use The Dyrt To Find Campgrounds: The Dyrt is the largest online campground database. We use the offline campground search feature to find spots on the go (no service needed!). The Dyrt gave us a code for you, our epic reader, to try the pro membership for 30 days free!   Click here to unlock your 30-day free trial . Find Free Campsites: Road tripping around the west coast for years, we’ve learned a thing or two about finding free campsites in the USA . Our guide includes campground searching hacks, backcountry packing guides, and tips on how to find the best camping spots on the PCH. Cook Your Own Meals: Save money on the road by making your own quick & easy camping meals . Manage Money On The Road: Learn how we travel on a budget in the Pacific Northwest .

What To Pack For A Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip

A good Pacific Coast Highway road trip will take you through the rainy gloom of Washington, as well as the sunny beaches of California. This makes packing slighly more challenging – you’ll have to account for tons of variable weather!

Rain Jacket: You’ll need one in Washington and Oregon, especially during winter and spring. Here are our favorite rain jackets to wear in the Pacific Northwest . Light Layers: Once you reach California, it’s nice to have light, packable layers to bring on your day adventures. We like this windbreaker and this colorful fleece for easy layering. Down Jacket: Down jackets are an excellent option for extra warmth, especially when paired with a rain jacket. Get this packable one to save space in your suitcase. Sunglasses: You’ll need some, since you’ll be watchin the sunset every night! Grab this pair of inexpensive but HIGHLY rated sunglasses to knock around on your adventures. Hiking Shoes: Hiking in the PNW for over a decade, we know a thing or two about boots! Read our list on the best hiking boots , to pick the right ones for you. Walking Sandals : From walking around Huntington Pier to strolling around your campsite, walking sandals are essential to your Pacific Coast Highway packing list. Portable Phone Charger: This Goal Zero 24 is the perfect companion to charge your phone on a day trip. Camera: Here’s our guide on how to take smartphone landscape photography, or you can check out the travel photography gear as media professionals. Hiking Clothes: You’ll want to bring these highly-coveted hiking shorts , a day pack , and the 10 hiking essentials .

Here are some posts we’ve written about what to pack for certain parts of the Pacific Coast Highway:

• 5 Essentials to Bring On The Washington Coast
• The Ultimate Packing List For San Francisco
• What To Pack For A Weekend in Los Angeles

The Best Pacific Coast Highway Stops (State By State)

If you’re planning to experience the entire Pacific Coast Highway (including extending it to Oregon and Washington), you probably know that there is an insane amount of beautiful stops to take.

We’re going to break locations down state by state, to give you bite-sized chunks of information for each place.

Each state provides something unique and exciting for your Pacific Coast Highway road trip itinerary, so read below for location inspiration in Washington, Oregon, and California!

Pacific Coast Highway Stops In Washington

Washington is not all rain and gloom!

While the movies portray this evergreen state in a constant shroud of clouds and moodiness (Thanks, Twilight) , its nothing farther from the truth.

Here, you can find powerful waterfalls, secret coves, and lush green forest, and amazing hikes in every corner of this beautiful state.

Keep on reading to read about some highlights along the Pacific Coast Highway in Washington!

Seattle, Washington

This is where we suggest starting your Pacific Coast Highway road trip.

Seattle is a great place to stock up on all the road trip essentials , grab rental cars, and arrive by plane to stay on your journey on the Pacific Coast Highway. If you’re flying in to begin your journey, you’ll fly into Sattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

Have a little bit more time on your hands? Stick around for a few days and try these unique things to do in Seattle , or take these incredible day trips from Seattle .

Fun things to do in Seattle, Washington:

• Visit Pike Place Market
• Go to the first-ever Starbucks Coffee store
• Visit The Museum of Pop Culture
• Watch the sunset at Jose Rizal Park
• See the Space Needle up close at Kerry Park
• Have a bonfire with friends at Golden Gardens Park
• Go to A Husky Football game in the University District

Read More: What To Pack For The Pacific Northwest

Port Angeles

If you are starting in Seattle or Vancouver, chances are you’ll need to take a ferry across the Puget Sound to reach the Olympic Peninsula . It’s also possible to drive around through Olympia, if you don’t want to put your car on the ferry.

From here, you will pass the cities of Sequim and Port Angeles. Before hitting to Pacific Coast Highway, we recommend taking a stop by Lake Crescent for some classic PNW vibes and maybe a quick lunch break too.

If you want to see what the lake looks like from above, test your limits and hike Mount Storm King . The 4.7-mile round trip hike gains over 2,000 feet in elevation, including scrambling up the side of a cliff with the help of a few installed ropes.

This hike isn’t for the faint of heart, but your attempts will be rewarded with experiencing one of the most spectacular places to see in the Olympic Peninsula .

Stay Overnight: Book a stay at The Olympic Lodge in Port Angeles . It’s right in town, and central to other adventures like Hurricane Ridge, Salt Creek, and Lake Crescent.

Sol Duc Falls

Sol Duc Falls is located in the Olympic National Park , and along Highway 101 on your way towards the coast.

It’s a small detour before heading to the ocean. However, the detour is worth every minute! The short trail to Sol Duc Falls leads to one of the most gorgeous waterfalls in Washington state.

If you are wanting a unique place to stay in the Olympic National Park, consider staying at the Sol Duc Hot Springs, a natural pool resort in the park.

Doing this, you can wake up early to visit the falls and beat the crowds!

Cape Flattery

If you’re looking for the most northwest location in the lower 48 United States, you’ve found it at Cape Flattery !

This jaw-dropping piece of coastline is owned by the Makah Tribe. It includes beautiful sea stacks just offshore and expansive views of the Pacific Ocean and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

If you are planning your Pacific Coast Highway itinerary for epic photo spots, don’t miss this place! You’ll need an entry pass ($10 per vehicle) and you can pick it up at the gas station or grocery store at Neah Bay.

Forks, Washington

La Push Beaches (First, Second, and Third)

You may know these beaches from the movie Twilight but rest assured there are no vampires in sight. (Partly because it’s werewolf territory anyway, DUH) In fact, we’ve seen some of the most incredible sunsets right here on Second Beach.

When visiting, it’s important to note that there are three beaches to choose from. First Beach provides easy and instant beach access, so it’s a popular choice for families.

Second Beach requires a hike on a short trail to reach the beach, and you can also camp on this beach. Second Beach is also the most popular option for its beautiful rock formations and vast shoreline.

Third Beach requires a longer hike and is the least visited of all the beaches.

Any of these Washington beaches you choose, don’t forget to pack these 5 beach essentials!

Read More: La Push Beach + and Beach Camping Tips

Ocean Shores, Washington

Ocean Shores is a quaint little town on the Washington Coast, just north of Grays Harbor.

Here, you will find tons of vacation rental homes, small seafood restaurants, and tons of beach activities. Berty and I came with our friends last summer and opted to rent motorbikes on the beach, eat our weight in crab, and explore the jetty!

Restaurants to try in Ocean Shores:

• Murphy’s Candy & Ice Cream Shop
• Galway Bay Irish Pub
• Ocean Beach Roasters and Bistro
• Oyhut Bay Bistro

Want more beach fun on the Washington Coast? Check out Ruby Beach and Rialto Beach !

Read More: 7 Fun Things To Do In Ocean Shores, Washington

Pierce County Area (Gig Harbor, Tacoma, and Puyallup)

If you’re looking to spend a little extra for a comfortable room and some great food, spend some time exploring Gig Harbor and boating around the South Puget Sound . You will be able to spot wildlife all around you, whether it’s jellyfish or a pod of orcas!

Some of our favorite cities in Pierce County to explore: Puyallup (Washington State Fair), Tacoma, and Gig Harbor!

Mount Rainier National Park

Take your journey slightly inland to explore Mount Rainier National Park. Here, you can test your limits and backpack up to the summit (training required!) or simply take a nice stroll at the base of the mountain like on Nisqually Loop Trail .

Mount Rainier is best explored if you spend 2-3 days in the park! There are so many different areas to cover (Paradise Area and Sunrise Area are the most popular), so give yourself time to enjoy the beautiful outdoors here in the Pacific Northwest.

Most Popular Activities To Do At Mount Rainier:

• Hike the Grove of the Patriarchs Trail
• See Silver Falls
• Hike the Skyline Divide Trail
• Visit the Longmire Museum

Cape Disappointment State Park

Cape Disappointment is located in the far southwestern corner of Washington State. Here, you can discover miles of trails, play on the beaches, and maybe even spot an orca offshore!

For a memorable photo opportunity on your Pacific Coast Highway road trip, take the trail down to Deadman’s Cove and capture this hidden beach at sunset!

Read More: Cape Disappointment + Deadman’s Cove

Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Stops In Oregon

The Oregon Coast itself is worthy of its own road trip but lucky you – you get to see it all and more!

We’re sharing all the best stops along this part of the Pacific Coast Highway and what you can expect in this beautiful state.

Not enough time for the whole thing? Take an Oregon Coast Road Trip instead!

Cannon Beach

Cannon Beach is a family and dog-friendly beach located 1.5 hours west of Portland. Here, you can explore the many quaint seaside shops, take a walk on the beach, and explore the many tide pools.

There are many services available here, so it’s a great stop for camping, resting, or even getting a seaside Airbnb! (By the way, y ou can get $40 off your first reservation at this link! )

Read More: Spending The Day At Cannon Beach

Cape Kiwanda

Cape Kiwanda  is a popular beach on the Oregon Coast. Here, you can walk along the beach and enjoy Pacific City’s own “Haystack Rock”, or climb the nearby sand dunes to discover incredible views, coves, and rock formations!

Too busy for you? Venture just a 5-minute drive south to Bob Straub State Park, where you can walk along the less-traveled and peaceful beachfront.

The area of Oregon can be rainy and cloudy year-round, but if you’re lucky you can experience one of its gorgeous sunsets (that is if the weather cooperates!). Make sure to pack a rain jacket!

Read More:  10 Epic Adventures To Take Aroun Cape Kiwanda

God’s Thumb Hike, Lincoln City

The hike to God’s Thumb is a moderately difficult hike along the Oregon Coast. A 4.6-mile round trip hike will bring you to a curved landscape on an oceanside cliff. 

It gets its name “God’s Thumb” because it slightly resembles a thumb… but we think it kind of looks like a soft-serve ice cream swirl!

Located in Lincoln City, Oregon , this is a perfect place to get out of the car, stretch your legs, and see a beautiful area of the Oregon Coast.

Read More: Hike To God’s Thumb in Lincoln City On The Oregon Coast

Devil’s Punchbowl

Devil’s Punchbowl State Natural Area is a perfect stop on your Pacific Coast Highway road trip. Here, you can experience the power of the ocean slamming and swirling into a carved-out bowl.

From the top, you can see down inside the “punchbowl”. During high tide, the waves swirl and crash around inside, but during low tide, you can walk down on the beach and explore inside.

Stay a while for a roadside picnic, to explore tide pools, or climb around on the rocks on the shore.

Thor’s Well

Thor’s Well in another one of the Oregon Coast’s amazing natural phenomena. You can experience the most dramatic sights at high tide, but beware – it’s the most dangerous time to visit too.

Similar to the Spouting Horn in Kauai , this sinkhole looks like water is just draining into a huge abyss, but it’s actually a natural rock tube that sucks and shoots water our according to the adjacent waves.

Don’t get too close to it though, it pushes and pulls water with a powerful force , meaning if you get too close you risk being swept off your feet into the hole!

This area is located just south of the Cape Perpetua Visitor’s Cente r, with lots of wheelchair accessible walkways AND walk-at-your-own-risk paths too.

Cape Perpetua Scenic Area

Cape Perpetua Scenic Area is an amazing spot on the Pacific Coast Highway, and probably home to one of the best photo spots on the PCH!

For a quick side trip, take the drive up to Cape Perpetua Lookout , where you can see the Oregon Coast meet the winding highway below. It’s an incredible view – make sure to bring your camera!

This is also a great stop for some camping on the Oregon Coast, as well as exploring the many ocean features and scenic trails in the area.

Read More: 10 Epic Things To Do In Cape Perpetua Area Of The Oregon Coast

(Bonus Side Trip!) Umpqua Hot Springs + Toketee Falls

Got an extra day to spare?

Since you’re already in Oregon, consider taking a side trip east to the Cascade Mountains. The Umpqua National Forest has a lot to see, but it’s shining stars have got to be Toketee Falls and the Umpqua Hot Springs.

Both of the trails to Toketee Falls and Umpqua Hot Springs are nearby one another, short, and easy to follow.

They can be accomplished in a morning or afternoon trip. If you haven’t visited a Pacific Northwest hot springs  yet, this is the perfect chance to do it!

We would suggest that you Visit Toketee Falls first, so you can save your soak for last!

Read More: 5 Essential Tips For Soaking at Upmqua Hot Springs

Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor

Of all the stops on the Oregon Coast, Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor is a MUST visit. Offshore rock formations, dramatic cliffs, and crashing waves make this place a magical stop on the Pacific Coast Highway.

To fully experience this area, we suggest scheduling your visit for sunset. The sun sets over the Pacific Ocean, and on a clear day the skies light up with beautiful colors. Don’t forget to stop at other iconic spots in the park including Secret Beach, Natural Bridges, Arch Rock, and Indian Sands Trail!

Located on the Southern Oregon Coast , Samuel H Boardman spans around 10-miles of rugged, scenic coastline. There are many hikes to choose from around Samuel H Boardman Scenic Corridor . Take some time to explore a few (many trails are short) , and pick your favorite spots for sunset.

Pacific Coast Highway Stops In California

Congratulations! You’ve made it to California!

This is technically the beginning of the official Pacific Coast Highway (also called Highway 1) , but we all know you’ve put in too many miles on your car and see too much epic-ness for it to be just starting.

While you’ll be encountering a lot more sunshine in this section of the road trip, the Northern California coast can be a little temperamental! Don’t put away your rain coast just yet.

California road trip stops on the Pacific Coast Highway are some of the most breathtaking and beautiful areas of the whole trip. Read on to discover where to go and what to see below in the sunshine state.

Redwood National and State Parks

If your Pacific Coast Highway road rrip is taking you southbound, your first California stop will be at the Redwood National and State Parks.

The Redwoods are known for their spectacularly tall and beautiful trees. Furthermore, this area is home to some of the tallest trees on earth!

There are several scenic drives to take here, but the prettiest Northern California drives are through the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (the scenic route) and the Avenue of The Giants at Humbolt Redwoods State Park. For a lot of stops and viewpoints of the ocean, consider stopping at Patrick’s Point State Park !

Read More: 10 Things To Do In The Redwood National Park

Fern Canyon

Wait, did we just travel through time? You’re not far off if you felt like you just stepped foot into Jurassic Park. In fact, scenes from the movie were filmed right here in Fern Canyon!

Fern Canyon Trail in the Redwoods is a very short route – just 1.1-miles to revel in the 50-foot tall fern-covered walls and lush surrounding forest. The hike is easy, but getting there is a different story. The trip requires a few creek crossings and winding, narrow dirt roads to reach the trailhead. We’ve got everything you need to know about Fern Canyon right here !

Black Sand Beach

Have you been looking at thos e famous black sand beaches in Iceland? Get a taste of the beauty (without the price of a plane ticket) and come visit a look-alike on the California Coast.

Shelter Cove is a little town located in the King Range National Conversation Area. Here, there are craggy coastlines, dramatic scenery, and a black sand beach. The waves are tall and powerful here.

Warning: The road is winding and treacherous, which can be dangerous in bad weather.

This is also an extremely out-of-the-way detour, with one route going in and out from the beach. Make sure to have a full tank of gas, and be prepared to drive on narrow roads and near tall cliff edges!

Read More:   How To Get To California’s Iconic Black Sands Beach

Point Reyes National Seashore

Love the California beach? Explore the Point Reyes National Seashore , a protected coastline of rolling pastures, historic landmarks, and even a secret docked ship!

Start your journey in the town of Inverness, where you can stock up on food, gas, and even camping gear if you choose to spend the night in one of their many campgrounds .

Some of the best things to do in Point Reyes National Seashore are visiting the historic lighthouse (make sure to pay attention to its hours of operation! ), driving down the canopy of Cypress trees , and even whale watching if you come at the right time of year!

Read More: Spending The Day At Point Reyes National Seashore

Bolinas Ridge

If you have a scheduled stop in San Francisco on your Pacific Coast Highway itinerary, make sure to make a sunset stop just north of the city , on Bolinas Ridge .

This area of golden, glimmering rolling hills is located on the edge of Mount Tamalpais State Park in Marin County, California.

Our favorite scenic road to drive is Ridgecrest Boulevard , which includes pullouts ever so often to quickly park your car and enjoy the beautiful and consistent sunsets on this piece of the California coast.

Read More: A Golden Sunset At Bolinas Ridge

Mount Tamalpais

Keep the spirit of adventure alive , even in a bustling city like San Francisco !

If you’ve got a pit stop in the Golden City, journey just north of the Golden Gate Bridge and experience Mount Tamalpais State Park for a quick break from city life.

Here, you can take many amazing trails with stunning views of big city buildings across the bay. Some of our favorite trails for city views are the East Peak Hike  (to a stone lookout tower) and the Verna Dunshee Trail. 

Going when it’s cold outside? Read our San Francisco Winter Packing List .

Read More: 10 Adventurous Things To Do Outside of San Francisco

Golden Gate Bridge

No trip along the Pacific Coast Highway is complete without seeing the iconic Golden Gate Bridge!

On either side of the bridge, there are several incredible viewpoints to check out. Some of the best places to view the Golden Gate Bridge are from Battery Spencer, Kirby Cove, and the North Vista Point.

Remember: The Golden Gate Bridge is a toll bridge . Motorcycles and regular cars will get through and be billed $8.00 to the address your car is registered at.

San Francisco, California

If you’ve been driving southbound on your Pacific Coast Highway road trip, San Francisco will be the first large city you will encounter. 

Here, you can experience many iconic and famous landmarks. Here are some places to see while in San Francisco :

• See the sunrise at the Golden Gate Bridge
• Visit Fisherman’s Wharf
• Stop By The Painted Ladies
• Wander through the neighborhoods and see the beautiful Victorian-era houses

Need a place to stay in San Francisco? Click here and get $40 off your first booking on Airbnb!

Shark Fin Cove

Click here to see more amazing pictures from our visit to Shark Fin Cove.

Shark Fin Cove is a beautiful California coast beach located south of San Francisco – in Davenport, California. It’s named for its rock formation just off the shore that resembling a shark’s top fin. 

You aren’t able to see this cove from the road, which makes finding access a little difficult . There are no signs indicating the location, so you must rely on Google Maps to help guide to you the parking lot off the California Coast Highway 1.

This place provides absolutely stunning views from above AND below. Start your visit at the top and walk along the trails near the cliffs (but be careful!). Finally, climb down into the cove via a steep trail to find beach access.

On a weekday, it’s very likely you will get this beach all to yourself! 

Read More: What To Expect At California’s Shark Fin Cove

Big Sur State Park

When you think of driving down the California Coast , Big Sur is what Pacific Coast Highway dreams are made of. Sunny coastline, winding roads, dramatic cliffs, and beautiful bridges are scattered along 90 miles of this beautiful West Coast drive.

Some of the highlights on this part of the PCH include:

• Pfeiffer Beach
• McWay Falls
• Bixby Creek Bridge
• Pebble Beach
• 17-Mile Drive (Monterey/Pacific Grove)

Pro Tip: A day trip to Big Sur, California is absolutely the most quintessential activity  of any good Pacific Coast Highway road trip. Don’t miss this.

