When it comes to road trips there are usually two things that come to mind, Route 66 and Highway 1- The Pacific Coast Highway. The PCH is one of the most beautiful and scenic routes you can drive in the United States, right along the west coasts cliffs looking out onto the ocean. It’s effortlessly beautiful and one route everyone should drive at some point in their life. There is so much to do, see wildlife, take in the natural beauty of the beaches, take Surf Lessons Los Angeles and make memories to last a lifetime.
The route conveniently runs from San Francisco down to Los Angeles with must see stops along the way. Use this guide to plan your unforgettable Pacific Coast Road Trip!
Starting: San Francisco
Half Moon Bay/Pescadero (45 minutes from SF)
I know it seems odd to group these two together but when it comes to driving The Pacific Coast Highway I think it’s important to stop at unique places. When leaving San Francisco, drive through Half Moon Bay for a glimpse into your beautiful coastal drive and continue down to Costanoa in Pescadero. Costanoa is a serene lodge where you go to “Discover the Pace of Nature” and otherwise explore the coast, ride horses, eat delicious food, and daily spa treatments. I’d love to go back just to stay here and just write for a week. (This would be me riding their oversized chess set… I promise to behave if invited back.)
Elephant Seals in Ano Nuevo State Park (5 minutes from Pescadero)
Elephant Seals are majestic creatures. While there is an Elephant seal rookery much further down the coast I would highly recommend the winter guided walking tour in Ano Nuevo State Park. It’s only $7 and the amount of information they give you along with the tour views is well worth the stop and money. We actually did this on our way to San Francisco but you can do it on your way down the coast as well. These Elephant Seals grow to 2 tons with very distinguishable ‘elephant like’ noses. They make hilarious noises like a fat old man sleeping and get up only to chase the ladies, fight other males, or complain with loud grunts. Typical guys. My #1 MUST STOP tip is to go see these chubby sweethearts.
Natural Bridges (31 minutes from Ano Nuevo)
The Natural Bridges are just what they say, a gorgeous rock bridge formation created over time from the ocean eroding the cliff. Just as nature created them, you never know when nature will destroy them so if you’re on the route it’s worth a stop just to awe over mother nature.
Santa Cruz (10 minutes from Natural Bridges)
Oh my goodness is Santa Cruz beautiful. Its the perfect mixture of open ocean, tropical cliffs and the colorful and sentimental beach boardwalk we so long for in beach towns. You can get crazy on the rides or keep it calm waking the pier where you’ll find the noisiest and cutest of seals right under your feet. Seriously I can’t even take how cute these seals were, they use their fins to scratch their ears like puppies. I squealed so loud the couple next to me moved away…sorry not sorry at all.
Carmel (1 hour 3 minutes from Santa Cruz)
Carmel was one of my favorite stops. The beach wasn’t the typical saturated deep blue waters and yellow sand; it was the most perfect light gray blue sky, turquoise water, and white gray sand. Stunning paired with the beaches uprooted giant white trees. The down town of Carmel is pretty much a bloggers dreams. Full of cute quaint shops, beautiful doorways, fun restaurants, and a hidden garden or gallery through every alley way. This is a MUST stop on your drive down PCH.
Bixby Bridge (26 minutes from Carmel)
Some may say this is easily passible but I think the Bixby Creek Bridge is a great stop. When you come around the corner most people stop on the right because of the coast but really the best photo op is on the left just after the curve looking onto the bridge and out onto the water behind is. Building this bridge and Highway 1 brought relief and work to the many unemployed during the Great Depression and the only way to continue on your beautiful coastal journey.
Big Sur – Nepenthe Restaurant (23 minutes from Bixby Bridge)
Nepenthe is a restaurant along Big Sur that sits into the cliffside looking out over the ocean. It was built in 1949 and has become a landmark treasure you must stop at. It’s very easy to drive past, we had to find a pull off and turn around because we missed the turn. They serve food on the lookout upper deck and below is a really cool store full of unique hippie-esc trinkets. If we had space I would of bought that gong.
Big Sur – McWay Falls (16 minutes from Nepenthe)
The McWay Falls is an absolutely gorgeous MUST see stop along your road trip. It looks like an image right out of Hawaii with the most perfect waterfall flowing right through the center of the greenery and moss covered cliffs onto the untouched beach and crystal blue waters. There’s a walkway you can take from behind the falls directly down from where I’m standing, along the middle of the cliff. We were in a bit of a time crunch and the view from up here was just as stunning. You could do either.
San Simeon – Hearst Castle (1 hour 23 minutes from McWay Falls)
Between lack of time and generally uninterested, I choose to skip over this site. But there are many that will tell you this is a ‘must see’. It’s $25 and you can only enter with a tour… not my cup of tea. If you’ve seen a really pretty mansion or castle before I suggest passing this one by. See it, don’t see, totally up to you.
Los Angeles/Santa Monica (4 hours 20 minutes from Hearst Castle)
This is where my road trip ended, right in the heart of LA. While we didn’t have time on this trip, we do come out to California at least once a year and I highly recommend the Santa Monica Pier, Del Frisco’s Grille, and all the LA beauties including Disneyland, Universal Studios, Downtown LA (Disney Concert Hall), Hollywood, and driving through the gargantuan homes in the Beverly Hills.
I hope these help plan your trip and check out my other California trips for future planning! I hope you have the most unforgettable road trip along The Pacific Coast Highway.
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How many days it took you to do this trip? I have plan my for December driving from las vegas to san Francisco and then Los Angeles. We have plan for 10 days.
We are leaving for San Fran on Sunday, 3/18/18 and driving down the PCH to San Diego! I had many of these items on my list already! I was interested in seeing your clothing in the pics… I have been watching the weather for March and it looks like 60’s during the day and 40/50’s at night…. not exactly bathing suit or shorts weather and looks like they are getting some rain BOO HOO 🙁