My wife and I are planning a trip out west and we’re planning a stop in Seattle and San Francisco to see some friends. So we’re going to turn it into a road trip from Seattle and drive down the coast to San Diego. I’ve driven the PCH from San Diego to San Francisco and can’t wait to do it again. Looking for any tips, advice, or suggestions—especially between Seattle and San Francisco.
We’re also hoping to get a couple beach days in a beach town somewhere between LA and San Diego. Any suggestions for good beaches, beach towns? The quieter, fewer people the better—not even sure if places like that exist in that area.
ive done the pch trip north and south several times. its a blast, imo the best way to do it is to not really plan anything, just stop wherever looks fun. there are a few places that i really love like arcata, eureka, trees of mystery, santa cruz, monterey bay, big sur. those are common places but theyre still nice and you can find quiet spots fairly easily.
From Seattle to Portland, on the I5, is quite boring. If your schedule allows you a few extra days to a week, take the coastal route.
Post a report here when you’re done. I’m just north of Seattle in Victoria, and have always wanted to do the drive to San Diego. Would be curious to hear your experiences.
From Seattle to Portland, on the I5, is quite boring. If your schedule allows you a few extra days to a week, take the coastal route.
Post a report here when you’re done. I’m just north of Seattle in Victoria, and have always wanted to do the drive to San Diego. Would be curious to hear your experiences.
definitely! the rainforest up there is beautiful! its the greenest place ive ever seen. there is hardly a patch of anything that doesnt have a plant or moss growing on it.
Yes, we’re definitely hoping to stay along the coast as much as possible. At this point it looks like we’ll probably leave Seattle on a Sunday morning. And then we’d fly out of LA or San Diego the following Saturday or Sunday. So we’ll have about a week, but we’d like to get at least two beach days at the end.
Definitely take the coastal route in the northern states.
Since you’ve already done PCH from SF down you might want to consider skipping it (unless you have plenty I of time). Taking the 101 will cut your drive time in half.
Beach Day?
Santa Barabra. Anything to the south of us sucks in comparison.
Here’s some beach choices for us…
East Beach - Big beach, Volley Ball nets, Cafe, tourist, locals, jocks. It’s where the SB Triathlon starts/finishes. Not my favorite beach but it’s very popular.
Leadbetter - Be like the locals and park on the street up near Shoreline Park and take the little trail down and hang out by the cliffs. High tide will determine how close to the cliff you can sit. Good beginner surf/SUP spot. Very friendly and welcoming to new surfers. Has restaurant about 1/2 mile from cliff/surf area.
Thousand Steps - This feels like a secret beach. End of Santa Cruz Blvd you’ll see the cement steps (there isn’t even close to 1,000 of them). They’re kind of nasty because they’re always wet. Cool isolated beach. Check the tides. Anything over about 4.5 feet tide and there’s little to no beach.
Mesa Lane - End of Mesa Lane. Similar to Thousand Steps except wood stairs to beach and it has more people.
Arroyo Burro - AKA Hendry’s - AKA The Pit. Tourists and dirt bags share this beach. Restaurant on the beach. Ride a SUP here and you’ll get yelled at…by me
Wine tasting in Edna Valley by day, dinner in downtown San Luis Obispo for the evening. next day beach day in Avila Beach. Dinner at the Custom House in Avila, dancing to live music next door at Harry’s.
If you are into wine don’t forget about Paso Robles. Have lunch or dinner in their awesome downtown.
We enjoy Cannon Beach, OR with Haystack Rock. The Pelican Brewery there is outstanding! But I would check the weather first. If the weather is better in Ashland, OR than the coast, I would head over there, stopping Crater Lake, OR along the way. If the weather is crap on the coast of OR, it’s not really worth it.
We are doing Point Reyes, Sausalito, Santa Cruz, and Monterey in August. Check out Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=578
You can take I5 toward Portland if you want, and then from there take 26 toward 101 at Seaside and Canon beach, but it’s boring. You can also take I5 to Olympia and then cut across on highways 8 and 12 toward Aberdeen and get on 101 there.
There is a better way and more scenic.
Take the Edmonds to Kingston ferry out of Seattle onto Olympic peninsula. Drive the 101 through Sequim, Port Angeles, Forks, the Hoh rain forest access road is just outside of Forks, then south through Aberdeen and into Long Beach. You can drive on the beach there. Then cross the river into Oregon. Astoria, Seaside, Canon Beach. They are all worth stopping at. Then continue south on 101. Stop to take in the stunning scenery along the way. All the way to Cali. You can stay on 101 if you want. Better to turn onto 1 (PCH) in Legget CA. You know the rest.
Edit: if you plan on spending any time in WA on the peninsula, consider taking a ferry to San Juans. Those islands are stunning.
Some good choices here. Some additional suggestions:
Fern Canyon. Remote locate on the beach about 45 minutes north of Eureka. Really cool spot and you can find some nice red wood trails nearby (comparable to Avenue of the Giants). I believe they filmed part of the first jurassic park movie in Fern Canyon.
Bodega Bay is a small beach town on the coast and quiet. Decent food options there, and if you like wine tasting, it’s close enough to Sonoma.
If you’re driving down the coast all the way, you should really try to spend time in Carmel by the Sea. You could easily spend a few days here. Spectacular scenery, great places to visit and beaches, and top notch restaurants.
As for beaches, Santa Barbara is a yes. Possibly also Ventura or Malibu beaches if you’re there during the week, when it’s like to be sleepy and not to crowded (Malibu is way nicer… btw). I would skip every other beach from LA going south until you hit San Diego. There are some nice beaches, but they will be crowded, dirty, heavily congested with traffic or all of the above.