Read More: How To Pull Off A Day Trip To Big Sur, California

(Detour Off Highway 1) Yosemite National Park

While you’re in the area, might as well take a little detour to one of the greatest national parks in America!

Yosemite is home to the tallest waterfall in North America, home to giant Sequoia trees, and has more than 800 miles of trails for hikers to enjoy.

Only have 24 extra hours to spare for Yosemite? Click here for our 24-hour guide to Yosemite National Park.

Pro Tip: If you are hoping to spend a few days in the park, make camping reservations extremely early in advance.

Camping spots generally get full six months before the reservation date. A trip to Yosemite National Park requires a lot of pre-planning.

Los Angeles, California

Another major city on your Pacific Coast Highway road trip will be Los Angeles California. For many going northbound, this is a common starting point (as well as San Diego).

If you’re like us and coming to LA on a southbound Pacific Coast Highway trip, this is a fun pit stop to take a few days and recharge from all that driving.

Again, if you are looking to book a place on Airbnb, click here to get $40 off your first booking!

Here are some fun things to do in Los Angeles:

• Santa Monica Pier + the Amusement Park on the boardwalk.
• Venice Beach
• Griffith Observatory
• The Getty Museum
• Hollywood Boulevard
• Hike to the Hollywood Sign

Read More: How To Spend a Fun Weekend in West Hollywood, California

Orange County, California

Orange County California is just south of the city of Los Angeles. With a slower lifestyle, less traffic, and a lot more beach space, this place is a perfect getaway for sunshine lovers and surfers alike.

There are a few opportunities to camp on the coast, like RV sites in Huntington Beach and tent sites at Crystal Cove State Park. Either way, it’s definitely worth it to spend a few days in Orange County and experience all it has to offer!

Must-see spots to visit in Orange County:

• La Tour (Secret Oceanside Castle in the cliff)
• Huntington Beach (Sur City, USA)
• Newport Beach Harbor and Balboa Island
• Laguna Beach
• Here are our favorite restaurants in Orange County to try!

Looking to travel to the OC on a budget? Check out our list of free things to do in Orange County to have maximum fun, with money still left in your pocket!

Read More: 10 Amazing Outdoor Activities in Orange County, California

San Diego, California

You did it!

San Diego will be the likely the end (or the beginning!) to your Pacific Coast Highway itinerary.

However, it’s still worth visiting for a few days. There are so many amazing things to do in San Diego that this city is an excellent way to kick off or wrap up any Pacific Coast Highway road trip.

Don’t miss out of Torrey Pines State Reserve! This network of outdoor trails have some of the best views in the entire city. Spend some time exploring the trails during sunset for a magical stay in San Diego.

Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Itinerary Examples

Wondering if you can see all these iconic landmarks in one trip?

To accommodate different trip lengths, we’re sharing some example itineraries for a five-day trip , one-week trip , and two-week trip down the Pacific Coast Highway.

Read below to find your perfect one!

5 Day Pacific Coast Highway Itinerary

Five days to drive down the Pacific Coast is absolutely doable! During these days, you have time to experience the highlights of the coast, and whet your appetite for another future trip!

• Day 1: Seattle, WA to Coos Bay, OR
• Day 2: Coos Bay OR, to Redwood National Park, CA
• Day 3: Redwood National Park, CA to San Francisco, CA
• Day 4: San Francisco, CA to Los Angeles, CA
• Day 5: Los Angeles, CA to San Diego, CA

7 Day Pacific Coast Highway Itinerary

One week on the Pacific Coast Highway will allow you to see the most iconic locations. One week is great for travelers who want to fit in the entire trip during a school break, or only have so many days to take off of work.

A one-week Pacific Coast Highway road trip itinerary will allow you to see the highlights without feeling rushed. Here’s an example PCH itinerary:

• Day 1: Seattle WA, to Forks, WA
• Day 2: Forks, WA to Cape Kiwanda, OR
• Day 3: Cape Kiwanda, OR to Redwood State Park, CA
• Day 4: Redwood State Park, CA to San Francisco, CA
• Day 5: San Francisco CA, to Big Sur, CA
• Day 6: Big Sur, CA, to Orange County, CA
• Day 7: Los Angeles, CA to San Diego, CA

10 Day Pacific Coast Highway Itinerary

Two-week pacific coast highway road trip itinerary.

If you have two weeks to spare, this is the ideal amount of time for a Pacific Coast Highway road trip!

Two weeks gives you ample time to see all the highlights, take some day hikes, and even some off-coast detours like Yosemite or Toketee Falls! You will be able to see everything you want and more, and not feel rushed in your process.

• Day 1: Seattle, WA to Port Angeles, WA
• Day 2: Port Angeles, to Forks, WA
• Day 3: Forks, WA to Astoria, OR
• Day 4: Astoria OR, to Cape Kiwanda, OR
• Day 5:  Cape Kiwanda OR , to Brookings, OR
• Day 6: Brooking OR, to Redwood State Park, CA
• Day 7:  Redwood State Park, CA to Mendocino, CA
• Day 8: Mendocino, CA to San Francisco, CA
• Day 9:  San Francisco, CA to Santa Cruz, CA
• Day 10: Santa Cruz, CA to Big Sur, CA
• Day 11:  Big Sur, CA to Santa Barbara, CA
• Day 12: Santa Barbara, CA to Los Angeles, CA
• Day 13: Los Angeles, CA to San Diego, CA
• Day 14: End in San Diego

Some of our Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Inspiration

Creating this Pacific Coast Highway road trip itinerary was quite the workload! Lucky for us, this is the kind of work we live for, and it was fun, inspiring, and most of all helpful!

We hope this helps in your own Pacific Coast Highway road trip and makes planning a little bit easier for you.

Here are some of the pins we’ve created to share with our followers on Pinterest. Feel free to save some too for your own inspirational road trip!

Pinterest ( Find us at @themandagies )

Have you taken a pacific coast highway road trip what were some of your favorite stops, ready to plan your own pacific coast highway road trip read these helpful posts:.

8 Steps For Planning A Flawless Weekend Trip

2o Energizing Hikes In The PN W

The Essential 2017 PNW Bucket List

Want more Pacific Coast Highway road trip inspiration? Follow our curated board on Pinterest!

So excited for you guys! My hubby and I did a similar (but quicker, so we didn’t see everything) trip in the summer of 2010 (a LONG time ago!). It was amazing. There is an amazing hike in Redwood National Park (Gold Bluffs Beach Section) that leads down to this secret beach. Even in summer (August) there wasn’t anyone on the trail. We were pretty new to the “planning” travel business so didn’t really plan anything when we went, but this hike was a highlight of our trip. I’m dying to go to the Painted Hills and Hot springs so excited to see what you guys think. Have so much fun!!! We’re secretly living through both of your photographs and blogs dreaming of our move one day back to this beautiful region of the world. We love Ireland, but the PNW truly can’t be beat.

Hi Danielle! I’m so glad you like our photographs and blog! That means so much to us 🙂 I’m so intrigued about the Gold Bluffs Beach Hike in the Redwoods. Now we need to go back and do that one!!!

The Ultimate Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Planner

Planning to go on the best road trip in the world? You have come to the right place.

Welcome to our ultimate Pacific Coast Highway road trip planner!

We are the #1 resource dedicated to planning a road trip along the Pacific Coast Highway. 

Pacific Coast Highway road trip ranks pretty high among bucket list travel experiences – in fact its one of the most scenic drives in the entire world!

Highway 1 is a gorgeous drive along sprawling cities, charming coastal towns, beautiful beaches, majestic forests, and stunning landscapes.

Whether you are planning a trip to California, Oregon, or Washington….

….or planning the ultimate West Coast Road Trip from San Diego to Seattle;

We have multiple Pacific Coast Highway road trip itinerary recommendations that cover different areas of the West Coast!

That means you can use this as a Washington / Oregon Highway 101 road trip planner or California coastal road trip planner for Highway 1.

This Pacific Coast Highway road trip planner will help you plan your entire trip and cover the following:

• The Best Cities to begin your Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip
• Best PCH Itineraries for all types of travelers
• Best Stops / best attractions to visit on the Pacific Coast Highway
• Where to stay along the Pacific Coast Highway
• Best places to eat along the Pacific Coast Highway
• Hidden Gems / Offbeat attractions along the Pacific Coast Highway

This Pacific Coast Highway road trip guide also covers other useful and important information including

• Best time to visit the Pacific Coast
• How much to drive each day along the PCH
• What to pack for Pacific Coast Highway road trip
• How much does a Pacific Coast Highway road trip cost aka Budgeting for your PCH trip

It is quite easy to plan a PCH road trip by yourself using our Highway 1 / Highway 101 trip planners and online booking sites to reserve your flights/rental car/hotels.

Awesome, right? Then let’s start planning your Pacific Highway road trip itinerary now.

Before you begin

As an American, you probably know what goes into planning an epic cross country road trip.

After all, we are pretty road-trip obsessed country!

However, what if you are traveling from abroad and are interested in the Pacific Coast Highway drive itinerary?

You’re in luck – we have many resources to help you plan your trip including information on visas, renting a car, and driving in America.

Our detailed PCH road trip planners will take you step by step through the process of planning your trip:

• The initial steps in planning the Pacific Coast Highway road trip involve: Deciding what part of the PCH will you drive How many days will you devote to the entire trip and When is the best time to visit. Information to help you in deciding these is covered in Step 1: PCH FAQs and Step 2: Best PCH Stops
• You also need to pick a PCH gateway city, decide how will you reach there, and whether you need to rent a car or drive your own. Find information on the best cities to start your PCH Road Trip in Step 3: PCH Gateway Cities
• If you want to see the highlights of central California, specifically Highway 1, then refer to the California coast road trip planner. If you want a Pacific coast trip through PNW, then focus on the Oregon coast and Olympic peninsula. Information on specific Itineraries is covered in Step 4: PCH Itineraries
• Finally, book your trip! Find our recommended hotels, car rental companies, and flight aggregators in Step 5: Book your PCH Road Trip .

Also, don’t forget to join our Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Facebook Page where you can ask questions or share your photos or itinerary with fellow travelers.  Click here to join now . 

Ready to get started? Let’s start planning the ultimate Pacific Coast Highway road trip together! 

Don’t believe us when we say that the PCH road trip is the most beautiful road trip in the world?

Then check out these beautiful photos from the USA West Coast!

Step 1: PCH FAQs

The Pacific Coast Highway is pretty large and rather confusing.

It is essential to understand the PCH before you plan a trip.

Here’s some basic information:

Where does the Pacific Coast Highway start and end?

Wondering where is the Pacific Coast Highway and how long it is? Also, where does the PCH start and end?

One of the things that creates confusion while planning a Pacific Coast Highway road trip is that the road is simply huge.

Plus everybody seems to be talking about a different stretch of the road when they refer to the PCH.

We experienced this several times while planning our first trip to the region. 

The coastal route or the PCH starts at San Diego near the Mexican border and ends near Seattle in the city of Olympia in the Pacific Northwest.

It is not officially named the Pacific Coast Highway but has always been called so since it parallels the Pacific Coast.

The routes to follow for the road trip include Highway 1 in southern and central California and Highway 101 in northern California, Oregon, and Washington.

How long is the Pacific Coast Highway?

Since it goes the entire length of the West Coast, just how long is the Pacific Coast Highway?

The road beginning in San Diego to its end in Olympia, the capital of Washington State is roughly 1700 miles long!

And yes, it really does go parallel to the Pacific Ocean for the most part!

What is the PCH1?

The road officially called the PCH1 is located in California. Its other name is California State Route 1 (SR1) or Highway 1.

Where does Hwy 1 start and end?

The PCH1 drive extends from the I-5 intersection in Orange County, Southern California to Highway 101 intersection near Leggett in Northern California.

Also, the name PCH 1 is interchangeably used with Highway 1 (Hwy 1) or Route 1 or California 1 or SR 1. 

Add to that, certain parts of California PCH 1 near Pismo Beach on Central Coast are known as Cabrillo Highway while a section north of San Francisco is called the Shoreline Highway.

Many times Hwy 1 merges with Hwy 101, creating even more confusion.

This is most noticeable from Pismo Beach to San Luis Obispo and along the Golden Gate Bridge where the two roads merge.

The Hwy also simply disappears and takes street names in San Francisco (19th Avenue) and in Santa Monica (Lincoln Blvd).

If you are planning a trip along this route, then the Highway 1 trip planner will help you discover attractions between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

So how do you ensure you don’t get lost while planning a road trip up PCH?

The easiest way is to ensure that you are following the PCH1 between Monterey and San Luis Obispo in California.

This is the most spectacular stretch that passes through Big Sur and the road here is clearly marked, causing no confusion.

Our California Highway 1 road trip planner will guide you towards the best stops on Highway 1 California in Big Sur including McWay Falls and Pfeiffer Beach.

Which section of the Pacific Coast Highway should you drive?

For first-timers, we recommend driving the California Highway 1 or PCH 1 from San Francisco to Los Angeles for multiple reasons.

This stretch of PCH1 passes through the beautiful Big Sur region.

For many people, Big Sur is the #1 attraction along the route.

Also, the gateway cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco are very well connected and easy to fly in or out after your trip.

One-way car rentals between the two cities are easily available or you also have the option of a loop road trip.

Our San Francisco road trip planner will help you plan your trip to SF, LA, as well as the attractions in between.

Have already been to this part of California Coast? Don’t want to begin in SF? You have many other options to customize the itinerary as you want!

After the PCH 1 ends, you can either drive south along the coast to San Diego or all the way up to Olympic National Park and the Canadian border in the north.

Alternatively, you can also begin the Pacific Coast Highway road trip from San Diego and drive north.

The entire route is scenic and has plenty of attractions.

In northern California you will find beautiful redwood trees while in Oregon, you can see stunning capes and lighthouses as well as unique geological formations.

In Washington, you will find everything from deep blue lakes and dense rainforests to sea stacks and driftwood covered beaches.

And that’s why it is so important to decide which stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway you want to drive before you plan your trip.

Which direction to drive the Pacific Coast Highway?

All right, so you have decided which section of the Pacific Coast Highway you are going to be driving.

You know how much time you have in hand.

So which gateway city do you begin your PCH Road trip?

Is it better to drive north or south on the Pacific Coast Highway?

While many people recommend driving from south to north, our favorite is to drive south.

Yes, you will see the most gorgeous sites first and might end in the chaotic city of Los Angeles but you will be closer to the stunning views plus have easier access to parking lots and pull-outs.

That being said, if you have enough time to savor the trip then the direction won’t really matter much!

When to visit the Pacific Coast Highway?

The best part? You can drive the Pacific Coast Highway year round! 

There are, however, certain times of the year when the PCH road trip is more scenic than others.

Spring is our personal favorite.

You can see wildflowers along the Pacific Coast Highway plus spot wildlife including migrating whales.

The temperature is pleasant for hiking, during the daytime it is neither too hot nor too cold.

An added bonus, the crowds are fewer than in summer or winter holidays.

However, you should skip spring break week, if possible.

Remember: Spring can be too windy and cold but the gorgeous wildflowers tip the scales. 

Our second favorite time of the year for this road trip is from late summer to early fall, just after the schools are in session.

September and October on the coast are mild and sunny.

A pleasant breeze flows from the ocean making hikes more fun.

Wineries along the PCH in Napa, Sonoma, and along the Central Coast have beautiful fall colors and are ready for harvest.

Visitors can enjoy grape stomping at wineries if they time it right.

Winter and summer both have their pros and cons.

In winter, you can whale watch and enjoy the scenic beauty without the fog.

But temperatures, especially for northern California, can be quite chilly.

It can also rain, causing landslides and slippery trails.

The PCH may stay closed for days due to extended storm damage. 

The very end of winter – from mid to late February – is a good time with mild weather and low crowds.

The summer months of June, July, and August can be quite foggy.

Big Sur looks beautiful and dramatic in the fog but the roads can be treacherous for driving.

The fog usually prevails in the morning and evening so you should still have clear blue afternoons.

As you continue south, it can get too hot to hike or stay outdoors for longer times.

Peak tourist times are winter holiday season and summer vacations.

Expect accommodations to fill up faster, potential delays on the road, and full parking lots at major attractions like Bixby Bridge and McWay Falls.

To read more about the best time to visit and see photos in different seasons, read our post When to Drive the Pacific Coast Highway .

How to rent a car for a PCH road trip? Which car should you rent?

The best way to travel Pacific Coast Highway is by car!

Look for one way car rentals unless you plan to do a round trip.

However, one-way rentals can be expensive so factor that in while planning your itinerary.

If you have more time and want to do the Pacific Coast Highway road trip on a budget, then you can definitely return to the original destination to reduce costs.

An SUV is really useful while negotiating the twisting turns of the PCH however, it is also easy to break in into.

Because of that, we prefer a sedan if we are driving with kids and have a lot of luggage in the trunk.

A muscle car or a convertible is also a great option for driving the Pacific Coast Highway.

The coast has stunning views and a top down lets you feel the ocean breeze and enjoy the panorama.

A recently popular option is to rent an RV for the Pacific Coast Highway travel itinerary.

This allows you to enjoy the natural attractions along the coast to the maximum.

How much should you budget for Pacific Coast Highway road trip?

The famous question, how much does it cost to drive the Pacific Coast Highway?! Or what should be your Pacific Coast Highway road trip budget?

In general, we recommend budgeting $200 per person per day including hotel, car, and food for road tripping the Pacific Coast Highway.

That’s why the easiest way to do the trip on a budget is to choose a shorter Pacific Coast Highway trip itinerary.

The fewer number of days on your trip, the fewer the costs.

That said, California, in general, is expensive and we have never been able to go on an extended California trip under $1000 per person including airfare.

You can also consider road tripping the PCH 1 along Oregon or Washington to reduce costs as these states are somewhat cheaper than California.

More Pacific Coast Highway FAQs

To read more Pacific Coast Highway FAQs including the following common doubts, click here .

• Is the Pacific Coast Highway dangerous to drive?
• What should you not miss on the Pacific Coast Highway?
• Which part of California should you visit?
• How long does it take to drive the entire Pacific Coast Highway?

Step 2: Best PCH Stops

If you have decided to visit the most popular part of coastal California:

Begin your Pacific Coast Highway road trip planning by exploring the major attractions and things to do along California’s Hwy 1.

Popular attractions including West Coast lighthouses , waterfalls, state parks, hiking trails, beaches, coastal towns await you on this marvelous drive – and off course the iconic Bixby Bridge!

You can find information about these and other essential attractions in our California Coast trip planner.

Also, explore other stops on Highway 101 in northern California if you have more time.

Here you will find majestic redwood trees and the Redwoods State and National parks.

Road trip the Redwoods Scenic Byway and explore cities like Eureka and Crescent City.

There are also plenty of stunning stops along the Pacific Coast Highway in both Oregon and Washington.

You can read more about the best stops along the PCH here.

This will give you an idea of the most important places to visit and help in planning the trip around your interests.

Step 3: PCH Gateway Cities

Once you have selected your itinerary, you need to select which West Coast cities you can fly into.

While there are many cities on the West Coast, the 5 major ones which make perfect places to begin your PCH road trip are these:

Begin a Pacific Highway trip around the Evergreen State in the Emerald City of Seattle.

Read our post on things to do in Seattle now to plan your trip.

To see Oregon’s dramatic coastline, redwood trees, rock formations, and sand dunes, start a Hwy 101 road trip in Portland.

