Taking the trip from San Francisco to LA is iconic, filled with gorgeous views, towering mountains, and fun times. The Pacific Coast Highway is a great 450-mile stretch and guides you down the California coast.
Here are our favorite stops along the way for either an hour or a day:
First Stop: Santa Cruz
As the wonderful views of the city of San Fran slip behind you and the ocean views stretch before you get ready for some fun in the beach town of Santa Cruz. The classic Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, a half-mile long beachfront amusement park is filled with 34 rides and numerous arcades. The town’s vibe is funky. Don’t forget to stop by the original Santa Cruz skateboard shop for a piece of history.
Carmel and Big Sur
If you’re looking for a great snack or amazing home-style breakfast, Carmel has amazing cafés and is the perfect stop before heading into the nature enclave of Big Sur. This coastal gem is full of some of the best hikes, waterfalls, and hidden beaches. If you can find the one with purple sand, you’re in for a real treat.
Cayucos to Santa Barbara
Cayucos and a charming little town to stop for a night full of quirky boutiques, homemade food, and wood-fired pizza. If you’re looking to dip your toe into surfing, Santa Barbara is a great place to stop. The bustling city, cute shops, picture-perfect beaches, and world-class seafood is a great place to spend some time.
The Final Stretch to LA
Start the day off right with a walk along Butterfly Beach. To ease back into the bustling city life, take the long route and drive through Malibu and Santa Monica. The Santa Monica Pier is a great stop with the pier’s Ferris wheel and the end of the iconic Route 66.
Traveling from New York to LA or vice versa, it’s one of the trips that can lead to an epic adventure no matter which route you take. It’s 100% American. 100% Fun. But choosing which route to take really just depends on what type of adventure you want to take. Here are our favorite routes with our favorite adventures.
The Northern Route – If Mountains and Parks are your thing.
Photo courtesy of: choicehotels.com
New York New York boasts everything you would want in a city. From the Empire State Building to every kind of food you can possibly imagine. Stay a few days and explore.
Niagara Falls/Cedar Point
With 3 staggering waterfalls, the views are epic. If you want to get a little closer, try the ‘Maid of the Mist’ cruise taking you under the falls. If jaw-dropping thrills are more you style, stop in at the Cedar Point adventure park.
Minnesota
visit the famous Jolly Green Giant Statue in the ‘City of Blue Earth’
Badlands National Park
The rugged beauty of the badlands will make you feel like you’re walking on the moon.
Mount Rushmore
The sculpture on Mount Rushmore features presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln at a staggering 18 meters (60 ft).
Wild Wyoming
If you’re passing through in from June to August be sure to check out an authentic Cody Rodeo.
Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone is America’s first national park complete with spouting geysers, waterfalls, and mud pools.
Grand Teton National Park – Jackson
White water raft Snake River, or go for a hike and take in the beauty of jagged peaks and picture-perfect lakes in Grand Teton.
Grand Basin Nevada – Lake Tahoe
Stop for a swim in the crystal clear Lake Tahoe.
Yosemite National Park
Follow the Sierra Mountains into Yosemite. Opt for some world-class rock climbing, float down the Merced River or explore this extraordinary park on foot.
San Francisco San Francisco is home to hippy vibes, cafe culture, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and Pier 39. You’re sure to have an experience.
California Coast to Santa Barbara and LA
Travel down the beautiful highway 1 to Santa Barbara and into LA.
The Southern Route – If cities and soul are your thing.
New York New York boasts everything you would want in a city. From the Empire State Building to every kind of food you can possibly imagine. Stay a few days and explore.
Washington, DC
Check out the White House and the Smithsonian Museums. Finish the day off with a drink in Georgetown.
Asheville
A road trip just isn’t the same unless you see mountains. Take in the mountain vibes and epic views of the Great Smoky Mountains.
Memphis Memphis is the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll. Need we say more? Head down Beale Street, visit Graceland, and take in a tasty Memphis BBQ.
New Orleans
If you’re after some soul, New Orleans is the place for you. Check out a ‘Voodoo and Graveyard’ tour, ride a steamboat on the Mississippi River or fill your face with Cajun and Creole grub or some authentic gumbo.
Austin
If you haven’t had enough music on this trip, Austin is a must stop as they are the ‘live music capital of the world’ after all.
Amarillo
Everything just seems bigger in Texas. Stop at Cadillac Ranch to see all the classic cars you can handle and if you’re hungry along the ol’ route 66, try your hand at the Big Texan Steak Ranch and see if you can finish your dinner.
Santa Fe
The best Mexican food in the USA plus all the sunshine you can handle at 325 days a year. Who can say no to Santa Fe?
Monument Valley
The red rock vistas await on your trip to Monument Valley.
Grand Canyon and Las Vegas
The Grand Canyon and Las Vegas are a must stop. Both enormous in their own beauty
San Diego to LA
Leave the desert behind and head to the coast. Stop in San Diego for some sun and swim. Travel from to LA.
Are you an avid bird watcher or simply like to take in the sights? Check out this west coast road trip that features birding to see some of the most exotic birds in the USA.
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Port Lavaca, Texas
The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is a great place to start off the trip. With 54,000 acres, this refuge is most famous for its rarest bird, the whooping crane. Out of the 250 left in the world, more than 100 of this highly endangered species usually arrive here between mid-October and early April. To protect the cranes, visitors can view them only by boat, but it’s well worth the trip. 5,000 acres of the refuge is accessible by car and on foot making sightings of many herons and egrets, sandhill cranes, waterfowl, shorebirds, and terns plentiful during the winter months.
Photo credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture – Flickr: 20110214-USDA-JN-0001 by John Noll
Cave Creek Canyon, Portal, Arizona
After hitting up the wildlife refuge, head west to southern Arizona. There are many outstanding birding locales in southern Arizona, however, Cave Creek is of special interest. The canyon not only houses a wide variety of species in a small area but also many essentially Mexican birds. These birds don’t venture much farther north then Cave Creek including the elegant trogon, the painted redstart, and many hummingbirds.
Photo credit: Nick Athanas
Monterey Peninsula, California
Next, head towards California and take a drive up Highway One to Monterey and keep an eye out for saltwater ducks, gulls, and alcids such as guillemots, murres, and other puffin like birds on the municipal wharf and the Coast Guard pier. If you’re looking for a California native, the chestnut-backed chickadee can be found in the hills of Monterey cypress and pine.
Photo credit: jkcassady.com
Yosemite National Park, California Yosemite is a unique birding locale as it offers 1,189 accessible square miles with elevations that range from 2,000 to 13,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada range. Due to the cross-section of habitats, birds that are typically in more northerly locations, such as Canada, can easily be seen. The great gray owl, pine grosbeak, calliope hummingbird, white-headed woodpecker, and many more.
Photo credit: Cameron Rognan
Tule Lake, California
If you couldn’t get enough waterbirds, head up to Tule Lake which houses three national wildlife refuges – Clear Lake (not open to the public), Lower Klamath and Tule Lake itself. In the dry uplands, you can spot the rarely seen sage grouse and in the fall hundreds of thousands of ducks, geese, and swans stop here before continuing their migration south.
