Roadtrip: California Coast

I have been wanting to do a Pacific Coast Highway trip for the past two years or so. I want to start off on the northern border between Oregon and California and drive south along the coast all the way down to the border with Tijuana. The trip would be about a week long. I plan on driving my all trac. I'm still not sure if I want to find camp sites in which to sleep in, or find cheap hotels. I plan on bringing my fishing gear and doing as much fresh and saltwater fishing as I possibly can.

I am still trying to figure out where I should stop.I live on California's central coast (think pismo), and already know much of the area around here. For those of you that live in nor cal and so cal, where should I go? Which cities should I visit?

also, feel free to discuss road trips you have taken in the past.

I lived near San Jose in the early '80s and drove to L.A. a few times...I always wanted to go the Hearst Castle (but never made it) and always wanted to stop in Solvang...and, well.

After redwoods country, stop in Eureka, Calif. at the Samoa Cookhouse for breakfast. (Hint: go hungry.) Another don't-miss is the River Inn in Big Sur, either for a clean, reasonable overnighter or at least a lunch stop and then a rest with your toes in the river. Second the Hearst Castle recommendation. But the biggest highlight is PCH itself... drove pretty much the whole thing last simmer, and it's breathtaking. Leave plenty of time for impromptu hiking stops, and travel with a cooler so you can always lunch at a gorgeous roadside stop.

Margie

And of course, don't miss Laguna Seca, which isn't that far from Monterey! The 17-mile Pebble Beach Road is rather spectacular, as well as the road that runs through Carmel.

I LOVE the PCH. I drove it from south to north in 2009 in my sister's ZX2 when I was driving it cross-country from L.A. back to MA. The views are amazing and it's a lot of fun to drive. Gas up before you get to it- fuel is insanely expensive on the PCH. I can't remember the place name (Carmel?), but there was a small town I stopped in before or on the southern part of the PCH that had excellent craft beer, sliders, and a beautiful Spanish mission. I also stopped at the Hearst Castle (didn't take the tour, though, I was pressed for time the whole trip) and Monterrey.

I drove from San Francisco to Pebble Beach. I don't remember any specific places that you should stop, but they all were amazing. Driving past the hangars at Moffett Field was surreal. They're huge. I was pleasantly surprised at how few houses I saw along the coast.

We stopped at some little parking lot along the ocean and I took a photo of my father with his brother and sister (youngest sibling: 72). When I looked at the picture, there was a whale in the background.

+1 for the Samoa Cookhouse.

Check their website ahead of time, it's family-style in the fullest sense (you get whatever they're making that day), and the website has the week's menu.

Been a long time since I did it. El Camino Real. Of course it didn't hurt that I grew up on the PCH near Solvang. So I second the Solvang stop. Interesting place with Danish Bakeries, sidewalk cafe's and Danish windmills. Pea Soup Andersons is near there and they are famous for split pea soup. Hearst Castle is also seconded or thirded, whatever. Interesting place. Several old Spanish Missions along the way also. And the Redwoods is one of my favorite places. The blimp hangers at Moffit are something else to see. If I remember right, the road gets kind of interesting near Big Sur, watch for falling rocks and/or a lane closed due to falling rocks. Shouldn't be a big deal going south, you'll be along the ocean side of the road. PCH isn't what it used to be south of Santa Barbara, mostly populated now all the way to Mexico. Not that Malibu isn't a nice drive, lots of canyons around there.

edit: I see that you're from Santa Maria so you probably know about Solvang. I grew up in Lompoc. Going back 6 June to visit family.

Not sure if you can visit the blimp hangar at Moffet, but then again I have no clue as to what their "regular visitor" policies are - my wife used to work there until a few years back. Either way it's well visible from 101. Enjoy it as long as you can see it[1].

I'd also make the detour to Point Reyes - IIRC there is an earthquake museum off that road that's quite interesting, plus a fence that shows you how far the fault moved 1906. Pretty impressive.

Depending on how Redwoody you are, I'd also make the detour via the Avenue of the Giants. I've only managed to drive it once, in the pouring rain with the clouds at the same levels as the treetops. It was impressive, especially because I was the only person on the road.

[1] It was supposed to be torn down a few years back but the local residents protested.

I was on the PCH a bit back in 08 when I went on a trip to LA. Drove down to Murrietta to the Datsun Museum, then headed over to the coast and drove back up to LA. There's an awesome little Mexican restaurant (don't remember the name, sorry) in Laguna Beach that was recommended to us, so we stopped. The food was amazing, and Laguna Beach at sunset is hard to beat (at least for this East Coaster).

Hey,

My family and I did most of the PCH from San Fran to Eureka several years ago.

If you try to do the entire route from OR to MEX, plan on at least 2 weeks. (Otherwise you will be driving ALOT and missing many of the interesting stops.)

DO THE TRIP!

Rog

If I go back again, I'll check out some of the old gold mining towns in the hills on the way from San Francisco to Yosemite.

thanks for the info guys. I'm starting to think that I will have to take 2 weeks.

We did San Francisco to Newport Beach in 2010 for our honeymoon. My favorite part of the PCH was just south of San Francisco through Monterrey. My wife liked Solvang and Hearst Castle more than I did - not saying I didn't like them - but it wasn't totally my thing. San Luis Obispo was another place we really liked, as well as the beach at Santa Barbara. No matter what you do, I don't think its possible to mess up the trip, so have fun!