Read our post on Things to do in Portland now.

San Francisco

San Francisco is our personal favorite to start an epic Pacific Coast road trip.

It also makes an excellent starting destination for California fly drive route planner.

Read our post on things to do in San Francisco now.

Los Angeles

Tinseltown is exciting and glamorous.

It also happens to be cheap to fly into and makes a perfect start to PCH drive.

You can plan a California coastal highway itinerary up or down the coast and have whale of a time.

Read our post on Best Things to do in Los Angeles now.

San Diego is the perfect destination to plan a trip using our SoCal trip planner.

Read our post on Best Things to do in San Diego now.

How to reach the PCH Gateway Cities?

The major airports for road tripping the Pacific Coast Highway 1 in California are San Francisco and Los Angeles.

San Francisco actually has three airports: San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose.

You need to research airfares to all three to ensure you are getting the best deal.

Similarly, Los Angeles also has a couple of nearby airports including Long Beach, Burbank, Orange County, etc and is a great California PCH trip start point.

If you are extending your trip along the West Coast, then fly into San Diego, Portland, or Seattle to start your Pacific Coast Highway road trip itinerary.

Budget airlines that often have great deals to California or the Pacific Northwest include Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Alaska Air, and Southwest.

To get the best flight deals, we recommend booking using flight aggregators like Skyscanner or CheapOair.

Step 4: PCH Itineraries

This is our favorite part of trip planning!

This is also where we can help you the most as we have been planning road trips since the past 12 years.

We recommend that you go through our many itineraries, pick the one that is the best fit, and customize it to suit your needs.

Let’s plan the perfect Pacific Coast Highway road trip ever!

Fly and Drive PCH Itineraries by number of days

Since you will already be driving a lot every day along the PCH we generally recommend fly and drive itineraries.

However, if you happen to live nearby or have enough time to travel, then you can definitely drive to California and then go on the Pacific Coast Highway road trip. 

You can spend anywhere from 4 days to 10 days on the Pacific Coast Highway.

Here are the highlights of our popular itineraries.

Click the link to read in-depth each itinerary for Pacific Coast Highway.

Pacific Coast Highway 4 day itinerary

The simplest California road trip planner.

If you have only 4 days, then spend one day in San Francisco and see the highlights including the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, Fisherman’s Wharf, and Alcatraz.

Visit one of the beaches: Ocean Beach, Crissy Field Beach, or Baker Beach are the most popular ones!

The next day, leave early from San Francisco and explore Half Moon Bay and Monterey.

See the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Cannery Row, visit the sandy beaches of Half Moon Bay, and take some time to explore Santa Cruz or Pebble Beach.

Stay the night in Carmel or Monterey and leave early for Big Sur.

See Bixby Creek Bridge, hike McWay Falls, spend time at San Dollar Beach before reaching San Luis Obispo for the night.

Spend some time to see SLO attractions including Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, Historic Downtown, Bubblegum Alley, and the Madonna Inn – a famous hotel with eclectic decor!

Then stop at Santa Barbara. Sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez mountains, this coastal city feels very Mediterranean.

Santa Barbara has many attractions including the charming white colonial downtown, Mission Santa Barbara, museums, zoo, and more!

Enjoy shopping or dining at Stearns Wharf or take a whale watching cruise before heading for Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles, visit the Walk of Fame, see Griffith Observatory, and the Hollywood Sign before calling it a day.

You can read this itinerary here for this Highway 1 trip planner. 

Pacific Coast Highway 5 day itinerary

Looking for Pacific Coast Highway itinerary of 5 days?

We would recommend following our 4-day pacific highway 1 itinerary with just a few changes: you can spend the extra day exploring either San Francisco, Big Sur Coast, or Los Angeles.

In San Francisco, use your second day to see Muir Woods, Mission District, Chinatown, and Twin Peaks.

If you chose to stay in Big Sur, then stay at the romantic Ventana Resort or Post Ranch Inn.

Stop at each pull-out and look for wildlife.

Tour the Point Sur Lightstation, photograph the Bixby Bridge, and see the seals at Elephant Seal Rookery in Piedras Blancas.

Make the detour to explore Central Coast’s wine country.

If you chose Los Angeles then the sky is the limit.

You can explore the museums especially the Broad and LACMA or spend a day at Universal or Disney!

If you ask us, we would pick Big Sur over the cities, any day!

You can read about this itinerary in detail here for the 5 Day PCH trip planner. 

Pacific Coast Highway 7 day itinerary

Our favorite! A week is a perfect time to drive this stunning route.

On your first day of California pacific coast highway itinerary 7 days, start at the northern end in Leggett and see those majestic coastal redwoods.

Drive your car through the Chandelier Tree tunnel.

Then eat oysters in Tomales Bay and visit Point Reyes Lighthouse before spending the night in San Francisco.

For the rest of your coast to coast road trip planner, spend 1 day each in San Francisco, Monterey, Big Sur, Solvang, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles.

With 7 days in hand, you have enough time to explore Big Sur’s hidden gems such as Henry Miller Memorial Library and Andrew Molera State Park.

View this itinerary now to read all the details of the 7 day Pacific Coast Highway trip planner.

Pacific Coast Highway 10 day itinerary

With 10 days in hand, you have so many options.

One way is to follow the 7- day itinerary but drive all the way down to San Diego to create the ultimate California driving trip planner.

Another is to start in Los Angeles, follow our 7-day itinerary heading north, and explore up to the Avenue of Giants in northern California.

If you love slow travel, then drive from Leggett to Los Angeles but spend time hiking in Point Reyes and Point Lobos, visiting the remote Channel Islands National Park, and touring the wineries of Santa Ynez Valley.

The epic 10 day California road trip for families and RVers.

The ultimate chilled-out California Pacific Coast Highway trip!

You can also do a Northern California road trip from San Francisco for the Pacific Coast Highway Itinerary 10 days.

Or you can drive all the way up to Portland and see the Oregon coast attractions along the way.

You can also visit the Olympic Peninsula on a Pacific Coast Highway 101 road trip in Washington.

To decide which itinerary to choose, click here now . 

If you have less than 4 days

If your Pacific Coast Highway drive time is too long, then you won’t have enough time to enjoy all the attractions on the way.

We would not recommend driving the entire length of the PCH or Highway 1 if you have less than 4 days.

For short weekend trips, consider the below trips in our California road trip route planner.

We also suggestions for PCH day trips in Oregon and Washington.

Best PCH road trips from San Francisco

If you have 3 days or under, then it is not feasible to drive the entire length of PCH.

You can make the drive but will miss out on a lot of attractions.

Instead, consider day trips and weekend getaways along the coast for Pacific Coast Highway road trip itinerary 3 days.

Our top 3 getaways for Pacific Coast Highway road trip itinerary 1 day from San Francisco are Point Reyes, Monterey, and Big Sur.

Carmel by the Sea, only a short drive from Monterey and Pebble Beach, is also a great weekend trip from San Fran.

Best PCH road trips from Los Angeles

For day trips and weekend getaways along Hwy 1 from Los Angeles, consider visiting La Jolla, Malibu, Santa Barbara, Solvang, Pismo Beach, or San Luis Obispo.

Or drive south towards San Diego, Newport Beach, and La Jolla.

These destinations are just a few hours away from LA and great to visit.

Visiting Big Sur from Los Angeles is hectic if you have only 2 days but possible with 3 days in hand.

Best PCH road trips from San Diego

You can also road trip up the pacific coast highway from San Diego to Los Angeles or Anaheim.

Enjoy Hollywood or city life in Los Angeles or see Disney and other theme parks in Anaheim.

Relax at Huntington Beach. Or visit Coronado island for a different type of trip.

The San Diego trip planner has many ideas to enjoy the attractions of southern California.

Best PCH road trips from Portland

Combine a visit to Portland with an adventure down the PCH.

While you cannot use Portland to San Francisco road trip planner in just 4 days, you can visit Astoria or Cannon Beach.

Go hiking in Ecola State Park or drive the Three Capes Scenic Loop.

Best PCH road trips from Seattle

There are plenty of PCH trips from the Emerald City.

Drive the Highway 101 south to Tacoma or Olympia.

Or take the ferry to Port Angeles and Olympic peninsula and follow Highway 101 all around the peninsula.

If you have more than 10 days

If you have anywhere around two weeks, we would recommend driving either down to San Diego in the south or driving towards Portland or Seattle in the north from LA or SF.

You can also drive from San Diego to Seattle or vice versa using our west coast road trip planner.  

2 Week West Coast Road Trip Itinerary

2 weeks is the ideal time to go on an epic US West Coast Road trip.

From the Olympic peninsula in Washington to southern California, you can use our border to border coast trip planner to plan the most amazing, once in a lifetime, USA West Coast Road Trip Itinerary.

You can either start in San Diego and drive towards Portland or Seattle or start in the Pacific Northwest and drive south.

The entire drive is over 1700 miles and should be done only if you have 2 weeks or more in hand.

Point to Point PCH Itineraries

You can also plan PCH road trip itinerary depending on your start city and destination rather than days.

Pacific Coast Highway Itineraries by State

San diego to los angeles drive.

Wondering how to plan a trip to California coast between Los Angeles and San Diego?

This California Highway 1 road trip itinerary will take you through stunning beaches of La Jolla, Laguna Beach, and Oceanside.

You can see charming coastal towns and enjoys SoCal’s relaxed vibe.

California Coast Road Trip from LA to SF

This is the ultimate CA road trip planner.

Visit two of California’s biggest cities and visit the natural attractions on the coast including beautiful Big Sur, McWay Falls, and 17 Mile Drive.

This Pacific Highway 1 road trip is our favorite road trip along the West Coast! Read this itinerary now.

Northern California Coast Road Trip

This Highway 101 road trip itinerary in Northern California will take you through giant, majestic redwood trees and the most remote parts of the coast.

From attractions like Point Reyes and Muir Beach to charming cities like Mendocino and Eureka, this itinerary for driving Pacific Coast Highway will leave you spellbound.

See the glass beach at Fort Bragg, tour the famous Point Arena Lighthouse, enjoy hiking at Mendocino State Parks, and drive the Avenue of Giants on this epic PCH itinerary.

Oregon Coast Road Trip Planner

Plan a trip from Brookings in the south to Astoria in the north using our Oregon Highway 101 road trip planner.

Visit attractions such as Cannon Beach, Natural Bridges, and Devil’s Punchbowl on this amazing Oregon Coast Road trip .

Washington Olympic Peninsula Road Trip

Our Highway 101 trip planner in Washington follows the road around the Olympic peninsula.

It can be used to visit attractions such as Ruby Beach, Hoh Rainforest, Hurricane Ridge, Port Angeles, and Seattle. Read this itinerary now .

We would recommend going through our list of Suggested PCH Itineraries and deciding upon an itinerary based on your interests before finalizing your trip.

Pacific Highway Road Trip Map

Looking for map of Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip?

Among our resources, we have plenty of Pacific Coast Highway road trip maps, depending on the section you want to drive.

If you are interested in Big Sur, use the California Highway 1 road trip map.

Use the Northern California road trip map planner to see the redwoods.

Follow Pacific Highway itinerary maps for Oregon or Washington to plan a Pacific Northwest trip.

Be sure to finalize your Pacific Coast Highway Map and print copies before you embark on your trip.

Step 5: Book your PCH Road Trip

And finally we come to the task of booking your PCH vacation.

When to book and plan your PCH trip

In general, we recommend booking your trip at least 6 months in advance, though ideally, earlier is better.

While you can always plan a last-minute PCH road trip, especially if staying nearby, it is not recommended.

This especially applies if you are traveling in peak periods and in the Golden State.

Every California trip planner suggests booking in advance.

As we have experienced, booking hotels closer to the trip can definitely make the trip twice as expensive.

Before booking your trip, we recommend researching destinations and finalizing your Pacific Coast Highway Road trip itinerary.

In some instances, we have booked first and then planned the trip but this can lead to more hectic trips.

Here’s what all you need to book for your trip.

Book flight tickets to the West Coast

For best deals, book your tickets to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, or Seattle by checking on Skyscanner or Google flights.

Book car rental

All major companies have their branches in California.

You can rent from a variety of companies including Hertz, Fox, Enterprise, Dollar, and Thrifty for your trip. 

Book hotel accommodations as per the itinerary

There are a variety of hotels, resorts, and motels for every budget along the PCH.

We have covered the best places to stay along the PCH in detail in this post.

Purchase travel insurance

We recommend getting travel insurance from World Nomads.

Purchase attraction tickets, if any

There are several attractions along the PCH for which you can purchase tickets in advance.

We recommend the advance purchase of tickets for attractions like the Monterey Aquarium, San Francisco museums, etc.

Purchase tours and cruises, if any

You can go on a variety of wildlife watching cruises along the PCH including whale watching, dolphin cruises, etc.

You can also reserve tickets for the Alcatraz cruise prior to your trip. 

Recommended group tours

There are no tour companies that take you the entire length of PCH.

This is very much a self-drive trip.

However, there are companies that will take you to Malibu from Los Angeles or to Monterey from San Francisco.

Also in Monterey, you can take whale watching tours.

Reserve a table at restaurants, if needed

You will find amazing restaurants serving a variety of cuisine along the PCH.

Our favorites are seafood restaurants in Monterey, oysters in Tomales Bay, Mexican food in Mission District of San Francisco, and a variety of cuisines in Los Angeles.

If you like to plan every detail or want to plan for a special meal for birthdays or anniversaries, then you can reserve a table at the hotel of your choice in advance.

Prepare, pack, and go on the best road trip ever!

What other preparations should you make.

If you are traveling internationally then check your passport validity and visa status.

Apply for visas, if necessary.

Also, check whether you need IDP (International Driving Permit).

Other preparation includes print and/or having virtual copies of all maps, itineraries, tickets, and bookings easily accessible on your phone.

Also, budget your trip and convert currency, if needed.

Read below for more detailed information.

Understand internet and phone coverage

You will find that there is extremely poor and at times zero cell coverage along many stretches of the PCH, especially in the Big Sur region.

That’s why we recommend carrying a GPS in addition to your phone as well as saving offline maps on your phone.

You can also get printed maps of PCH1 for the section you are planning to drive.

If you are traveling internationally

The three main areas to take care of if you are traveling internationally include taking care of passports and visas, renting a car and driving in USA, and converting money to USD. 

If you are traveling with kids

Pacific coast highway road trip with kids? Been there, done that!

Our final section of the ultimate Pacific Coast Highway road trip planner.

Did you know that you can drive the Pacific Coast Highway with kids?

The first time we went with our kids was when our daughter was just a 6 months old baby and our son was 3 years old.

We started in San Francisco, cycled the Golden Gate Bridge with the kids, drove through Big Sur, watched the elephant seals at Piedras Blancas rookery near San Simeon, and ended our trip at Anaheim in Disney.

Both the kids loved every bit of it.

Also, most places and businesses in California, Oregon, and Washington and especially along the Pacific Coast Highway are kid-friendly.

When we road tripped, most hotels provided crib or baby cots, all the restaurants had high chairs, and even the wineries had kid-friendly areas.

Throughout our trip, we met friendly people who smiled and waved at our kids.

We always felt welcome wherever we went and felt quite at ease.

Read our post on Best Kid-friendly resorts along the Pacific Coast Highway to book your accommodations.

There are so many things to do along the Pacific Coast Highway road trip that are perfect for the kids.

They will love exploring nature: hike through redwood forests, discover tide pool creatures, play in the sand and on the beach, splash in the water, hike to see waterfalls, whale watch using binoculars, plus spend quality time with the parents.

There are also many kid-friendly attractions on the route including the Aquarium of the Bay at Pier 39, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Oceano Dunes Railroad museum, sand dune buggy rentals, whale watching tours, Santa Monica Pier, Disney theme parks, etc.

For more information, read our post on the Best Things to do on the West Coast with kids.

In fact, driving the Pacific Coast Highway is one of the most fun family holiday vacations for families. 

Other things to consider

Stretches of the Pacific Coast Highway can get closed due to storms or landslides or wildfires, so we recommend keeping an eye on the news before your trip and getting travel insurance for just in case anything goes awry.

What should you pack for Pacific Coast Highway road trip?

It can get chilly along the PCH any time of the year, so we recommend packing in layers: long sleeve shirts, short sleeve t-shirts, and tank tops.

Pack long hiking pants for the northern and central coast and shorts for SoCal.

Pack a rain jacket and a sweater for the chilly days.

Take hiking shoes and socks and water shoes for beachcombing.

Pack some heels and a silk blouse for date nights in San Francisco, Monterey, and Los Angeles.

If you plan to drive north towards Portland and Seattle in the winter, then add thermal underwear and a packable jacket.

In summer, take sunglasses, a sunhat, and sunscreen.

Do not forget to pack a camera and binoculars.

Read this before you leave

We have got many excellent resources on planning a Pacific Coast Highway road trip.

We suggest that you browse around the site  – take a look at our PCH Road Trip itineraries , bookmark us for a later visit, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on social media to know more about the Pacific Coast Highway. 

If you need to ask us questions about the trip, then join our Pacific Coast Highway Facebook Community now – it’s the perfect place to ask any itinerary related questions and plan your PCH road trip.

We hope that our Pacific Coast Highway road trip planner helps you in planning an awesome road trip.

Other useful posts to plan your Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip

Pacific Coast Highway 4 day Itinerary PCH 5 day itinerary Pacific Coast Highway 7 day itinerary Pacific Coast Highway 10 Day itinerary All PCH Itineraries Best Places to Stay along the Pacific Coast Highway Best Pacific Coast Highway Stops

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Are you ready for a Road Trip? Explore these eleven incredible cross-country road trip routes across the U.S.!

Pacific Coast

Border to Border

The Road to Nowhere

The Great River Road

Appalachian Trail

Atlantic Coast

The Great Northern

The Oregon Trail

The Loneliest Road

Southern Pacific

Home / Pacific Coast

The Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip

For some reason, when people elsewhere in the country refer to the Pacific Coast, particularly California, it’s apparent that they think it’s a land of kooks, an overbuilt suburban desert supporting only shopping malls, freeways, and body-obsessed airheads. All this may be true in small pockets, but the amazing thing about the Pacific Coast—from the dense green forests of western Washington to the gorgeous beaches of Southern California—is that it is still mostly wild, open, and astoundingly beautiful country, where you can drive for miles and miles and have the scenery all to yourself.

Planning a West Coast Road Trip

Road Trip USA’s Pacific Coast route begins at the northwest tip of the United States at Port Townsend near Olympic National Park, and remains within sight of the ocean almost all the way south to the Mexican border. This 1,650-mile (2,655 km), mostly two-lane route takes in everything from temperate rainforest to near-desert. Most of the Pacific Coast is in the public domain, accessible, and protected from development within national, state, and local parks, which provide habitat for such rare creatures as mountain lions, condors, and gray whales.

Heading south, after the rough-and-tumble logging and fishing communities of Washington State, you cross the mouth of the Columbia River and follow the comparatively peaceful and quiet Oregon coastline, where recreation has by and large replaced industry, and where dozens of quaint and not-so-quaint communities line the ever-changing shoreline. At the midway point, you pass through the great redwood forests of Northern California, where the tallest and most majestic living things on earth line the Avenue of the Giants, home also to some of the best (meaning gloriously kitsch) remnants of the golden age of car-borne tourism: drive-through trees, drive-on trees, houses carved out of trees, and much more. The phenomenally beautiful coast-line of Northern California is rivaled only by the incredible coast of Big Sur farther south, beyond which stretches the beachfronts of Southern California. The land of palm trees, beach boys, and surfer girls of popular lore really does exist, though only in the southernmost quarter of the state.

