Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip
All the information you could want about our California adventure road trip…
Like all of our vacation plans, this was a last minute idea. When my dad announced that he needed to go to LA for a business trip, my mom and I decided this was the perfect opportunity to do a road trip on the infamous Highway 1. Although I’m not a usually a fan of road trip — a combination of being a shitty driver, and getting really motion sick has put me off them for years — I decided that the views here probably worth it (they were!).
Mostly because of scheduling, we opted to drive from Sacramento to LA on the fastest route down I-5, and to take our time driving home. We split the trip into 3 days, stopping overnight in Venice, San Luis Obispo and San Simeon. Ideally, we would have swapped San Simeon for Monterey or Carmel-by-the-Sea because that splits the drive most equally between the days, there was a big golf tournament going on in Monterey so all of the accommodations were completely booked.
Some tips off the bat:
DRIVE SOUTH - Although this is a really minor detail, it is a lot easier to stop to take photos along the drive if you’re driving south-bound on Highway 1. Since the majority of the route is one lane roads, it is impossible to make U-turns anywhere, and a lot of the vista points don’t allow you to make a left to stop if you’re driving north bound. Also, any videos/photos out the window of the drive won’t be obstructed by vehicles heading the other direction. We did this drive from Los Angeles to Sacramento, and were fine, it would have made it just a little smoother had we opted to do it the other way.
DOWNLOAD MAPS - A good chunk of the Pacific Coast Highway around Big Sur has absolutely no cell reception. Although the drive is pretty straightforward (I mean there’s really only one road), download your route to Google Maps to be accessible offline for peace of mind and to avoid missing that turn!
PUMP GAS EARLY - Get a full tank before you get anywhere close to Big Sur because holy mackerel the price of gas was well above $6/gallon.
Day 1
Los Angeles → San Luis Obispo
Los Angeles
Where We Stayed: The Rose Hotel Venice - Located just steps away from Venice Beach, The Rose Hotel can be found on numerous lists of chic must-stay boutique hotels. Although I did really enjoy my stay, I did find it quite overpriced for what you’re paying for. During the time we were in town, the Queen En Suite rooms were sold out, so we settled for the Queen Room with the Shared Bathroom. It was a little annoying to have to step out into the hallway to use the restroom, but all the facilities were tidy, clean, and stocked with Le Labo products. My favorite part of staying at The Rose Hotel was definitely the croissants and coffee served in the morning, I took full advantaged of this and definitely loaded up on pastries and homemade jam. I choose to stay Venice since it was directly on the route of the PCH, but if you’re spending quite a bit of time in LA, I would recommend a neighborhood closer to the destinations you want to visit. I’ve previously stayed at this Airbnb in Santa Monica, and I highly recommend it! The Line Hotel is also on my list for next time, since Downtown/Koreatown is definitely my favorite area in LA.
What We Did: Since I was just in LA a couple months ago, I already have most of my must-see items ticked off. A couple spots I highly recommend visiting include The Last Bookstore, The Grand Central Market LA, and the Angel Flights — all located in Downtown LA. I still have The Broad and Griffith Observatory on my list for next time. In terms of food, we had dinner at the Butcher’s Daughter, which is lovely as always, however I do prefer their brunch though! Other places not to miss: Eggslut (which I love so much, I am willing to fly to LA for), Cafe Gratitude, and Blu Jam Cafe.
Malibu
What We Did: Quick pit stop at Malibu Pier to take photos. This is where the restaurant Malibu Farm is. I’ve heard great things about it, but it was a little early for lunch so we didn’t dine here this time but it’s definitely on my list!
Santa Barbara
What We Did: We decided to have lunch at Brophy Bros located on Santa Barbara Harbor. Highly recommend the clam chowder and fried calamari. The oysters and seabass were good, but nothing to write home about. We walked off our lunch by wandering around Santa Barbara Harbor to take photos, they were hosting sailing classes for kids and they were all so skilled. I could definitely never!
Day 2
San Luis Obispo → San Simeon
San Luis Obispo
Where We Stayed: The Kinney SLO - This is by far my favorite hotel we stayed at. All the rooms have this cool gallery wall that extends to the ceiling. The lobby and downstairs area is filled with adorable photo spots like the swing chair pictured, as well as pinball machines and games scattered everywhere. We got into SLO late so decided to just eat at the hotel restaurant, Leroy’s. The food was fine, but the atmosphere was great. It was definitely crowded, and there was a pretty intense game of trivia going on. For breakfast, The Kinney also provide these cool placards where if you can write your breakfast order from Leroy’s and hang it on your door at night and they’ll deliver it to your room in the morning.