As of right now I am thinking about doing pismo-north. I might do pismo-south later on during the year. Has anyone visited the "lost coast?"

BoxheadTim wrote: Not sure if you can visit the blimp hangar at Moffet, but then again I have no clue as to what their "regular visitor" policies are - my wife used to work there until a few years back. Either way it's well visible from 101. Enjoy it as long as you can see it[1]. [1] It was supposed to be torn down a few years back but the local residents protested.

Hangar 1 was built for dirigibles, not just blimps! (Dirigibles are much bigger)

The siding is made of PCBs or some other cancer-causing hazmat material, the Navy's taking it off and disposing of it, but nobody wants to pay for new siding for it. Right now it's sitting there with about half the siding gone and the skeleton exposed.

I used to work at Moffett in the early '80s and yes, the blimp hangers are HUGE. When I worked there, Lockheed Electras were stationed there (don't know if they still are?) and even an Electra looked small in those hangers. (Probably room for nearly a dozen of them in each hanger.)

Never drove all of PCH (just the ends at SFO / Monterrey and Malibu in the south) because when I was there roadslides were a constant problem. At least this time of year that shouldn't be a problem.

You might want to spend an afternoon in San Luis Obispo(sp?) lots of interesting sights for car folks there.

OK I will throw out a couple of suggestions moving from Mendocino County driving South:

Town of Mendocino: Nice spot, basically a postcard.

Salt Point State Park: Cool Tidal pools, I believe it is good for Abalone fishing.

Point Reyes Lighthouse: Point Reyes is just off of US 1 to the West. Cool park with elk and a lighthouse out at the very tip. I think they have campgrounds.

Stinson Beach: Good spot to stop and get a sandwich, laid back beach town.

Pelican Inn at Muir Beach. I am not advising the drinking and driving, but this is a cool pub restaurant B&B on US1 http://www.pelicaninn.com/

San Francisco: I can give you a billion suggestions where to eat. You can find cheapish motels in SF. Downside is they may not be in the most happening neighborhoods. Upside is that the Meth is always freshly cooked.

Half Moon Bay: Another coast town. This is where the Mavericks surfing contest takes place. http://www.mossbeachdistillery.com/ is a cool spot to have a brew sitting by the firepit.

Santa Cruz: The boardwalk is probably necessary although it may be getting a little worn out.

Monterey/Carmel - The Cannery is touristy, Carmel is high end everything, but the Monterey Aquarium is pretty awesome.

Partington Cove: Seriously easy to miss, it is not marked on the West side of Route 1. Just this cool jetty you get to via a tunnel. Pirates and Rum Runners are the legend here. Short hike, nothing to worry about. http://www.hikinginbigsur.com/hikes_partingtoncove.html

Nepenthe Restaurant: You will probably fly right past it by Big Sur, but if you want to overpay for burger and weak service with an insane view check it out: http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/

Of course when you are in the Monterrey area you are also near Laguna Seca Raceway which I have yet to see.

I work at the ahem "little" defense contractor right next to Moffett field. Hanger 1 (the big one) is mostly skeleton right now. It appears that Google might be funding all of the cost of the restoration work that is happening on it.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/12/09/google-owned-company-funding-moffett-field-hangar-repairs/

Oh yeah if you like oysters: http://tomalesbayoysters.com/app/map

One of my favorite sections of California is the "Lost Coast". It's kind of a wetter version of Big Sur with far less people density. Take 101 to the Humbolt Redwoods, get off at Bull Creek and follow 211 up into the hills. But make sure and stop and take a walk through the old-growth Redwood groves on Bull Creek. INCREDIBLE! and not touristy. Follow 211 through Honeydew, Petrolia, and Capetown to Ferndale. magnificent slice of what the rest of the state was like 100 years ago.

If you feel real adventurous, turn off of highway 1 where it turns inland North of Rockport, and follow the logging roads through the Sinkyone wilderness up to Shelter Cove. Those roads can be anywhere from easy gravel to seriously knarly. But the reward is stunning scenery. 15 years or so ago I went on a surfing expedition up that way, and while traversing a narrow, cliff-hugging road at 1 AM came upon a herd of magnificent Tule Elk. They were utterly unafraid of me as I slowly edged past them in my 4-runner. The largest racks looked to be 6 feet or so across. I was told later that that particular herd had the largest examples of the breed anywhere. At night they walked around my campground. I'm glad that they didn't stampede!

You live in a great area (I have fond memories of Montana De Oro park and surfing between the Ranch and Cambria). If I were you, I'd skip the lower part of the trip and just follow highway 1 as far as Arcada, then drive through the Trinity Alps to Mount Lassen and follow the Sierras back South.

Have fun!

Here's a link to an awesome blog that I have been reading, and they did the Lost Coast trip in the past. Looks pretty fun! Home on the Highway

Yeah, Point Reyes and the Marin area are amazing. Also drive Avenue of the Giants. There's Sear's Point/Infineon Raceway to visit as well as Laguna Seca.

Bring warm clothes. We about froze our asses off in AUGUST '87 going down PCH on 2 wheels. Gave up and went inland at Shasta.

Yeah, the water is fifty-ish. It can overpower the California Sun near the coast. I always bring something warm even on a hot day.