Along with the overwhelming scale of its natural beauty, the West Coast is remarkable for the abundance of well-preserved historic sites—most of which haven’t been torn down, built on, or even built around—that stand as vivid evocations of life on what was once the most distant frontier of a new nation. While rarely as old as places on the East Coast, or as impressive as those in Europe, these diverse sites include the Spanish colonial missions of California, Russian and English fur-trading outposts, and the place where Lewis and Clark first sighted the Pacific after their long slog across the continent.

Last but certainly not least are the energizing cities— Seattle and Portland in the north, San Francisco in the middle, and Los Angeles and San Diego to the south—that serve as gateways to (or civilized respites from) the landscapes between them. Add to these the dozens of small and not-so-small towns along the coast, with alternating blue-collar ports and up-scale vacation retreats, and you have a great range of food, drink, and accommodations options. Local cafés, seafood grills, and bijou restaurants abound, as do places to stay—from youth hostels in old lighthouses to roadside motels (including the world’s first, which still stands in lovely San Luis Obispo, California) to homespun B&Bs in old farmhouses.

10 Best Pacific Coast Highway Stops

For more insight into each stop along a West Coast road trip, our content is arranged by state, with California’s coastline broken into its northern, central, and southern sections. Here are ten major sights along the Pacific Coast Highway where travelers aiming to follow only a section of the full cross-country route may wish to use to plan their drive:

• Olympic National Park, Washington – Combines the features of Maine’s rocky coast, the snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains, and the unique rainforests of the Pacific Northwest
• Astoria & Fort Clatsop, Oregon – Part of the extensive Lewis and Clark National Historic Park, Fort Clatsop is just outside the oldest American city west of the Rockies
• “Dune Country,” Oregon – Hop out of the car and into a dune buggy to travel through some of the tallest sand dunes in the world
• Redwood National Park, California – Stretch your legs with a walk through Lady Bird Johnson Grove
• Mendocino, California – One of the prettiest towns on the California coast, and extra fun for fans of the TV show Murder, She Wrote
• San Francisco, California – Easily one of the most enjoyable cities in the US and a great place to start, end, or spend a weekend along the Pacific Coast Highway
• Monterey, California – Home to the excellent Monterey Bay Aquarium and the internationally famous Monterey Jazz Festival
• San Simeon, California (Hearst Castle) – One of the truly unique attractions to see on a classic Highway 1 road trip
• San Luis Obispo, California – A lively college town with a beautiful 18th-century Spanish mission to tour, and the Madonna Inn, one of the quirkiest places to spend a night
• Los Angeles, California – Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard, and an intersection with another storied road trip: Route 66
• San Diego, California – Beautiful beaches, grand buildings, and home to the San Diego Zoo, one of the largest and most popular zoos in the world

Related Travel Guides

• Barnes & Noble
• Books-A-Million
• Indigo (Canada)
• Powell's Books
• Apple Books

Pin it for Later

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Manage Your Subscription
• Give a Gift Subscription
• Newsletters
• Sweepstakes
• Destinations

The Perfect Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip

Where to stay, eat, and sightsee on the drive between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Laura Itzkowitz is a freelance writer and editor based in Rome. She has been contributing to Travel + Leisure since 2014, when she started as a fact checker before becoming a contributing digital editor in 2015 and going freelance in 2016. She has also held positions as a contributing editor at The Points Guy and the NYC cities editor at DuJour Magazine. In addition to Travel + Leisure , her writing has appeared in Architectural Digest , Surface Magazine , Brooklyn Magazine , T Magazine , The Wall Street Journal , Vogue, GQ, Departures, Afar, Fodor's, Town & Country , Condé Nast Traveler , Robb Report , Hemispheres, and others. When she's not jetsetting around Italy and beyond, she can be found in Rome, enjoying some cacio e pepe or relaxing at home with her husband and two dogs. Originally from the Boston area, Laura moved to New York City in 2011 to pursue a master's degree in creative writing and translation at Columbia University. She also holds a bachelor's degree in French from Smith College. * 10+ years of experience writing and editing * Co-wrote "New York: Hidden Bars & Restaurants," an award-winning guide to New York City's speakeasy scene published by Jonglez Editions in 2015 * Contributed to "Fodor's Brooklyn," published by Penguin Random House in 2015, which won silver in the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism competition * Contributed an essay to "Epic Hikes of Europe," published by Lonely Planet in 2021 * Updated the 2022 edition of "Fodor's Essential Italy"

California’s Pacific Coast Highway is one of America’s most scenic drives, with stunning bluffs and designated vista points featuring sparkling ocean views. While Highway 1 extends more than 600 miles, the most photogenic stretch can be found along California’s Central Coast between San Francisco and Los Angeles. In addition to picturesque panoramas, this classic road trip offers plenty of restaurants (Korean barbecue!), beaches (Santa Barbara!), and attractions (the Henry Miller Memorial Library!) along the way.

I hit the road with the mission of plotting out the best itinerary for a weekend trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Here's my play-by-play guide, complete with stops for photos in Big Sur, antique shopping in Solvang, and craft cocktails at one of L.A.'s coolest bars.

Looking to finally take that perfect Pacific Coast Highway road trip? Read on.

Breakfast at the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco.

If you're departing from San Francisco, it's a good idea to kick-start your Pacific Coast Highway road trip with a hearty breakfast. Welcome to the Ferry Building Marketplace on the Embarcadero, an 1898 transit hub that's something of an icon thanks to its handsome white clock tower. Inside, you'll find artisanal bakeries, cheese shops, cafes, and a mushroom shop. Grab a cup of joe from the Oakland-born Blue Bottle Coffee and a pastry at the Acme Bread Company .

Stop for photos at Bixby Bridge in Big Sur.

Valerie de Leon/Travel + Leisure

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. As soon as you hit the section of the Pacific Coast Highway connecting Carmel-by-the-Sea to Big Sur, you'll start seeing vista points where you can pull off the road and take photos. Be sure not to miss the one approaching Bixby Bridge. Sure, there will be plenty of other tourists getting out of their cars to take selfies, but with a stunning view like that, how can you blame them? Join in and snap away — you'll want to remember this landscape forever.

Lunch in Big Sur with breathtaking views.

After you've filled your camera roll, it's time to fill your stomach. If you feel like splurging, the Post Ranch Inn's restaurant Sierra Mar offers a $75 prix fixe lunch menu and a chance to dine at a clifftop restaurant with a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean. For more casual fare with equally fantastic ocean views, stop at Nepenthe , which serves sandwiches and salads in a rustic lodge dating back to the 1940s.

Visit the Henry Miller Memorial Library.

Big Sur has inspired many famous writers, and seeing the natural beauty of the cliffs overlooking the Pacific, it's easy to understand why. Walt Whitman wrote about its charms, and the Beats were drawn to the enchanting landscape and bohemian way of life. Henry Miller lived in Big Sur from 1944 to 1962, and his experiences informed his book "Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymous Bosch." After Miller died in 1980, his good friend, the painter and writer Emil White, founded the Henry Miller Memorial Library within his own home — now an art-filled reading room, bookstore, and performance venue in the heart of the woods.

Spend a night in Big Sur.

If you want to stay overnight in Big Sur, the Post Ranch Inn is an excellent choice. There's also Alila Ventana Big Sur , which landed a spot on the T+L 500 best hotels of 2023 list and boasts villas and glamping tents spread out over 160 acres of redwood forest, a restaurant overlooking the ocean, and a spa that uses organic and locally made skin care products. As you sip your morning coffee with views of the Pacific, you might never want to leave.

Stop to see the elephant seals in San Simeon.

As you continue south on the Pacific Coast Highway, you won't want to miss the Elephant Seal Rookery at San Piedras Beach in San Simeon. Over 15,000 elephant seals migrate here every year. From the viewing platform, you can watch them sunbathe and flop around on the sand.

Get your retail fix in Solvang.

Nestled in the Santa Ynez Valley is the charmingly anomalous town of Solvang , which was settled in the early 20th century by Danish pioneers. Take a quick detour off the Pacific Coast Highway to explore quaint streets full of Danish architecture, antique shops, restaurants, and more. The town square features a bust of Hans Christian Andersen and a replica of Copenhagen's famous Little Mermaid statue. Pop into the family-owned Mortensen's Danish Bakery for strudel, butter cookies, and other treats.

Rest and refuel near Santa Barbara.

You'll be ready for a good meal and some R&R at one of the best hotels in Santa Barbara after a full day of driving. Just outside of Santa Barbara, The Leta Santa Barbara Goleta, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, offers both — plus cocktails and SoCal vibes. The easygoing hotel centers on the pool, where bands perform some evenings, and people gather around fire pits with margaritas and beers. Grab a table at the restaurant and order fish tacos, ahi poke nachos, and cauliflower tempura for an eclectic feast. After dinner, unwind with a nightcap at the bar or head up to your room, with its plush bed, coastal furnishings, and turntable.

Breakfast at Renaud's Patisserie in Santa Barbara.

In the morning, head over to Renaud's Patisserie , a Santa Barbara institution just a short drive from the Leta. Sample their excellent pastries, or order organic eggs prepared any style for a heartier meal.

Enjoy the art and views at the Getty Center.

Before heading into the heart of Los Angeles, stop at the Getty Center to get your culture fix. Oil tycoon and art collector J. Paul Getty originally built the Getty Villa in Malibu to house his collection of European art. His foundation continues to fund the museum and the Getty Center, designed by Richard Meier. Ride the tram up to the top of the hill and spend a few hours exploring the galleries and grounds — they have excellent views thanks to their elevated vantage point.

Explore Los Angeles' most dynamic neighborhood.

The Line LA is not only a great base for exploring the city's hip Koreatown neighborhood, but it's also a destination in and of itself. The hotel's revamped midcentury building features a raw but polished aesthetic (think exposed concrete custom furnishings and original art), a great restaurant by renowned chef Josiah Citrin, a cafe, an outdoor pool, and multiple bars including the '80s-themed Break Room 86 (complete with private karaoke chambers). Be sure to request a room with a view of the Hollywood Hills — the beds face the windows. so you can wake up to a stunning vista.

Feast on Korean barbecue at Park's BBQ.

While you could easily stay within the bounds of the Line and dine at Openaire , you'd be remiss not to venture out and see what else the neighborhood has to offer. Beeline to Park's BBQ , a no-frills restaurant in a strip mall, for authentic Korean barbecue that draws locals and celebrities alike. Feast on shrimp or Wagyu beef grilled tableside and a smorgasbord of sides, including veggies and savory kimchi pancakes.

Related Articles

The Ultimate Pacific Coast Road Trip Itinerary (California, PCH & the PNW)

The Pacific Coast Highway is arguably one of the most famous drives in the entire world. Stretching from Washington to California, the Pacific Coast is picturesque, with cliffs, sea stacks, gorgeous urban spaces, and the raging ocean. Making a Pacific Coast Highway road trip is a popular bucket list experience – for good reason!

If you’re considering a drive down (or up) the western coast of the U.S., look no further. After making the trip myself in 2014 and exploring the PCH extensively while living in Washington and California, I’ve put together this comprehensive guide to the great stops, breathtaking sights, and sense of unbelievable freedom you can find if you drive the Pacific Coast Highway.

Whether you’re planning to drive from San Diego to San Francisco, Seattle to San Francisco, Seattle to San Diego, or any start/endpoints in between ( Los Angeles ! Portland ! Crescent City ! ), this post will give you all you need to know. After reading, you’ll be ready to plan your own Pacific Coast Highway road trip itinerary.

Note (August 2024): As of the latest update to this post, California Highway 1 (the PCH) is closed between Dolan Point and Lucia in the Big Sur area of the route; you’ll need to bypass this closure inland on US-101. Be sure to check the California DOT website (Enter “1” in the field) and this site for the latest updates.

In this post, I promote travel across lands that are the traditional lands of many Indigenous groups. With respect, I make a formal land acknowledgment, extending my appreciation and respect to the past and present people of these lands. To learn more about the peoples who call these lands home, I invite you to explore  Native Land .

This post was originally published in August 2014, and was updated most recently in August 2024 – it’s one of the oldest articles on my site!

Table of Contents

Where is the Pacific Coast Highway? How Long is it?

How long is the Pacific Coast Highway? Before launching into a bunch of details for where to stop along the Pacific Coast Highway, I need to define a few things:

• The Pacific Coast Highway is located in the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and California.
• The Pacific Coast Highway runs along two highways: US 101 in Washington, Oregon, and parts of California and California Highway 1 in the majority of California.
• From end to end, the Pacific Coast Highway is 1,675 miles long from Olympia, WA to San Diego, CA.

Now that you know the details, let’s dig into the logistics of planning your own Pacific Coast Highway road trip itinerary!

Pacific Coast Highway Map, Direction & Start/End Points

One of the requests I get asked for is a Pacific Coast Highway map with all of the stops I suggest, so I used Roadtrippers to put together this one. I used to use Google Maps to do this, but I find that the numbered stops and waypoints are much easier to understand, and this Roadtrippers map also has other points of interest (“Extraordinary Places”) you might want to stop at too.

Which Direction to Drive the Pacific Coast Highway?

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). If I can make a recommendation? You should drive the Pacific Coast Highway southbound!

The reason I recommend doing your Pacific Coast Highway road trip north to south is that you’ll be on the coastal side of the road. Driving south on the right-hand side of the road, you’ll have a great view of the ocean and coastline. When I drove the PCH in 2014, I drove a northbound San Diego to Seattle road trip, and lament that I wasn’t on the “outer” side of the road.

Pacific Coast Highway Start & End Points

Your second choice is where to start your road trip. The traditional definition of the Pacific Coast Highway is to drive California Highway 1 from San Diego, CA, to Leggett, CA (or vice versa) ; you can extend by adding on U.S. Highway 101 through Northern California to drive up the Oregon and Washington coasts. (Or in reverse if you’re headed southbound as I recommend).

Depending on whether you drive the PCH as 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.

Here are some different common starting/ending points for a PCH road trip:

• Seattle to San Diego (or vice versa) – the whole Pacific Coast Highway
• Crescent City to San Diego (or vice versa) – just the California portion of the Pacific Coast Highway
• San Francisco to San Diego – a great California coast road trip , but only the Central California and Southern California portions

As you can see, you have options! 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.

Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Itinerary Options

The Pacific Coast Highway is an ambitious road trip, but totally possible in as few as five days. To help you plan your road trip, here are two possible road trip itineraries you could take. As I mentioned above, both are southbound itineraries.

Over time, I’ve learned that people generally have three lengths of time to make their PCH road trip: just five days (a long weekend), 7 days (a full week), and 10-days (a week and the weekends) or longer. Usually this length of time is determined by things like lifestyle, work, PTO, and your budget – so you may already know exactly how long you have and that duration isn’t flexible. Don’t worry though: no matter how long you have (as long as it’s at least 5 days), you can still drive the Pacific Coast Highway!

• If you only have five days to drive the PCH: if you are short on time, as I was, a Pacific Coast highway itinerary for 5 days is ideal. You won’t have as much time to spend in each city, or to take a few of the “long drives,” but you’ll see it all in a short span of time.
• If you have a week for your PCH road trip: if you’re lucky to have a few more days for your PCH road trip, a week is a pretty fantastic amount of time to see all that the Pacific Coast Highway has to offer, though you will have a few longer days of driving and no opportunities for longer or multi-day stops.
• If you have 10+ days to drive the PCH: 10 days is, in my opinion, the optimal length of time to drive the PCH – you can see it all without rushing or having too long of driving days. You can even stretch it out by spending a few extra days exploring some of the cities along the route if you want to.

Here’s what I recommend for your 5-day, 7-day, and 10-day Pacific Coast Highway road trip:

I also have dedicated posts to each of these itineraries:

• The Perfect 5-Day Pacific Coast Highway Itinerary
• The Ultimate 7-Day Pacific Coast Highway Itinerary
• The Best 10-Day Pacific Coast Highway Itinerary

Obviously, this little table is lacking in details. Below, you’ll find more tips on driving the PCH plus some of my favorite stops along the PCH which you can choose for each day of your drive.

When to Drive the Pacific Coast Highway

One of the most popular questions I get about driving the Pacific Coast Highway is about when to drive the PCH. Here are my suggestions:

• In Washington and Oregon, the best weather of the year happens between June and September.
• In Northern California, the best weather of the year happens between September and October.
• Southern California has great weather year-round.

Therefore, the best month to drive the Pacific Coast Highway is  September , when you’re most likely to have great weather along the entire length of the road trip.

How to Choose a Car for the Pacific Coast Highway

Before you hit the road, you’ve gotta figure out your car situation!

When I drove the PCH, I rented a car and drove it as a ‘one-way rental’ (meaning I dropped it off in a different city than I picked it up). This was more expensive than a round-trip rental, but I didn’t want to drive the Pacific Coast Highway both ways!

I’ve 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! I drove one and I hardly ever got to enjoy it!

If you know which car you want, I recommend renting from  Fox Rent-A-Car  or  Sixt . They all offer budget rentals, run regular deals and specials, and have one-way rental options. If you’re 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!).

Okay, now you’ve got your car, you’ve got your basic itinerary. You’re all set to start filling in the gaps!

Step-by-Step Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Directions

Now that you have all the basics you need to plan a PCH road trip, you need to know which destinations are worth a stop along the Pacific Coast Highway. Now I’m going to lay out step-by-step directions for a Pacific Coast Highway road trip based on all my tips so far. These stops are numbered to match my Roadtrippers map and trip already shown above ( click here to open the map in a separate window).

Start: Seattle

Seattle is one of my favorite destinations in the world. After all, I liked it so much when I first visited in 2012 that I moved there in 2013! Therefore, it’s an amazing place to start your Pacific Coast Highway trip! 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.

Seattle is perfect for anywhere between one day and three days if you have the time. If not, spend your day exploring the Seattle waterfront to see all of the city from above.

Briefly, here are some of the other must-see attractions in Seattle:

• The recently renovated Space Needle with its all-new glass floor and paneling
• The Fremont neighborhood and its resident Fremont Troll
• Gas Works Park or Kerry Park , both with stunning views of the Seattle skyline
• The Ballard neighborhood and the Chittenden Locks and Fish Ladder

If you want to spend a few days in Seattle, consider purchasing the Seattle CityPass . You’ll get access to five major attractions at a discounted price including the Space Needle and Seattle Aquarium, so you can experience more of what Seattle has to offer for less.

Accommodation Suggestions: Seattle’s most famous hotel, The Edgewater , is right along the waterfront, and a perfect way to relax before a long multi-day drive. Rooms from $159/night (depending on the season), book on Booking.com or Hotels.com . Browse other hotels or vacation rentals in Seattle.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: From Seattle, head south along US Highway 101/I-5 to Olympia. It’s a 1-hour drive from Seattle to Olympia.

Stop 1: Olympia

It’s not a long drive from Seattle to Olympia, so I recommend just making a ‘waypoint’ stop here to stretch your legs before the rest of your driving today – whether that’s to Port Angeles or Portland. There’s a nice public parking area near a lake that overlooks the Washington State Capital building. You can stretch your legs with a short walk before getting back on the road.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: If you are doing a quick Pacific Coast Highway road trip , head south from Olympia along I-5 to Portland , a 1-hour, 50-minute drive. 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, a 2-hour, 30-minute drive.