What We Did: We didn’t spend too long in SLO since we’ve been here before — fun fact, I almost went to college here. But some places to check out include Pismo Beach, the infamous Madonna Inn, and the Bubble Gum Alley (which I think is so gross).
Morro Bay
What We Did: Just a quick photo stop on our way. Morro Rock is so much bigger than I thought it would be! While the size is impressive, I think you can skip if you’re trying to drive a longer distance than we did for this day.
San Simeon
Where We Stayed: The Cavalier Oceanfront Resort. Although ideally, we would have driven up a little further to Monterey/Carmel to stay the night, there was a golf tournament going on and we couldn’t find any reasonably priced accommodations so we stopped for the night in San Simeon. The rooms were pretty standard, but we really liked the outdoor area. There were three fire pits, some human-size chess/checkers boards, and a heck of a view of the coast. It was a perfect place to watch the sunset.
What We Did: We spent the majority of the day exploring Hearst Castle. I think the price of admission at $25/person is a little steep, but the structures themselves were impressive. You park in the visitor’s center, then take a shuttle up a very windy mountain to get to the top. The tours take approximately an hour and a half, and afterwards you are free to roam outside in the garden areas. Beware that there’s no air conditioning inside the castle since it pre-dates the invention of AC, so check the weather before booking this tour! Although I’ve heard that it can get pretty crowded, we didn’t have any issues getting tickets and didn’t have to reserve our spot online prior.
After Hearst Castle, we stopped at a random vista point to take some photos. We were greeted by a bunch of squirrels that were definitely not shy — they probably get fed by visitors pretty regularly and followed us around the entire time we were there. And of course, you can’t pass by San Simeon without visiting the Elephant Seals. They are HUGE. And there are so many of them. Note that they’re cute, and so entertaining to watch, but they do fart and it can smell quite bad.
Day 3
San Simeon → Sacramento
McWay Falls
What We Did: Our first pit stop along the way was McWay Falls. The entrance to the park has a self-registration/parking fee payment system, so bring exact change! The parking fee is $10 per day, per car and this gives you access to all California state park until sundown. There is extremely limited parking, but the traffic flow is pretty quick since the walk from the parking lot to the waterfall is short. The view of the waterfall from the trail is quite far, so if you plan on getting some really scenic shots, bring a large zoom lens.
Big Sur
What We Did: This is the point where we lost all cell reception - I had previously downloaded the route on Google Maps to be accessed offline so we weren’t terrible lost or anything but we had Pfeiffer Beach on our list of attractions to visit and completely missed the turn. I’ve heard that the road that leads to Pfeiffer Beach is really hard to find, in addition to being a long and windy path. If you’ve driven on HWY-1, you know how impossible it is to turn around so we decided to just forgo the beach this time around. Instead we decided to head straight to Big Sur Bakery for lunch. I’ve heard the restaurant being recommended often for dinner, but their lunch was also excellent! We had the salmon toast as well as a maple bacon bow - highly recommend both! Then of course it was off to see the infamous Bixby Creek Bridge. This is still by far my favorite view on this entire route despite how many times I’ve been here, and how often it’s photographed. The view absolutely lives up to the hype. So good.
Point Lobos
What We Did: Point Lobos State Nature Reserve was definitely one of our must-stop destination. The reserve is huge, you could easily spend a full day here. There are a ton of hiking paths, scenic viewpoints where you can catch sights of marine life, and apparently popular for scuba diving as well. There are 8 different parking lots inside, so if you’re short on time, you can still do minimal walking and see amazing scenery. Some popular destination inside the reserve include Whaler’s Cove and China Cove.
Carmel-by-the-Sea
What We Did: Carmel-by-the-Sea is our last stop along the PCH before heading home to Sacramento. This idyllic beach side town is full of boutique shops, quirky signage and cottages by the sea. Unfortunately there was a golf tournament going on while we were here, or else Carmel would be the perfect stopover destination for a night. We parked on the street within the city and strolled towards the beach. After some snapshots at Carmel Beach, we stopped by Carmel Valley Coffee Roasting Company for a caffeine boost and some baked goods. Highly recommend their tomato and basil quiche!
And that wraps up our trip up the Pacific Coast Highway! Although the path extends much further north up even into Oregon, four days is definitely enough road trip time for us to miss home. I think if you haven’t been to along this route, it should definitely be on our bucket list. Just recruit some driving-loving friends and you’re on your way!
MAP
Here is a map of our route with all of the sights, restaurants, and hotels marked!