Stop 2: Port Angeles

If you’re planning a full 10-day PCH road trip , make sure you follow my guide and do at least one overnight on the Olympic Peninsula . Port Angeles is the place for that one-night stop.

There are loads of cool things to explore in/around this small PNW town, including Olympic National Park! Other cool attractions include Hurricane Ridge (a popular hiking spot), Elwha River Valley , and Olympic Hot Springs .

Accommodation Suggestions: If you decide to spend a night in Port Angeles, my #1 recommendation is Colette’s Bed & Breakfast . Rooms from $315/night, book directly on their website . Browse other Port Angeles hotels and vacation rentals.

Meal Suggestions: For dinner, book a table at Alder Wood Bistro in nearby Sequim. I had an amazing four-course meal there on my last trip to the peninsula.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Head west along U.S. 101 until it turns south along the west coast of the Olympic Peninsula. You’ll see signs for Hoh Rainforest, a left turn that takes you inland to the forest. It’s a 2-hour drive from Port Angeles to the Hoh Rainforest.

Stop 3: Hoh Rainforest

Can you believe there’s a rainforest in Washington? Okay, maybe that’s not a surprise given Seattle’s reputation for rain…

Located on the Pacific side of the Olympic Peninsula, Hoh Rainforest qualifies as a rainforest due to the amount of precipitation that occurs each year. In this incredibly verdant forest, you’ll find amazing old-growth trees, some over 500 years old!. It’s a great spot for a short hike to stretch your legs.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Return west to U.S. 101 and turn south. The turn-out for Ruby Beach occurs right as the highway reaches the Pacific coast. It’s a 1-hour drive from the rainforest to Ruby Beach.

Stop 4: Ruby Beach

Ruby Beach is only a short drive from Hoh Rainforest but it’s the most picturesque beach on Washington’s Pacific Coast. You can look out over beautiful sea stacks that dot the northern part of the Pacific Coast and stroll along the sand covered with huge driftwood formations and seafoam.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Head south from Ruby Beach along U.S. 101. It’s a 1-hour, 40-minute drive to Aberdeen.

Stop 5: Aberdeen

Aberdeen has one main claim to fame: it was the hometown of Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain. If you’re a fan, make sure to stop in Aberdeen to see the house where he grew up. 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 is now a private residence, so don’t disturb the owners!).

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: From Aberdeen, continue south along U.S. Highway 101. It’s a 90-minute drive from Aberdeen to Long Beach (Washington).

Stop 6: Long Beach

Long Beach is – and always will be – one of my favorite destinations in Washington. The little set of communities on the Long Beach peninsula is at the lower-left corner of the state and is home to cozy accommodations and surprisingly delicious restaurants. There are plenty of things to do in Long Beach for more than an overnight stop!

Accommodation Suggestions: For accommodation, you can splurge on a stay at the historic but recently renovated Shelburne Hotel (from $78/night) – or choose an alternative option by booking a trailer at the Sou’wester (from $128/night). Browse other hotels and vacation rentals in Long Beach.

Meal Suggestions: The Depot is great for delicious home-cooked dishes in the old railroad depot, followed (or preceded) by a stop at North Jetty Brewing Company which sometimes has a taco food truck next door.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: It’s a short 30-minute drive south and a little east along U.S. 101 from Long Beach to cross the Columbia River into Oregon and visit Astoria.

Stop 7: Astoria

Astoria, like Aberdeen in Washington, is a great destination for lovers of pop culture. If you’ve ever seen The Goonies , you know exactly what I mean. After driving across the famous Columbia River bridge, stop and give yourself a self-guided tour of popular Goonies spots in Oregon’s northwest-most town.

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, which is a two-hour drive. 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, a 30-40 minute drive.

Stop 8: Portland (Optional)

Portland is the only city on this list that  isn’t  on the coast, and it’s definitely a trip extender if you want to visit Portland while driving the Pacific Coast Highway. The city has changed a lot since I first moved to the Pacific Northwest over a decade ago, but there’s still nowhere like Portland.

Once in Portland, it’s easy to spend a few days exploring; here’s my Portland city guide to help you if you have the time. I have been to Portland repeatedly and there are so many experiences that can more than fill a stop on your road trip.

If you don’t have the time, plan an overnight stop and make a late start after brunch at one of Portland’s many amazing restaurants.

Accommodation Suggestions: Portland has loads of great hotels, but my favorite is the  Hotel DeLuxe  near downtown. Their themed lobby and movie nights make my inner movie nerd happy, and the “lobby bar” is so good that locals frequent it.  From $115/night, book on Hotels.com . Browse other Portland hotels and vacation rentals .

Meal Suggestions: Portland is a foodie’s heaven; check out my list of where to eat in Portland , for suggestions based on a trip I took earlier this year.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: If you are on a shorter Pacific Coast Highway road trip , continue south along I-5 to Grant’s Pass, then turn southwest to head back out to the coast at Crescent City, a 6-hour drive. If you are taking a longer PCH drive and drove inland to Portland , turn west out of Portland along Oregon Highways 99W and 18 to connect with U.S. 101 near Lincoln City. You will miss Seaside & Cannon Beach on this route, so your next stop will be Newport, which is a 2.5-hour drive.

Stop 9: Seaside & Cannon Beach

Seaside is a picturesque coastal town, a western interpretation of the East Coast summer destinations along the Atlantic. The huge sweeping beach is admittedly not warm enough for a swim – but it’s great for a stroll in the surf. Downtown is a series of taffy-colored storefronts filled with beach gear, kitschy coastal crafts, and the Funland Seaside Arcade , which harkens back to the heydays of coastal vacations.

South of Seaside, be sure to stop in Cannon Beach to admire Haystack Rock . One of the most famous sea stacks on the U.S. Pacific Coast, Haystack Rock is picture perfect while you stretch your legs.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Continue south on U.S. Highway 101 along the Oregon Coast to Lincoln City, which is a 2.5-hour drive. If you’re feeling hungry along the way, stop at the Tillamook Creamery for an incredible meal or treat.

Stop 10: Lincoln City

On my most recent trip down the Oregon Coast as part of the PCH, I stopped in Lincoln City for a quick stop. Specifically, I had heard that this small community had a really fun activity: glassblowing! I decided to take a class and learn more about how this art form has flourished in this part of Oregon, and the cool programs they offer for both arts and education – as well as the “ Finders Keepers ” program.

I made a beautiful votive holder at Lincoln City Glass Center , and best of all, they shipped it home to me so I didn’t have to worry about waiting for it to cool/cure or picking it up – not something you can stick around to do as part of your Pacific Coast Highway road trip when you’re making a short stop!

I’d love to return and make an overnight stop in Lincoln City at some point, as I feel like I barely scratched the surface of what this community has to offer.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Continue south on U.S. Highway 101 along the Oregon Coast to Devils Punchbowl, a 25-minute drive.

Stop 11: Devils Punchbowl

Sort of the “opposite” of sea stacks like Haystack Rock,  Devils Punchbowl  is another beautiful natural rock formation along the Oregon Coast. It was also formed by wave erosion, and now the huge hole and arch offer a beautiful view of the relentless power of the Pacific.

Similar to Haystack Rock, your experience stopping at Devils Punchbowl will depend on the tides. While you can no longer hike down to the Punchbowl (to protect the area and bird species that nest on this part of the cliffs), you can have a picnic up top and try to spot whales further out from the coast.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Continue south along U.S. 101 to Newport, which is a short 15-minute drive.

Stop 12: Newport

Newport is a great destination to stretch your legs for a few hours – or longer, depending on your itinerary. I most recently visited Newport in late 2023, and I recommend this as an overnight stop for both my 7- and 10-day PCH itineraries, so it was about darn time I spent a night here myself!

The community of Newport sits on either side of Yaquina Bay, with the bay’s iconic and namesake bridge spanning the two. As such, Newport strikes a balance of working marine-industrial town and tourist destination: there’s lots to do for visitors, but you might just find yourself admiring the boats in the harbor and spotting sea lions resting on the docks.

In terms of things to do in Newport, the Oregon Coast Aquarium is a great option for families or curious travelers of all ages as it focuses specifically on the marine ecosystems of this part of the Pacific Coast. You can also head to the Newport Historic Bayfront which is lined with shops, restaurants, docks/boats, and fish processing plants. Yaquina Bay Lighthouse is also a must-see.

Accommodation Suggestions: There are lots of delightful places to stay in Newport, but I spent my one night aboard the Newport Belle . This is an adults-only accommodation, but if that fits your travel group, you’re in for a real treat aboard this restored and converted sternwheeler in the harbor. Rooms start from $189 per night; book on Hotels.com . Browse other hotels in Newport and vacation rentals , too.

Meal Suggestions: For dinner, there are lots of choices in the Historic Bayfront; I went with dinner at Clearwater Restaurant as they have great views of the harbor and sea lions love to loaf up on the docks outside their windows. (As such, the patio might be tempting but can often be quite stinky, so I recommend sitting inside even if the weather is great!)

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Continue south along U.S. 101. It’s a one-hour drive to Sea Lion Caves, though you might also stop at Thor’s Well or Heceta Head Lighthouse if you want even more coastal sights along the way.

Stop 13: Sea Lion Caves

I’ll be honest: I almost drove right by Sea Lion Caves, but I’m so glad I didn’t! This is an iconic stop on the Oregon Coast, and one that even Mr. V visited as a kid when his family drove down the Pacific Coast Highway for a vacation. (As I am a kid raised in Alaska , my family never made this drive!)

Even if you’re visiting during the “off” season (when the sea lions aren’t in the caves), I highly recommend taking an hour or more to stop here, explore the coastal views, and descend down to the largest sea cave on the North American continent. The views inside and out are beautiful, and you can get a fantastic – iconic! – shot of Heceta Head Lighthouse (which is the most-photographed lighthouse in the world, probably because of this view!).

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Continue south along U.S. 101, as usual. It’s a 4-hour drive to Crescent City from Sea Lion Caves; you will probably want to stop for gas at some point along this route before crossing into California – to save money, and because this stretch is a bit more inland and less stimulating!

Stop 14: Crescent City

When you hit the California coast , it’s like driving in a postcard. 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!

Crescent City is the first city you’ll enter when driving southbound into California along the Pacific Coast Highway (or last if you’re headed northbound); it is my favorite town in ALL of California, I’ve visited four times and Mr. V and I almost moved there! If Crescent City doesn’t look like much, that’s because the town was almost entirely rebuilt in 1964 following a tsunami – almost all of the historic homes and buildings were destroyed. I still love it though!

Located on a beautiful crescent-shaped bay, Crescent City (get the name now?) is along part of the PCH where California Highway 1 and U.S. Highway 101 overlap – hence this guide refers to both Highway 1 and Highway 101 as the “PCH” in the different states. 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.

Crescent City is a great spot for an overnight stop ( or longer ) depending on your itinerary. If you have the time, be sure to stop in Jedidiah Smith Redwoods State Park (part of Redwoods National Park ), and explore the town. If you can, walk out to Battery Point Lighthouse (at low tide only) and Ocean World is a good stop for families.

Accommodation Suggestions: On one trip, Mr. V and I stayed at  this gorgeous 3-bedroom oceanfront property  on Pebble Beach Drive. It was huge and fully stocked, perfect for a family or for a couple who just want space to escape.  From $295/night;  book on VRBO . Browse other vacation rentals and hotels in Crescent City.

Meal Suggestions: My must-stop on every trip is Seaquake Brewing ; I love their kombucha and their food menu is fantastic. Other places we’ve eaten on past trips include the Chart Room (great water views) and Port O’ Pints for some local color.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: At this point in Northern California, the PCH is U.S. 101/CA-1. Follow the highway south as it winds inland and along the coast; it’s a 2-hour, 15-minute drive to the Humboldt Redwoods.

Stop 15: Humboldt Redwoods State Park

After Crescent City, the Pacific Coast Highway starts to navigate in and away from the coast at times, which includes chances to experience one of California’s natural wonders: the Redwoods . It’s easy to make a stop in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, so take the opportunity – especially if you didn’t stop at Jed Smith Redwoods near Crescent City

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 California’s oldest living – and tallest! – trees.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: South of Humboldt Redwoods, there’s a junction where California Highway 1 (CA-1) begins. At this point, you should take that exit to CA-1, the Pacific Coast Highway, leaving US-101 behind. It’s a two-hour drive to Fort Bragg.

Stop 16. Fort Bragg (Glass Beach)

Over the course of living in California for four years , Mr. V and I had a chance to explore more deeply many of the coastal communities I breezed through on my first PCH road trip – Fort Bragg was one of those spots. During our trip in 2021, I discovered a lot more that made it one of my recommended overnight stops for those following my 7-day or 10-day itinerary suggestions.

The primary attraction in Fort Bragg is actually trash… specifically, broken glass. Fort Bragg Glass Beach is part of MacKerricher State Park and you can’t take it home – but 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.

There’s also so much more to do in Fort Bragg if you decide to stop here for an overnight*, including riding railbikes or the historic Skunk Train up into the coastal mountains, visiting the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens , and hiking along the many headlands in the area.

*I’m only torn in my recommendations about whether to stay overnight in Fort Bragg because I also love Mendocino (next stop) for an overnight stay. You really can’t go wrong with either one!

Accommodation Suggestions: There are definitely options in Fort Bragg, but I really enjoyed our stay at the Noyo Harbor Inn, down near the marina. You’ll definitely get Newport vibes if you stay here! Rooms start from $266 per night; book on  Booking.com or Hotels.com . Browse all hotels and vacation rentals in Fort Bragg.

Meal Suggestions: If you only have time for one meal in Fort Bragg, it’s gotta be at Princess Seafood which is also in Noyo Harbor; this woman-owned fishing company and restaurant has some of the best chowder and fresh fish/shellfish you can find on the entire coast!

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Follow California Highway 1 south. It’s a short 15-minute drive between Fort Bragg and Mendocino, which is why they’re both good overnight options at this point on the PCH.

Stop 17: Mendocino

I’ll be honest: I didn’t stop at Mendocino on my first Pacific Coast Highway road trip. Instead, I made a trip up from the Bay Area and fell in love with this small town. With colorful historic seaside homes and great hiking trails and other outdoor activities, Mendocino is good for at least an overnight stop – don’t be surprised if you want to spend even longer here once you arrive!

If you do decide to spend an overnight in the area, I recommend stopping in historic downtown Mendocin o first and walking around the Mendocino Headlands to stretch your legs before heading to my recommended overnight accommodations (which is also where you can eat).

Accommodation Suggestions: A few minutes south of the main part of Mendocino, the Little River Inn is one of my favorite hotels along the PCH. It’s self-contained with a spa, golf course, and everything else you need – don’t be surprised if you want to stay more than one night. Rooms start from $240 per night; book directly on their website . Browse other Mendocino hotels and vacation rentals .

Meal Suggestions: Even if you’re not staying at the Little River Inn, Ole’s Whale Watch Bar is hands-down my favorite place to eat in the area. You can sit in the pub area, eat incredible food, and keep an eye out for whales making their way up/down the coast – what more do you need?!

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Continue south along California Highway 1. It’s a 2-hour, 45-minute drive to Marshall, and another 45 minutes out onto Point Reyes.

Stop 18: Marshall & Point Reyes

Point Reyes is arguably my favorite part of the Pacific Coast Highway – and that is saying something as it’s really hard to choose favorites from over 650 miles of California coastline!

While driving southbound, you’ll approach Marshall first. From the perspective of California Highway 1, it might seem like just a few buildings alongside the road. Next, you’ll pass through Point Reyes , which again seems underwhelming. Both have way more to explore once you stop or pull off the road.

In particular, plan a long foray out to Point Reyes State Park and Lighthouse . This 20-mile (one-way) detour will take you out on Point Reyes, and has a stark and beautiful landscape because it’s so far out “at sea.” Additionally, you’ll get a sense of the magnitude of the San Andreas fault line, which comes inland along the northern part of Point Reyes.

Be sure to plan your trip on a day the lighthouse is open for tours, so you can climb the steps down to the lighthouse and look out beneath the clouds across the sea. The Point Reyes Lighthouse is open daily, but be sure to check the NPS site for specifics.

Meal Suggestions: If you’re hungry, stop for lunch at Nick’s Cove (pictured above). If you really love oysters, swing by Hog Island Oyster Company and purchase some to shuck and eat right then.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Follow CA-1 south – it’s 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. In total, it’s a 1-hour, 45-minute drive between Point Reyes and San Francisco if you stay on CA-1 the whole way.

Stop 19: San Francisco

It’s 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. Now that I’ve moved to this part of California, I know this is true.

If you’re 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… Like other major cities on this route, making a one-night stop is not nearly enough!

No matter which you choose, you’ll enter SF by driving across the Golden Gate Bridge ; you can either stay along the coast and drive down Ocean Beach or head east into the city. In the city, the San Francisco CityPass is a good pro-tip to help you enjoy the city in a short time; as of 2024, you can choose three or four attractions including the Exploratorium , California Academy of Sciences , SFMOMA , and take a cruise on the San Francisco Bay.

Accommodation Suggestions: Blow your budget and stay the night at the Fairmont San Francisco , one of the nicest hotels in town. This gorgeous building mostly survived the 1906 earthquake and captures Victorian glory with modern amenities. Rooms start from $179/night, book on Booking.com or Hotels.com . Browse other San Francisco hotels and vacation rentals .

Meal Suggestions: Gosh, where do I begin?! There are some great options in the San Francisco Ferry Building (Cowgirl Creamery is my favorite), Boudin Bakery near Fisherman’s Wharf is an essential stop for great bread and chowder, and I love Li Po Lounge for drinks in Chinatown .

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: When you’re ready to continue on your PCH road trip, make your way back to California Highway 1 and head south. It’s about an hour’s drive from San Francisco to Pigeon Point, depending on where you start in the city.

Stop 20: Pigeon Point

Pigeon Point can be a fun rest stop along the Pacific Coast Highway or a quirky one-night stop depending on your itinerary.

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. Unfortunately, you can’t climb the lighthouse steps as it has been closed for restoration since 2001.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Carry on south on CA-1, the PCH. It’s an 80-minute drive from Pigeon Point to Monterey

Stop 21: Monterey

While I only recommend an overnight stop in the Monterey/Carmel area if you’re on my suggested 10-day PCH itinerary , you can absolutely stop in either or both of these communities if you have the time during a shorter route.

Starting with Monterey , you probably recognize the name of this community for its iconic Monterey Bay Aquarium which is named for the Bay on which you can take a whale-watching cruise . It’s also worth taking a stroll on Cannery Row , even though it’s really touristy, because it gives you a sense of this community’s maritime history.

Accommodation Suggestions: The  Spindrift Inn  is located right on Cannery Row and has a classic design with waterfront views.  From $199/night; book on  Booking.com  or  Hotels.com . Browse other Monterey hotels and vacation rental options.

Meal Suggestions: Technically, Beach House Restaurant + Bar at Lovers Point is located in Pacific Grove (which is a cute town between Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea, but it’s a nice spot for a good meal with a great view.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: If you’re planning to also stop in Carmel-by-the-Sea, take a detour to cruise 17-Mile Drive through Pebble Beach. It’s a 50-minute drive but iconic, and worth stopping at the Lone Cypress ; if you take CA-1 instead, it’s a short 15-minute drive to Carmel.

Stop 22: Carmel-by-the-Sea

While they might be neighboring communities, Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea are really quite different. Monterey has deep roots in the maritime industry, while Carmel is more artsy and has deep roots in the California missions movement. As such, I love visiting both and think they’re both worth a stop… as for which one you stay overnight in (if you’re on my 10-day itinerary ), it’s really up to you!

If you do stop in Carmel , be sure to visit the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo to learn about missionary history in California. You can also stroll on Carmel Beach , which is picturesque and explains why so many artists are inspired by this part of the California coast. Another popular activity is wine tasting and window shopping in Carmel’s historic and quirky “downtown.”

Accommodation Suggestions: Every time I’ve visited Carmel, I stay at the Hofsas House Hotel ; it’s a little further from town, but has historic charm and the rooms are delightfully cozy. Rooms start from $135 per night, book on  Booking.com  or  Hotels.com . Browse other Carmel hotels and vacation rentals .

Meal Suggestions: Two of my favorite spots in Carmel are Cultura Comida y Bebida  and  Brophy’s Tavern . We’ve had great meals at both of those places during our visits.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Keep following California Highway 1 southbound. Big Sur is more of a region than a specific destination, but it’s a 45-60 minute drive depending on where you stop once you get out of town. You might also decide to skip Big Sur since it ads a few extra hours to your PCH drive due to the closure between Limekiln State Park and Lucia.

Stop 23: Big Sur

When you picture the Pacific Coast Highway, it’s Big Sur that comes to mind. 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.

Big Sur is defined as the stretch of coastline and adjacent state park between Carmel and San Simeon. Here, California Highway 1 carves a sinuous path along steep cliffs; the road is beautiful at a price, since mudslides aren’t uncommon along this stretch of highway, and can close the highway for months.

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.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Unfortunately, due to the closure of the PCH between Limekiln State Park and Lucia, you’ll need to backtrack north, turn inland to US-101, and then return to the coast by way of San Luis Obispo. This is a 3-hour, 10-minute drive.

Stop 24: Pismo Beach

Pismo Beach is another great stop during a day of driving from San Francisco between Santa Barbara (or reverse). On my Pacific Coast Highway road trip, I stopped here to eat a to-go lunch I had purchased earlier in the drive, with my toes in the sand.

Pismo is a popular camping destination, so the most common amenities you’ll find if you decide to stay longer than a few hours are camping-oriented. There are a few restaurants in town and 17 miles of beautiful beach to explore. If you happen to do your PCH road trip in the winter, Pismo State Beach is also home to the largest colony of migrating monarch butterflies during the winter months.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Continue south along CA-1. The PCH heads inland near Lompoc but is the main road you can take to Santa Barbara. It’s a 90-minute drive from Pismo Beach to Santa Barbara.

Stop 25: Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara was the biggest surprise I had on my PCH road trip in 2014. I was, for the most part, ambivalent (or didn’t know much) about the cities along the Pacific Coast. I was far more interested in the hundreds of miles of coastal roadways; my overnight stop in Santa Barbara changed my mind.

In particular, 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; Mission Santa Bárbara is a must-visit. I haven’t made a return trip yet to update my recommendations, but when I do, I look forward to writing a dedicated article with more tips.

Accommodation Suggestions: Plan an overnight in Santa Barbara so you can soak in the charm. For accommodation, try a small hotel like the Eagle Inn . Rooms start from $115/night, book on Booking.com or Hotels.com . Browse hotels and vacation rentals in Santa Barbara .

Meal Suggestions: Try to make it to Happy Hour at Enterprise Fish Company . Oysters, calamari, and other fresh seafood small plates are on sale!

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: As you might have guessed – continue following California Highway 1 south! It’s a 90-minute to 2-hour drive to Los Angeles, depending on where you go in the City of Angels.

Stop 26: Los Angeles/Venice Beach

Los Angeles is the last major city on my list of Pacific Coast Highway stops, and though I have a guide to spending one day in L.A. , you can and should spend as much time as you like. 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 – that link will help.

Depending on the timing of your itinerary, you may want to do an overnight here. If you’ve just stayed overnight in Santa Barbara or started your road trip in San Diego, that may not make as much sense.

Accommodation Suggestions: If you decide to stay in L.A., check out if the budget-friendly  Wave Manhattan Beach Hotel is available.  Rooms from $113/night, book on  Hotels.com . Browse the many, many Los Angeles hotels and vacation rentals you can choose instead.

Meal Suggestions: Venice Ale House is a good spot with waterfront views and plenty of people watching opportunities, if you’re in that part of the city. You can then walk on Venice Beach to stretch your legs after so many long driving days.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Follow CA-1 south out of L.A. to avoid the city’s notorious traffic as you make your way along the coast. Roughly speaking, it’s a 2.5-hour drive from Los Angeles to Huntington Beach, if you follow the coast the whole way.

Stop 27: Huntington Beach

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.

I had the chance to spend a weekend in Huntington Beach a few years ago and loved the vibe in this surf town. On your stop here, be sure to walk out along the Huntington Beach Pier and keep an eye out for surfers working the breaks along the beach. You can also hit up the the  International Surfing Museum  and the  Surfing Walk of Fame if you enjoy the sport.

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Continue along CA-1 to San Diego, your final stop on this PCH road trip if you’re headed southbound. It’s a two-hour drive from Huntington Beach to San Diego.

End: San Diego

San Diego was the starting point of my Pacific Coast Highway road trip; for you, it may be the end if you follow my suggestions for driving southbound.

San Diego is high on my must-visit-longer list, so I’m again a bit short on recommendations here. San Diego is known for its Zoo and was made Instagram famous for Potato Chip Rock . Whether you stop to take a few Instagram-worthy spots or ogle the animals, there’s plenty of experiences to choose from in San Diego .

Pacific Coast Highway Directions: None! Congrats on finishing your Pacific Coast Highway road trip.

That’s it! PCH bucket list road trip… done! Have other questions about driving the Pacific Coast Highway? Let me know in the comments!

Plan Your PCH Adventure!

The Complete Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Guide gives you all the info you need to plan an epic road trip from Seattle to San Diego, in one convenient place.

Get this ebook for just $12.99 $9.99!

Help others discover this post too!

• Facebook 2088
• Pinterest 48041

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. Read more in my Privacy Policy .

I was born on the East Coast, grew up in Alaska, lived on the West Coast as an adult, and currently call the Midwest home. I share travel resources and stories based on my personal experience and knowledge.

273 Comments

Awesome, I’m hoping to do the PCH and NorCal next summer. I’ll have to stop at these places

Julie Meeks

Thinking about a pch trip from San frans to LA.. suggestions on where to stop and how many days…

I have this post that will help you plan your trip: https://www.valerievalise.com/california-coast-road-trip/

Hi Valerie I am looking for a 1 day coastal trip from Anaheim back to San Francisco with 4 kids ranging from Teen to toddler. 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. Any suggestions…

Sorry, I don’t have any special suggestions for kids!

Excellent suggestions. Thanks

Hi! Any guide for San Francisco

Yes, I do have San Francisco guides! Did you try searching my site using the search in the sidebar?

I used and valued this website very much as I drove from Seattle to Los Angeles. It was a very special trip. Just wanted to say thank you for making your advice so accessible! Paul (from Australia)

Thanks for the feedback, Paul!!

What a drive! I’m thinking of a four day road trip for easter next year but thinking along the lines of vegas to grand canyon and so. Still figuring it out.

It sounds like you’ll have a great trip no matter what! If you decide to drive the PCH, I’m happy to give you any tips!

Hi – planning my PCH trip. I’m wondering if this will work. I want to fly into san francisco early and drive to Napa. We would spend the day there, stay overnight and leave at some point the next day and head toward Ft. Bragg. We would then begin our trip down the coast from there. Is the detour to Napa a bad idea?

Good question, Jodi – sorry for my delay getting back to you. It’s not a bad detour at all, just adds a few extra days!

Lauren Falardeau Pariseau

This is such a great resource. I love Portland and San Diego. I would love to do a Pacific Coast Highway drive at some point in my life. I love all the details and recommendations!

Thanks for reading, Lauren! I hope you can make this trip someday (hopefully soon!).

Larissa Joassaint

What a great and comprehensive post! One day, I would LOVE to make this road trip. I can’t even imagine how incredible it must have been to experience all this in person. I’m saving this post to reference when I think about doing this trip, because that has to happen! Also, I love your pictures!

Thanks, Larissa! I hope you can see it for yourself someday too. Let me know if you need any extra tips whenever you start planning!

You’ve put together one awesome road trip! Although I live in San Francisco, I’ve yet to visit several of these places on this list. Next time I have a few days off, I’ll have to change that!

You live in SF! I do too (ish – I’m in Oakland!). I hope you can do at least part of the PCH someday soon 🙂

Thank you for the comprehensive narrative! Just starting to think about a 1st time road trip from Az to Washington and back among the PCH!!?? Do you think we could do it in 7 days?? There and back that is?

Thanks for reading, Jennifer. Sorry, but there’s no way to do the drive to Seattle and back along the PCH in just 7 days. It’s 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.

Hattie Weinroth

I would really love to use the Roadtrippers map but it doesn’t appear to work. It doesn’t show up when I click it. Is it still available?

It’s working for me this morning… 🤷🏻‍♀️

Kathi Kamleitner

Such a thorough guide! I drove part of this back in 2009 – from LA to San Francisco (northbound…..) and would also recommend stops in Morro Bay and Monterey – I enjoyed both very much! Especially watching the sun set over Morro Rock in the distance! 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!

Great tips, Kathi! I haven’t been to Monterey but it’s high on my list! If you make it out this way, let me know, as I’m now in the Bay Area!

Will do!! <3

Vicky Entsminger Saunders

This sounds like a great adventure. I have a few questions. If I wanted to follow your trip but stop off a day at Yosemite what might the drive look like? Also, about how many miles a day are you traveling on your 10 day itinerary? I’m thinking I might end my trip at Santa Barbara.

Thanks for your comment, Vicky! I don’t think you can do Yosemite in a day — it’s a four hour drive from the coast to Yosemite (one-way) and you’ll probably want a full day in the park at minimum. The total distance is about 1,500 miles! from Seattle to San Diego along this route 🙂

Angel De La Cruz

Loved your trip adventure and recommendations !! 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 !! I am saving this to research more of the places you mentioned !! Very nicely done thanks ever so much !!

Thanks for reading, Angel! I’m glad it was helpful. I haven’t been to some of those national parks, but they sound amazing! Feel free to comment back here if you have questions while planning your trip 🙂

IFTEKAR AHMED

Extremely informative. I am planning for this roadtrip this December- starting from Dec 25th. I will be driving from Dallas to Seattle. Planning for 5-6 days of Seattle to San Diego. My car is a convertible (BMW 3 series) so I am not sure if it can take on the road during Dec end – Seattle and portland area mainly ?

Glad this was helpful! You should have no problem making it down the road in December. You may encounter some rain up north near Portland and Seattle, but you shouldn’t experience any snow!

Catherine Ouahada

We are planning to do Northbound…from Ventura to Wine country but only have 5 days returning on the 5th day. From Ventura. How can we apply this info in the reverse

Catherine, it’s pretty easy – just plan it out by reading my article from the bottom to the top! You can choose the spots you want to stop at that way 🙂

Hello, my name is Sonia and I am from Puerto Rico. I am planning a road-trip with my husband along the Pacific coast. I’m trying to connect with the guide I found on pinterest. I also downloaded the Roadtrippers app but I can’t find it. I would like to follow the route on the map. How do I do it? Thanks. My English is very very basic but if you write to me I can understand it. Thanks again.

Thanks for reading, Sonia. To access the map on Roadtrippers, you just need to click the map!

Cherie Carmona

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 I’m 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

Cherie, thanks for your comment. 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! The longer you spend, the more you’ll get to see and enjoy.

david kriebel

taking my 13 and 17 year old with my wife. anything you can suggest extra the girls would be wowed by would be great.

Thanks for your comment, David! I’m pretty confident they’ll be wowed by these sights. Best of all, there’s no cell service so they’ll have to look around to see them 🙂

Is seaside orgon a good food option is pigs in a blanket rustic american diner. We and my friends would go there to eat when we came down for sports from abrdeen

Donald, hi, sorry but I don’t really understand your comment.

I love small beaches and in less popular destinations like this! Those little beaches overlooking the water below is freaking amazing.

Right, Mel? I love that the Pacific coast has those little hideaways! Thanks for your comment 🙂

Adrian Jacobs

Hi, and thanks for this terrific resource. We’re using it to plan our itinerary for June/July this year, 3 weeks, Seattle to LA. 1 question: we’ve booked hotels at both end (Seattle and LA) and would prefer not to book hotels until we’re on route and know how far we’re along and how long we want to stop in each place. is booking hotels on the day or maybe the day before likely to be OK, or should we book well in advance? We’d like to be flexible so, if we like somewhere we could stay an extra night, or if we need to push on, we could pull the itinerary forward. Whats your thought on late availability rooms at that time of year?

Adrian, great to hear from you! I’m glad you booked LA and Seattle, because those are the two you most need to have arranged! Are you planning to stay in bigger cities (Portland, SF, Santa Barbara), or smaller ones? For bigger cities, there are probably enough options that you can wait until you arrive to book, even during that time of year. The worst that happens is you might end up in a slightly less nice place than you had planned. In smaller towns though, I’d recommend committing to those earlier – you may find you have nowhere to stay and have to drive on another 100+ miles at some parts! I hope this helps!

Thanks Valerie. Yes, we intend to stay a couple of nights in Portland and 2 or 3 in San Francisco but we’ll probably look for hotels on the outskirts and travel in to the cities by car or public transport each day. The rest of time will hopefully be in small towns all along the coast. We’re making a shortlist of 3 or 4 likely hotels for each expected stopover. Thanks again for this excellent resource.

Sounds like you’ve got a great plan – drive safe! Let me know if you have any other questions while planning or on the road! ??

Sonja L. Marshall

my best friends and I have talked about driving down from San Francisco to some of the Orange County, CA cities. Though I have visited a few cities in California over the years, I (we) are looking forward to that California coastal drive. I already have the vista points where we will stop for photos and eating. Thanks for your points.

Sonja, glad to help! Have a great trip! Send me a pic if you remember 🙂

Mike Siegfried

When driving the PCH south from Portland, how much of a detour would it be to see Crater Lake on the way?

Mike, great to hear from you and thanks for reading! I did a quick search and here’s 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

So it adds about 3 hours of driving time, but it also means you’ll miss out on basically all of the Oregon Coast. That includes missing the Devil’s Punchbowl and Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area in the southern part of the state; you would however get to drive through Oregon’s Redwoods on your way from Crater Lake to Crescent City.

Happy driving!

Samantha Greenwell

We just did this trip in October 2019, We started in Portland to Cannons beach then headed south on HWY 101. 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. The views of the colors changing in the trees were surreal. After Crater lake we headed back to 238 towards HWY 101, we took an off road to hit the coast right at Brookings. So we used really about a day off the coast but well worth it. Crater lake was amazing!! I don’t feel we missed a lot of Oregon coast the views we seen before & after Crater lake were absolutely stunning. We then headed to San Fran, our ending point. This was a 6 day trip. Best trip ever! I had saved this resource to help me plan. It was a great help! Thank you!

Alex Rental

Great trip! I plan to rent a car in Los Angeles in the summer and make a similar journey

Thanks, Alex! Have a great trip!

Hello! Awesome suggestions and itinerary! I am planning to take this trip with my family of 5 as you have lined out for the 10 days this coming June. Only question I have is how much money would you recommend someone having for a trip like this and staying in a 3 star hotel each night? I’ve never been to CA and I know the prices are high. I would love to take this vacation but not fall short on money. I do not plan to do any shopping at stores, so our money would be spent on a rental vehicle, hotels, gas, and food. I would rather guess on the high side than the low side so I’m prepared. We might consider staying a total of 12-15 days. Thanks so much for any tips you can suggest on having adequate funds! 🙂

Donna, thanks for your comment! I’d 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 it’s going to cost. It’s a little tough to guess without knowing the exact dates and which towns/cities you plan to stay in on any given night, but I hope this helps!

ARETTA TERRY

We are so overwhelmed. We can only do a quick trip. We will be coming from Anaheim and want to drive the Pacific Coast Highway to Half Moon Bay. We are planning to stay overnight at the Madonna Inn. Is this possible?? I know we won’t see everything, but it’s the only time frame we have. Do you have any tips? Can you share with me how long this should take us?? Is Pacific Coast Highway the same as Highway 1 or Highway 101?

Aretta, thanks for your comment! What you suggested (Anaheim > SLO/Madonna Inn > Half Moon Bay) is a great two-day itinerary. You can definitely do that! I didn’t spend a ton of time on the Central Coast, but be sure to stop at Pismo Beach and drive through Carmel. Stop and admire the views in Big Sur, too! The PCH is Highway 1 in California, though sometimes Highway 1 and 101 overlap which is what causes the confusion! When in doubt, stay on the coast. Have a great trip!

You did a fantastic job with this giude, everything is straight to the point but provided in a fun and educational way. I can really tell that you love traveling, Valerie 🙂

Thanks for reading, Adam!

Hi, I love Portland and San Francisco. I love to do a Pacific Coast Highway drive at some point in my life. I love all the details that you are recommended here. Thank you so much for sharing this informative article with all of us.

You’re very welcome, Wilbert! I hope you have a great trip whenever you can make it!

Angie Redmon

My husband and I plan to do this trip in June. As we will be married 40 years! WOW! Anyway, we are looking to do the very same drive. Start in Seattle and end in San Diego. Any other advise you could give us. I didn’t want to make all my reservations, but just go with it for one time in my life. You thinks that’s safe or should I make some. Thanks! Getting excited.

We would be flying from GA, so I guess I go fling to Seattle, and the book one home for San Diego?

I’m nervous go excited. We were 70’s teenagers all around!

Angie, thanks so much for your comment! Yes, I’d recommend flying one-way to Seattle, and flying one-way home from San Diego. 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! Have a great trip!

Thank you for this wonderful review. I am planning a trip for next year, saving and researching. I live in Florida and have never been to the pacific coast. I want to fly out to the NW and drive to Crescent city, then go inland to see the redwoods, Bend, and Mt. Hood. Sort of a round trip Oregon adventure. What’s the best time of year to do this? I hate cold! Also, I will have 3 weeks to do this, I like small towns, Vegan food, and too out of shape for extended hikes.

Ann, thanks so much for your comment. This sounds like a great trip – the PCH + inland Oregon! The best time of year to do this will be in the summer (June/July/August), probably sooner in the year rather than later. I hope you have a great trip!

Wonderful trip sharing you made. Thanks so much. Am planning to do a 10 day PCH drive in August. This will be a great tool in planning. Prior to retiring I have done the San Francisco to LA 3 times but always by myself. This time I plan to take a friend and start in Portland. Again, thanks for great info and advice.

Nate, thanks for your comment. Very glad to help, and I hope you have a great trip!

Laurie Baxter

Thanks for the great ideas! We are planning a west coast trip and are considering renting an RV one way from Portland or Seattle to San Francisco. Does that sound reasonable or doable?

Thanks for reading, Laurie! With an RV, I’d just give yourself a lot more time each day (probably 25% more driving time) since you’ll need to go a bit slower. Hope that helps you plan!

rudy zimmer

Valerie, valuable tips ! Nice ride. I’m looking forward to have the same experience with my wife and my son. The ideia is to have a “West Coast Beer Route” drive. Thanks for sharing. Rudy

Sounds like a great trip, Rudy! Drive safe in between those beer stops!

Midwest Retired Guy at 56

Great read! 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. But, we need to go the opposite way; starting in San Diego and heading north. Is this going to be a big disappointment? Also, we were thinking with the additional days to do a detour over to Yosemite. To ensure accommodations, I was thinking to book all of the hotels in advance. I’me hoping the trip will run about $10k. staying at decent places 3-4 star properties. Any additional thoughts?

Nope, headed northbound is not a bad way to go – it’s actually the way I went on my first drive! You’ll have a great time!

Hi, My wife and I are planning a 7-day drive from San Fran to Portland in late June of this year. Can you recommend where to spend time and in which cities to plan to spend the night? We’ve spent time in SF already so don’t need to stay there. The redwoods are a definite. Seeing some nice beaches is also of interest. My wife doesn’t particularly like high bridges or steep drops (one reason we are driving north), so any advice on where we might avoid such things is appreciated. Is there any river rafting or boating along the way?

Thank you, Scott

Scott, I replied to your email, so you should be all set!

This is exactly what I was looking for. My husband and I are both 62 in pretty good shape and planning to do this trip from Portland to San Diego in late September 2019 over 2 weeks. Are we likely to hit snow in the northern stops? I am not fond of the cold and a bit fearful of icy driving in the mountains. We will be stopping to see the sights along the way but not for strenuous hikes. Thank you for any other tips.

Eileen, thanks for your comment, and for reading! You probably won’t have any snow – it’s usually just rain in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon & Washington). Have a great trip!

Lynda Mailhot

Hi Valerie- What is the best time of year for this 10 day trip?

Thanks, Lynda

Thanks for reading, Lynda! The best time of year to do this will be in the summer (June/July/August), probably sooner in the year rather than later.

Thinking of Seattle to San Diego on US 1 in late September or early October, is the weather still good for a 10 day driving trip?

Thanks for your comment, Rex! 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!

Hello Valerie,

Looking to travel with your recommendations southbound! Looking to fly into Crescent City – I’ve tried to locate flight from Oakland to Crescent City but haven’t been able to, do you have any info on this flight?

Also being from Colorado, we would love to camp oceanside, do you have any recommendations on campsites?

Thank you for sharing your travels and still helping others along their journey!

Thanks for your comment, Victoria! For flights, I recently heard there’s a flight from the Bay Area to Crescent City – check out Contour Airlines (they come up when I google OAK > CEC).

For campsites, I’m not super sure as I’m 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

Have a great trip!

I am planning a trip in late July. 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. We fly out of LA. I am thinking 5 days from Portland to LA. Would it be worth it to continue to San Diego then back to LA? We will probably book Airbnb if cost effective. I appreciate this guide. I want the most scenic route but RT 1 on the cliffs seem risky ? Suggestions? Also, niece is vegan and I am meat eater.

Thanks for your comment, Kathy! To answer your questions: 1. Don’t drive down to SD and back up to LA. Just give yourself more time and end n LA. 2. Route 1 is fine – it’s twisty turny but it’s the best route by far. 3. You should have no problem finding vegan options! Oregon & California are both pretty vegan friendly states so I’d expect lots of restaurants have at least an option that’s animal-free.

Have a great drive!

Doing this trip starting this weekend! We’re taking the 5 to Seattle with a few stops on the way then PCH from Port Angeles to SD. We’ll be camping out at most stops except for SF. Super excited. Great article!

Thanks, CJ! Have a great trip and drive safely!

Karen Wells

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. It may have been in a reply to someone else’s comment, but I can’t seem to find it now. Any ideas?

Karen, great question! I don’t remember providing that advice… but off the top of my head, I wouldn’t go bigger than a Tesla Model X (swoon!), a Jeep Liberty, or most Subarus. If you go as big as a Suburban or Tahoe, you’ll be way to big and clunky to enjoy the road! I hope this helps.

Hi – We have just 1-day and will be starting in Fortuna and heading to San Francisco. We want to make the best out of drive there. I see we can head to Mendocino and then over to a larger highway to San Francisco or…….drive all the way down the PCH to Point Reyes Station & then head over San Francisco but that would be a lot of driving. We are only going to be there once though and want to make the most of it. Do you highly recommend the LONG route OR is thru Mendocino only enough? Thanks for your help in advance!!!!

Thanks for your comment, Shelly! To be honest, I’d opt for the long route – you only have one day, and Point Reyes is one of my favorite parts of California. Be sure to stop at Nick’s Cove in Marshall, CA for a meal or Hog Island Oyster if you love oysters!

John Finders

Hi Valerie, Great job! I am planning to start my road trip in Vancouver BC and ending in San Francisco. I am planning 14 days to take in the sights. Would you have any other suggestions since I am using 4 more days and not going south to Sa Diego and strarting in Vancouver? Thanks

Thanks for your comment, John!

I’d take those days and visit the San Juan Islands: https://www.valerievalise.com/visit-san-juan-islands/

You could also give yourself more time in the cities: – https://www.valerievalise.com/3-days-seattle/ – https://www.valerievalise.com/3-days-san-francisco/ – https://www.valerievalise.com/portland-city-guide/

I hope these help!

Valerie, My husband and I are wanting to fly from Denver to California on December 27th. We want to spend 5 days for PCH and not sure where to fly in or out of. Is this time of year realistic for an enjoyable adventure, or should we maybe plan to go somewhere else? Where would you start and end if it is reasonable to go in December, and what might we expect weather wise? Thank you, and your blog is fantastic! Kim

Kim, December should be a pretty good time, but plan for classic marine layer weather (chilly and cloudy – this is what’s normal on the Pacific coast!). If I were youI would do a leisurely drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles/San Diego. Let me know how it goes!

We’re 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). Should we go down the coast only (plus say Portland & Crater Lk), or head inland given how much time we have? Is Yellowstone worth the long detour?

Thanks for your comment, Anthony! You’ve got so much time, that’s awesome! I would definitely do some research on inland options – I’m not as familiar with what’s inland though. I can think off the top of my head that you could do the Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood, Crater Lake, the Redwoods in much greater depth than I advise above… you could also spend some time at Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, or elsewhere in the Sierra Nevadas!

I haven’t been to Yellowstone so I can’t say if it’s worth it, unfortunately. #addittothelist

HEATHER LABAUVE

Thank you so much for this information! We are planning a trip next year from New Orleans while my husband has a conference in Portland…we were thinking of driving Hwy 1 down to Disneyland…and catching some of the beautiful beaches and state parks. Our kids will be 15 & 10…I’m just afraid it will be a boring ride for them in the car. We were planning on 10 days total for driving, site seeing and ending it with 2 days in Disneyland. Any recommendations will be appreciated! Thanks!

Heather, you saw the rest of the post, right? Those are my top recommendations! I’d find an interesting podcast for everyone in the car and have the kids keep an eye out for whales and wildlife. Have a great drive!

Raynard Richards

Hi Valerie,

I am traveling with my husband, brother and our 4 year old. What type of car would you rent for 4 of us? We will only have 7 days. We planned to start in Seattle and drive to San Diego. Is this doable in 7 days, with stops during the day and to spend the night?

Raynard, when are you going? I’m going to publish a suggested 7-day PCH guide soon! I’d go with a mid-size car for your rental.

Cyndy Hokana

Am interested in your upcoming 7 day itinerary of PCH. Enjoyed this 14 day article!

Alexandra Faux

Hi there, I am desperate to do the road trip next year – however, I am not keen on driving over bridges (I am fine on coastal roads/cliff edges), so are there any places that i definitely need to avoid or that you cant get through/past without crossing a bridge? Many thanks, alex

Alex, unfortunately, this might not be the trip for you. There are no reasonable alternatives for some of the routes like the one across Bixby Canyon Bridge (shown above). You’d need to drive about 7-10 hours out of the way depending on the bridge, and miss major stretches of the road 🙁

What are the reasons you really never got to enjoy using a convertible car?

Thanks for your comment, Patty! Unfortunately, when I drove the PCH it was pretty foggy and cool most of the week.

Jorge Alcala

Great content here, thank you! We are thinking of taking this drive during the week of Christmas. Any thoughts on this as it pertains to weather? Is it worth waiting to do this trip in summer?

Thanks for your comment, Jorge! The weather should be okay – but be prepared for coastal fog and chill (as you would experience pretty much all year long!). Have a great drive!

Planning a mother/son trip after my son graduates HS next year. This blog has been incredibly helpful. I love road trips & he tolerates them so I am looking forward to all these sights to see!

Hah, sounds like a good bonding experience, Angela! Have a wonderful trip!

Thank you for great info – This is exactly what I was looking for. Booking this trip for late Oct. I’d like to fly in ( from East Coast) somewhere north of San Fran. What would be a good hopping on point?

Great question, Sharon! The only places you can fly would be Crescent City – but it’ll require changing through San Francisco anyway. Also, further north, you could fly to Portland and do the Oregon coast too. Have a great trip!

(If you decide to fly to SF, here’s a recent post I wrote: https://www.valerievalise.com/california-coast-road-trip/ )

Hello, Thanks for sharing your trips and valuable tips. If I am going to follow your 10 day itinerary from Washington State to San Diego, how many overnight stays can I have?

Thanks for your comment, Pam, but I’m a little confused – it’s a 10-day itinerary, so it’s a 9-night trip.

Erin Huelsman

Valerie – I just came across this post. Love it. My husband, myself and our four kids always take adventurous vacations every summer. We are from Ohio. If we have 10 days to do this and could skip San Francisco, because we just did that 2 years ago, could we drive from Seattle to either Los Angeles or San Diego in an RV? We always wanted to do an RV trip, but maybe the PCH is not the one to do that on?? Thoughts? You also mentioned Suburbans are not great because they are so big, but I don’t think we have much choice with the large family.

Thanks for your comment, Erin! I wouldn’t advise doing this one in an RV, to be honest. It’s 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. Also, it’s not exactly the most stimulating view – it’s a bit better for older kids than younger ones.

If I were going to recommend a route, I’d do something like the National Parks in California or the Utah/Arizona/SoCal loop. That gives you a lot more to do each day to wear the kids out and much more suitable for an RV.

Catherine Jackson

Planning a trip on PCH last week of July 2020. Starting at San Francisco ending San Diego. Making the drive in 2 days. What are must see spots.

Thanks for your comment, Catherine. 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. 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. There’s a link to that at the end of the post.

Love all the comments ideas and suggestion, will try and make this trip happen in about 2-3 years . Got to save some $$$$$

I hope you can make it happen sooner! Have a great trip!!

Thank so much for putting together a wonderful and comprehensive itinerary of the PC scenic drive. This will be a great resource for the trip that we are planning. My wife and I were planning to fly to San Diego to start the trip, but your point about southbound visibility makes total sense. What do you think about making this drive in November? We are planning to spend Thanksgiving in San Diego.

Thanks again and best wishes,

Glad to help, Dan! 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 it’s cooler/less sunny than expected!

Amy Delacluyse1

Hello Valerie; my family and i are thinking about a trip from northern CA to San Diego along the coast. Want to stop over a few nights, and hit some of the destinations you listed. I was wondering if you would recommend any wine tasting spots along the way? I’ve been to Napa, Sonoma and Russian River Valley – but curious if there are any great places you are aware of.

Thank you! Amy

Amy, take a look at the Santa Maria Valley – I stopped in Lompoc on a trip recently and they have some fun and interesting wineries there. Sounds like a great trip either way – drive safe!

Melissa Goodwin

I would love to receive the PDF version of this, please.

Awesome, you can sign up using the forms in this post to get the PDF! 🙂

Teena Maher

Hi. I’m thinking of doing this trip from Seattle to San Diego. I was hoping to see autumn colours in the northern area. Is this possible? What time of year would be best to do this. Travelling from Australia and would like to spend 3 weeks driving around . Thanks Teena

Thanks for reading, Teena! I’d look at September as an ideal time to catch autumn colors in the Pacific Northwest – but admittedly it’s hard to predict since this part of the country isn’t known for the same leaf colors as New England. I hope this helps!

Chinquel Wiley

Hi Valerie. This information is great!!! Thank you for sharing. My husband and I are planning a Spring Break trip with our girls March 2020. We will start in Portland, Or and drive to Las Angeles, CA. Will we be able to enjoy the drive in March? Thank you again for all of your information.

Chinquel, nice to hear from you! March is a fine time to drive the PCH – the weather on the Pacific Coast is pretty similar all year long! (Be prepared for fog from the marine layer!)

Valerie, My wife and I are planning this very trip you outlined. Thank you so very much. You absolutely nailed it. AAA has no candle to this. Tim and Janice

Tim & Janice, what kind words! I’m glad to surpass the AAA level. Maybe I’m AAAA ?

Reading through this – your article is going to be a huge help as our family plans our two-week trip. We’re driving south-to-north. Thank you.

Glad to help, Bethany! Have a great drive!!

Hunter Roquemore

I’m 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)?

Thanks for reading and asking, Hunter! For the California portion, I recommend September & October! It’s the best time for good weather on the whole coast!

Rita Chalan-Montano

Thank you for the pointers! I am heading to LA in March and have a day to drive around and wanted to drive from LAX up HW 1 to around Malibu, maybe further!

I also agree that Point Reyes (and the lighthouse) is spectacular and my top place to go when in North Ca.

Glad to help, Rita! Drive safe 🙂

Valerie-thanks for the great overview. The PCH is on my bucket list since my daughter did it with Teens Westward Bound over 10 years ago. I’d like to make a 10 day trip with a couple days in San Francisco and San Diego. I’ve done Yosemite and Sequoia, so no need for inland stops. I especially appreciate your links to stays and dine. A frequent Cali traveler warned me of smog in the late summer and recommended late Sept. early Oct. What are your thoughts? What day of the week would you recommend starting from WA? Thanks again!

Thanks for your comment, Terri! September and October are definitely best for visiting NorCal, so I recommend that time of year too! Not sure it matters when you set out from Seattle; it’ll be great no matter when you go!

Thanks so much for this comprehensive look at the PCH. I’ve just started planning our trip for this autumn. We were thinking October, but after reading all the comments, I think we will make it September. Want to avoid the summer crowds, but still enjoy nice weather. And thanks for confirming what I thought (hoped) that southbound is the best way to go. I travelled alone from San Francisco to LA while on a work trip years ago and haven’t stopped thinking about getting my husband out there. AND, I did it in November in a PT Cruiser with the top down….all bundled up with the heat on full…..but man, what a view! We will go from Seattle to San Diego using your itinerary as our planning guide. Thanks so much from a couple of Canucks!

So nice to hear from you, Silvia! I hope you have an amazing time! Sounds like you’re well on the way to it 🙂

Well, now we will have to wait to see how this Covid-19 progresses. I think it’s going to be a tough year fro travel! Stay safe.

Silvia, not to minimize risks but I think the issue is not being represented realistically by the media. I don’t plan to change any of my travel plans based on the Coronavirus unless there are required quarantines.

manny strassburger

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 don’t 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. Manny from Massachusetts.

Thanks for your comment, Manny. I wouldn’t go all the way to Seattle, especially if you don’t like big cities.

Thanks for sharing this! I am currently living in crescent city and plan to make the drive in a couple of weeks. I appreciate all the information!

Glad to help, Ashley! Have a great drive!

Hello Valerie & Valise, I love this trip information on, it is so amazingly helpful. I do have OCD though, and I’m having a really hard time getting past your use of the word lament in the paragraph suggesting to drive on southbound. I have looked up the different uses of the word and grammatically correct samples, and I believe you needed to use it in past-tense. Sorry, I could not get past it, and I may not even be correct, but I truly loved this page. Please keep doing what you’re doing. Thank you, Archimedes

Thanks for your comment, Archimedes. However I actively lament that I was on the ‘wrong’ side of the road in the present tense (as in, if you ask me today, I still lament it); I didn’t really realize I was on the wrong side until after my trip was over – and it’s not like you can change your route once you start! So the verb ‘lament’ is correct in the present tense, and the tense of ‘recommend’ earlier in the paragraph. I appreciate your asking for clarification!

Julie Dratz

Hoping to do this mid Sept 2020. Our plan (2 people) would be to fly into Seattle, where family is. Hope to rent a car there? We only wish to go South as far as Salinas (more family) or Santa Barbara the furthest. I do not care to get into the Los Angeles area…However, the Sequoias are a must. So heading east eventually to round out the trip. Would there be a place where the rental could be left in those regions? Then flying back to Michigan. These seem to be the hardest parts to figure out for this type of trip! Best rates and airports to use. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you. Even an email answer is fine!!

Great questions, Julie. I’m not sure there are many good airports to leave a rental car in the region you’re suggesting – you may end up driving into L.A. to do so and to fly home. It’s really up to you to decide where you want to end and figure out the closest rental car/airport option from there, but there are airports of all sizes throughout the region.

Hey there! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new apple iphone! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the fantastic work!|

Thanks so much, Elin! Safe travels!

Hi Valerie, I am doing the PCH drive southbound from Seattle and as far as we can go for 5 days. I was wondering if you could suggest a place for stargazing. It probably means deviating from PCH for a bit and we’re ok with that. Thank you!

Thanks for asking, Helen! Stargazing along the PCH depends a lot on the weather; since there aren’t a lot of roads that connect the PCH inland, you kinda have to make do with what happens out on the coast. My favorite place is Mendocino if the skies are clear!

Michael W. Bolin

I was a truck driver for 29 years and could not drive that road. Now I want to take a trip there from San Diego to the Canadian border while sitting on a Honda Goldwing trike. You have the same recommendations?

Congrats on the trip, Michael! I do have the same recommendations – you’ll see A LOT of fellow bikers/trikers out on the PCH; it’s a great ride on 2-3 wheels as well as 4 wheels 🙂

Melanii Lambert

We just booked Patree’s room! Thank you for the recommendation! It looks so cute!

Amazing, Melanii! I hope you have an epic time; Patree’s such an amazing host!

I am starting from seattle 8/26 down to los angeles taking PCH. Looking forward to follow your tips.

Glad to help! Drive safe!

Stephen Underwood

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. While staying in Cannon Beach we have planned day trips to Astoria and Long Beach and maybe an inland drive to McMinnvile, for some wine tasting. I appreciated your take on the drive, and now I’m sorry we will be going north rather than south, but we are planning on going back the I-5 and stopping in Ashland. Or.

Again, thanks for the tips.

Sounds like you’ve got a great itinerary planned! Drive safely!

Hi Valerie, Great tips! Thanks for such a thorough rundown of what to do. Great name btw 😉

Hey Valerie – great name yourself! You’re very welcome, and have a great road trip!!

Hi there, I am thinking of taking a solo trip down the PCH from Long Beach, WA to LA? Have you heard any issues with the Covid and being able to rent places on the way down? I don’t have it I just want to make sure businesses are open? Just wondering about restrictions? Also how many days driving for this trip. I was planning 10-12 days? I appreciate you taking the time to answer everyone’s questions.

Thanks for reading, Jan. I have suggestions on dates earlier in the article to help you figure out how long to do the trip and where to stop. Regarding openings, I’m sorry but I can’t keep up with all of the places and changing restrictions in the various counties and states. I recommend researching/contacting each one individual to confirm they’ll be open.

Lois Degenhardt

Valerie, First off, congratulations on your recent wedding! I am currently planning a road trip from Phoenix to Vancouver, WA to visit family and we’ve decided to come back home via the PCH. Your article was just what I needed!! I had lots of recommendations from a friend, specific to Big Sur, but your article was so encompassing and complete. Now my only problem is trying to figure out how many extra days we’re going to need!

Thanks so much, Lois – and glad to help! Have a safe trip!!

We’re on day 2 of our 8-day PCH Tour….and it’s great to have your help! We’re staying just outside of Long Beach, in cute little Ilwaco, WA, at Salt Hotel & Pub. Thank you for your great ideas and itineraries! ❤️

I hope you had a great drive, Mindy! Thanks for your amazing feedback, and I’m so glad to help!

Teresa Rayner

Valerie, I am so glad I found your guide to the PCH! A few years ago I started saving (unbeknownst to my husband) for his 50th birthday this summer. We’ve daydreamed about a lot of different trips we would take one day, and a flight from the southeast US to Seattle and PCH drive to San Diego was one of them. I have tendency to suffer from “analysis paralysis” therefore navigating all the ins and outs what to do where to stay etc would be overwhelming to say the least. And other than his military time at Ft Lewis many years ago, we have never lived nor toured the west coast at all. So I am very, very thankful to have found THIS resource!! I am going to plan for at least a 10 day trip, it’s once in a lifetime and truly don’t want to rush it 🙂 I can’t wait to see his face when I announce at his local birthday party in July that I have saved for and planned this fantastic trip for September 2021!! Again, thank you so much!!

Thanks so much for reading, Teresa! It sounds like you’ll have an awesome trip, and happy early birthday to him!

Hi V& VDid you make hotel reservations in advance for your overnight stops? Or, do you think one could just ‘take a chance’ and stop and book a room when in need??? Taking my granddaughter on an epic journey.

Thanks for reading, Kay. 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. I recommend checking out California resources for the pandemic before you book anything.

Pricilla Daianne

Great post. Great info . Thank you for all this information.

Thanks for reading!!

My fiancée & I want to do this for our honeymoon next month! We are just wondering if you have an estimate on how much it would be to travel the PCH! Thank you 🥰

Thanks for reading, Brianna! It depends a lot on how long you plan to make the drive… do you know how many days you’ll be driving?

TIM MC CLARTY

We took this trip several years ago. Flew into Seattle and drove back. We stayed in Seattle and drove south to Olympia, to pick up the beginning of the 101. I wish I could remember the name of the mountain turnoff in Washington. But you missed it and it was so incredible. You could see Canada and the river valley. It was just gorgeous with a 360 degree view. We continued on until we picked up the beginning of CA Hwy 1. We then took that to the end. It is a time consuming drive but the most worthwhile time you will ever spend traveling. I have been to Europe, for 2 years, and nothing compares to this coastal trip. I agree, go north to south. Don’t be in a hurry and be cautious so you can enjoy everything. ENJOY the sightseeing trip of a lifetime.

Awesome, Tim! Thanks so much for sharing your experience for others to know it’s worth doing!!

Ronald Christman

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? We are coming from Pennsylvania

Ronald, I don’t know for sure as I don’t recommend people drive in an RV. Maybe worth checking another site that’s more expert in RV travel!

Charla Gilmore

First thank you for all the work you put into this! We plan on doing the 7 day trip June/July. Thinking of maybe making this where we would b me somewhere different for 4th of July. Do you recommend any of your overnights for golf fireworks for 4th of July?

Sorry; I don’t have any suggestions for that! Thanks for reading though ☺️

Thanks so much for an in depth post. We were planning on a 7day road trip with our 8, 6 and 20 month olds in June. Do you have any recommendations or modifications while traveling with kids. Thank you

Sireesha, thanks for reading. I am not a family travel expert so I don’t have advice there!

This is such a great article. Thank you for sharing! I am beginning to plan a family trip and loved all the recommendations. We are from FL and east coast and know very little about west coast, so this is great!! It includes so many things each person in my family wants to see and do! Thanks again!

Glad to help, Nancy, and thanks for reading! Have a great trip!!

Thanks for sharing this great itinerary. I’m planning a trip for end of this year most probably the California part only. I will definitely use all the info you’ve provided. Amazing!

Glad to help, Ravi!! Have a great time!

Thanks for all of this great information! I had a question regarding travel to California present time as in next week(August 14, 2021). Are people moving about freely or are things locked down with the covid? 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. I appreciate any help you can provide.

Sorry about the delay, Scott. I hope you had a good trip!

I am doing this trip with the boyfriend end of this month. do you have a printable version of this?

I do – you can sign up using the email forms in this post to receive a short version!

We plan a trip to San José, California because of its diversity, beautiful scenery, and exceptionally high outputs. San Jose is a creative and thriving high-tech culture epicenter. We booked a flight to San Jose to explore the city’s economic hub and cultural traditions. After reading your blog we are excited to visit San Jose.

Have a great trip, Rob!

We are planning on a 7 days trip in Dec 2021. 3 days trip to Joshua Tree/stay at Twentynine Palms, then swing to San Diego. From there we are planning on 4 days drive/stop on high 1 (PCH) up to Santa Monica/Malibu then flight out LAX. Would be every much appriciate if you can provide tips and recomendattions where to stop, what to see/do and eat the drive on high 1 from San Diego to Santa Monica.

Thanks much ! Tony

Thanks for reading, Tony! Have you seen these two posts? – https://www.valerievalise.com/pacific-coast-highway-guide/ – https://www.valerievalise.com/california-coast-road-trip/ Both include info on the area between San Diego and Santa Monica.

Dave Hanson

Great article. We are thinking of late September of 2022 doing a two week drive from north to south. Wondering about forest fires and how they affect the trip. Also wondering if you can tell me where I could get a printable version of your article

Thanks for reading, Dave. You can get a printable version by signing up on the forms in this post. I have no idea what the case will be for forest fires next year, unfortunately!

Thank you so much for creating this itinerary! It was so helpful as I planned and traveled cross country this summer starting with the PCH. My only additional rec for anyone would be to add the Great Tide Pool in Monterrey to check out little worlds of marine life.

Great tip, thanks, Karthik!

I have a question in regards to your amazing experiences and my hopes to travel the PCH with my older kids. This is my idea of an itinerary but I need to cut out one of these days or consolidate one since I really only have 8 days. I was curious about which one you suggest if you were to slim down this itinerary by 1 day (ex. 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. San Luis Obispo with Paso Robles). 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)

That route looks good – have you input all the drive times in Google to confirm that you want to be on the road that much each day?

Thank you! Great advice. I will do that.

Bill and Brenda Davis

What is the average speed on the 101? We are planning a trip in Sept 0f 2022, starting in Portland, ending in San Diego. Thinking approximately 250 miles a day. Your help is appreciated. Your website is very helpful.

Bill & Brenda

The speed limit ranges from 55mph to 25mph… there’s really no helpful way to give an average!

Hi, we are flying into Seattle 7/27 and out from San Diego 8/7, we are visiting colleges in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and San Diego for my daughter. So doing our 101 bucket list too, but want a 2-3 days near Ocean Beach, CA. 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.

This guide is great, do you have a Google map itinerary to download with the stops? Would you recommend the 7 day to get 2-3 days in Diego? What do you think of Coos Bay/North Bend or better places for overnight, seemed a good split between Seattle and San Francisco?

We live in Colorado, so more interested in Ocean more than hiking, so 101 is ideal. We figured booking hotel in Seattle for 1 or 2 days for arrival and checking the college. 1-2 days in Portland to visit college and check out Portland. Ending at a beach front hotel in Diego for 2-3 days to visit that college, unwind and settle a little bit before leaving.

I would love any advice you can give us!

Brian and Janet

Thanks for reading, Brian. I’m assuiming you’ve read the whole post, as I do cover a 7-day suggested itinerary, and cover overnight stops along the Oregon coast. Also, for a map, I use the app Roadtrippers, which is linked in the post.

Valerie, can’t thank you enough for this guide! I am planning a 10 day trip the last two weeks in May down the entire PCH from Seattle to San Diego. This post was so helpful! I am going to mostly follow the path you outlined in your 10 day itinerary. My problem is going to be deciding what not to do because I’ll only have so much time (and money). But my priority for this trip is just going straight down the PCH so that should help me prioritize. Lot of driving in 10 days, but I am excited. Sounds like it will be well worth it. Thank you again. Appreciate you sharing your experience and advice.

Glad to help, Andrew – I hope you have an amazing trip!

Lynda Sue Lahm

Hi Valerie, we are planning a trip from Crescent city back home to Phoenix traveling along PCH. We are going to go the middle of September 2022 and take a flight from Phx to somewhere around Crescent city. I have one question – where is the best place to fly into? We definitely want to visit the redwood forest, which is the main reason we want to go so far north. Also, how many days should we take for the one-way trip back. We both have a lot of vacation all the time, so 10 days or more would be fine. I think once we hit Los Angeles we will just take the I10 home to Phoenix. We stay in San Diego on Pacific/Mission Beach a lot so no need to travel this far south for us. We are thinking Crescent City to Santa Barbara? Thank you so much for passing on your wisdom and experience. Can’t say enough how appreciative we are.

Are you hoping to do a one-way rental car for your PCH drive? This will be tricky as there are no rental cars in Crescent City – or anywhere near it. You’d need to fly into…. Portland? maybe to get a car, which adds about 6 hours of driving time. Basically, you can’t start/end in Crescent City if you want to rent a car.

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. 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. Did you drive it alone and what do you think about being able to see well driving north to south?

Great question, Judy. I did drive it alone – and I still recommend heading southbound. You’ll have less distance (just the car and shoulder) instead of an entire lane of the road plus the shoulder. I hope that helps!

Thanks for putting this fantastic guide together! 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. I’m driving with our 5 kids (ages 1 -13) and my wife.

My question is: how to best use our time? We want a mix of National/State Parks, cities, and coasts. I was considering driving from San Jose with overnight stops at Mt Shasta or Lassen NP, Crater Lake, Portland, and Seattle (maybe a few nights in the cities). I’m not sure how to prioritize the rest of our time. I’d like to include Olympic NP, Mt. Rainier, plenty of coastlines, and Redwoods. We can skip Napa and SF.

Thoughts? What to cut? What not to miss?

Thanks for reading, Thomas. As this post is over 6,000 words long, I typically don’t provide extra additional itinerary services for free. 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 what’s must-do, what extra you have time for, and what needs to be cut.I hope that helps!

michelle blount

Hi! I was reading for the road trip from Seattle to San Diego. Do you have a version that is just typed up not with pictures?

Thanks! Michelle

Sorry, Michelle, I do not.

Aman Sharma

This is a great itinerary! I’m definitely going to try to do it sometime!

Awesome, Aman! Thanks for reading!

Amazingly great article. Thank you. Just one small thing, it’s not ‘the PCH’, it’s just PCH. Please drop the ‘the’. lol. It’s a small detail, but totally uncalifornian to say ‘the PCH’. haha.

Thanks for your feedback, Alice, but I lived in California for several years and never heard anyone say “I’m going to drive PCH…” I’ll be keeping the “the” if only because it’s proper English – if Californians want to abandon that elsewhere, that’s up to them 😉

P.S. I did a bit of research into this – seems like it’s 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, I’m still going to keep the “the.” Thanks for providing me this opportunity to learn about a quirky bit of California lingo!

Dale Callahan

This is great information and very helpful! I’m planning on doing the PCH from Seattle to SF next Sept. (We did SF to SD in 2019). Taking your advice, flying into Seattle (from KC), and heading south. 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?) of the PCH? Thank you!

Thanks for reading, Dale. Great question… So Crater Lake is pretty far inland. I mapped it here so you can see the option to add in Crater Lake and what you’ll miss: https://goo.gl/maps/2A4GYTKnBcADVdRw5

Wifey and I did the PCH trip a while ago, shortly after we got married. Now we want to take our girls on the same trip. Thank you very much for providing a road map! We are planning our trip for the first half of April, SF to LA. Do you happen to know or can you suggest a source with info about the road conditoin in the light of recent terrible weather in California. Thank you in advance!

Thanks for reading, Oleg. I’d check out the California DOT website for the most up-to-date information.

David Whitmore

Thank you for the article. Regarding “I recommend an automatic car with a low center of gravity – but skip the convertible! I drove one and I hardly ever got to enjoy it!”….why were you hardly ever able to enjoy driving a convertible????

Thanks for asking! A couple of reasons: 1. It was actually quite a lot colder than I expected so I usually ended up too cold with the top down. 2. The weather also wasn’t great for most of the route; after moving up out of SoCal, you’re much more likely to experience clouds and/or the marine layer on the PCH. I’d be happy to save the money and just drive with the windows down when I want some fresh air.

Heather Robinson

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. In the Santa Barbara area of the article you mentioned that you had an article about Santa Barbara and what to do, I am not able to locate this article. Can you please give me a list of must sees in Santa Barbara (we could have two full days there).

Thanks for reading, Heather! Unfortunately, I don’t have suggestions for Santa Barbara as I haven’t been there in nearly a decade.

Laura Molinaro

Just found your article – have always wanted to do the PCH drive. What are your recommendations / suggestions for towing a travel trailer? I’m retired and can take a few months to do this drive. Would start in San Diego, do the entire trip north to Washington, then turn around and do the drive south.

Hi, Laura. I honestly wouldn’t do it while towing a travel trailer. It’s going to slow you down A LOT. I remember being stuck behind a similar setup on my drive for about an hour, going 25mph because that was the most their rig could handle with the hairpins and hills.

My husband and I are recently retired and planning this trip. Thank you so much for this itinerary. We are from the Midwest so are not familiar at all with any of these locations. My question is, when is the best time of year to do this trip? We will be doing the whole trip from Seattle to San Diego

SORRY for stupid question. I went back and found the answer to my question. I missed it on my first time thru the site. THANKS AGAIN FOR GREAT INFO

Glad you were able to find the answer 🙂

Mark Bowling

Thank you for the great blog and recommended itinerary. My wife and I are doing this trip for the first time for our 30th anniversary. I see the update concerning the road closures. Does this mean if we are traveling south the only way to see Big Sur is to backtrack north after we visit it?

That’s correct. I highly recommend keeping an eye on the CADOT site as things are changing so often along that route.

I”m planning a trip from Palm Springs CA to Seattle WA and want to try and do most of it on the PCH in 6 days/5 nights. I’ve looked at your information on the website and it’s been very helpful. If possible, can you suggest locations/cities to stop and sleep each night to maximize my time to see things along the way given I’d like to do it in 6 days. I’m flexible on hotel accomodations. Thank you in advance.

Byron, hi. Sorry but I don’t provide personalized advice to everyone – it would take up a lot of my time. This article should help you plan it yourself 🙂

My daughter and I are planning this trip in August, Seattle-San Diego. Would you recommend booking hotels before we leave or can we book as we go? We are not sure if we are following the 7 day or 10 day and hate to book and then not want to stay in that town. Thank you!

I would definitely book in advance – these are lots of smaller towns where you won’t have options if you don’t have something arranged in advance and everything is sold out.

Hiiii! We’re planning a trip up the pch (unfortunately it just didn’t work out to go down the pch due to the timing of hitting the national parks in montana and wyoming) and i found this amazing blog!!

you mentioned an article you wrote about santa barbara, which will be our first stop on the pch (we’re hopping on at santa monica after driving route 66 out to cali). i’ve searched and can’t find it. can you shoot me the link?

muchas gracias~!

Tena, hi! Unfortunately, I don’t have that Santa Barbara article anymore – it was quite outdated and I haven’t been able to find time to schedule a return visit to ensure my article is updated and high quality.

Hello, I am trying to access the trip map you have embedded via the roadtrippers app, but when I click on the map and the app opens, all of the destinations you have pinned on the map embedded on your site do not appear. I am planning on doing this trip within the next few weeks and that map would be incredibly helpful

Sorry, I’m not sure what the issue is – it’s loading just fine for me!

Are these recommendations suitable for a motorcycle trip?

Yep, they are!

Hi Valerie. Thanks so very much for all of your work on this site. I was wondering if you would have a PDF or other document to send of the Pacific Coast Highway 7 and 10 day trips? Printing from the site does does not format well. Many thanks!

Sorry, I don’t!

Awesome infor! Thanks for that. Quick question – My husband and I plan to fly into Reno and ski a couple days. Move on to Napa for a few days and then head to San Franscisco to start our PCH drive south – Not sure how far we can go. We are doing this in mid March with 7 days for the trip. Is March going to be a good time to do the PCH part of the trip and do you think I have too much packed into 7 days?

Hi! It looks like your plans changed a bit since your first comment. March is okay, but could be iffy – the weather in late winter tends to be much wetter and that’s caused some problems in years past with landslides and flooding. Just keep an eye on the CADOT website to ensure you know the conditions during your trip.

As for timing, doing Reno to Napa to LA/San Diego – it can certainly be done in 7 days but you’re going to have some long driving days in the second half of the week if you want to enjoy any time in Reno/Tahoe and Napa.

Rick Nicolls

I have done most of this trip, albeit several decades ago, and I highly reccommend it. I would suggest adding options like start/ending the trip in Victoria (and take the ferry to Anacortes from Vancouver Island) or Vancouver BC. Also, the 101 does go inland in several places that aren’t very interesting, so maybe suggest some of the roads that actually run closer to the coast.

Thanks, Rick, but I haven’t spent much time in Victoria or Vancouver so won’t be adding those.

Additionally, I do mention where you should stick on Highway 1 vs 101 to stay along the coast.

Very pleased with your information about traveling the PCH. Great stuff. Am traveling from PA by Amtrak to Seattle, renting a car to drive the PCH to San Diego, then Amtrak back to PA. Planning for 10 days on PCH. Your 5 day guide is exceptional. When will your 10 day guide be out? Bob

Hi, Bob! It just went live over the weekend, here’s the link for you: https://www.valerievalise.com/10-day-pacific-coast-highway-itinerary/

One question the readers should ask themselves, do you like to experience the sights or the road? The 5 day trip should be taken if you want to drive all day. If you want to see more than the ocean from your drivers window then 10 day minimum. Or split it into smaller sections. I have a 6 hrs loop around the tip of Washington I’ve yet to take to complete my Canada to Mexico on Hwy 101 adventure but it will take 6 hours to reach my last stopping point followed by another 6 hrs to get home. I’ll take my 4 day weekend to just do this part so I can experience the area. Have you seen the view from James Park viewpoint looking out across The Stratghts of Juan de Fuca in Port Angela’s? Point is, it will take months to see what the west coast can offer before heading inland. And unless your really curious, Portland can be beautiful but… caters to 2 select lifestyles. Plus it’s #1 in the nation for drug overdose deaths.

Thanks for chiming in, Tom!

Ken Tolopka

Hi, my wife and I are considering a trip from Santa Barbara to Portland Oregon using the Pacific Coast Highway from Mid-June to early July. Do you think it is necessary to try to pre-book accomodations in advance or would we be safe just finding a place to stay as we travel? I ask because we are not sure how long we may linger at places between overnight stops. Thanks.

Good question – I’d book in advance because you don’t want to risk limited availability or staying somewhere dodgy!

I am thinking of driving from Seattle to Seaside, Seaside to the Redwood National Forest, Readwood to Oakland, and Oakland to L.A. with a probable stop in between. Are those realistic legs of the journey, or too much driving per day?

That’s up to you, but my instinct is that is way too long every day. Have you mapped out the distances and times? Will you have time to stop and see anything along the way, given the daylight hours whenever you want to visit?

We just finishce the PCH. Great trip, great guide info. Do you have anything similar to this for Niagara Falls?

Sorry, Jerry – I don’t! I have actually never been to Niagara Falls, but it’s on my list 🙂

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *