Planning Your Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip
Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach
The Pacific Coast Highway is one of the most beautiful drives in the world! (Okay, I haven’t been on all of the road trips all over the world, but I’ve seen a lot and this one is up there with the best.) Also referred to as PCH or Highway 101 (or 1) this is definitely a road trip you don’t want to miss in the United States. I traveled the PCH road trip over the course of 10 days with my mom in 2022 and the experience was one to remember. Trying to organize and plan the trip can be overwhelming so I’ve gathered some of my tips and takeaways from my experience to help you plan and decide if this trip is for you!
Where does the Pacific Coast Highway begin and end?
The PCH technically starts in Orange County in Southern California and continues all the way up to Northern California. From there, you can hop on the 101 to drive through the coasts of Oregon and Washington, nearing the border of Canada. For my trip my mom and I started in Seattle, Washington and ended in Los Angeles, California.
How many days do I need for the trip?
This can range depending on how much time you have. We drove it over the span of 10 days. I’ll be honest, it was exhausting! We stayed somewhere new almost everyday and I overestimated how draining it would be to constantly pack and unpack so I think 2 weeks is ideal.
Which direction is best to drive the PCH?
In my opinion, driving south, towards Orange County, is the best direction. This is because you are driving on the right side of the highway, closest to the ocean views.
Which part of the Pacific Coast Highway is most scenic?
There are SOOOO many scenic points along the route. I’ve listed some of my personal favorites below.
Multnomah Falls - Multnomah, Oregon
Haystack Rock - Cannon Beach, Oregon
Redwood Forest -Northern, California
17 Mile Drive - Northern California
Big Sur, California
Where to stay on the PCH?
My mom and I stayed in a mix of hotels and airbnbs on the trip. Many of the airbnbs were okay but the one unique hotel we stayed out that I would point out is the Inn at Cannon Beach. This was such a quaint space only about 10 minutes from the actual beach. The town was very laid back and had such a relaxing vibe.
How to curate an itinerary?
Research, research, research! Look up the places that you absolutely want to see and start planning around that. I’ve included my itinerary below,
Day 1 - 3: Washington State
We flew into the Seattle airport and rented our car from there. We stayed in Seattle for two days and this was one of the biggest surprises from the trip! Some of the places we visited were the Space Needle, Lake Washington, Museum of Pop Culture and Snoqualmie Falls. Snoqualmie Falls is about an hour outside of Seattle but such a gorgeous waterfall if you can make the trip!
Day 3 - 5: Oregon
After two days in Seattle we drove to Oregon. Our first stop was Multnomah Falls. This place surprised me! It is pretty in pictures but like most natural wonders, pictures do not do it justice. I think this was one of my mom’s favorite stops. We spent about 30 minutes walking around the trail and taking pictures.
From there we drove through Portland to our stop for the evening which was Cannon Beach. Cannon Beach was such a quaint little beach town. We stayed at the Inn at Cannon Beach which was about a 5 minutes drive to the beach and the famous Haystack Rock. I had previously seen a lot of pictures of this famous rock and couldn’t understand why it gets so much attention. I will say arriving toward sunset with the slight gray skies made the view BEAUTIFUL. I think a stop at Haystack rock is definitely worth it if you’re driving on the coast.
The next morning we drove to Depoe Bay. We had a whale watching experience here which was pretty underwhelming, although it may have been the time of year we went. We also stopped by the Devil's Punchbowl State Natural Area, which was pretty but nothing to write home about. I don’t think it’s worth going out of your way to see it if you are on a tight schedule. We spent most of the day exploring and eating here and spent the night in an airbnb in Reedsport.
The next morning we got up and drove to the Sand Dunes. The Dunes are supposed to be the largest coastal sand dunes in North America. I think this is a place that if you truly want to experience the vastness of it, scheduling a tour by dune buggy or horseback riding would be beneficial. We just stopped by for about 20 minutes so it was okay, but we didn’t really have the time to take it in.
From there we drove to Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint which was a really pretty park on the coast in Bandon. I got some really pretty pictures and videos there so I do think it is worth the stop if you want some gorgeous views and a nice picture. We drove to the Bandon Boardwalk from there and had some seafood from Tony’s Crab Shack.
Day 6-9: California
From Bandon, Oregon we drove to Eureka,California which is about an hour away from where the famous California Redwoods are. We stayed one night in Eureka and got up early the next morning to drive through the Redwoods. The California Redwoods are said to be the tallest trees on Earth. This makes a drive through them magical, as the large trunks tower over you on the windy roads. This is a MUST SEE on the PCH drive.
Check out my video of the Redwoods here.
We then dove to Napa Valley. I have always been a huge fan of Northern California. It is my favorite place in the United States. Our first stop was Chateau Montelena, which is a beautiful winery right in Napa. We had not made reservations so we did not go inside, but the property is gorgeous and has places for you to walk around. From there we drove to Tamera Mowry’s Winery in the Napa town center. This was more of a storefront to try their wines and have snacks, not tour the wine gardens, but it is still worth the stop. When we were there her husband Adam Housley was actually there and stopped to talk to us for about 15 minutes.
I will also note the drive THROUGH Napa Valley was an experience in itself! Mountain views and beautiful landscapes were at every turn. It was one of my favorite stretches of road on the trip.
From Napa we drove to Oakland where we stayed for the night. We ended the evening with dinner with my uncle who lives in Oakland.
The next morning we made our way to the PCH! This is arguably the most famous and scenic part of the drive. We drove up to Monterey and made our way from there. I had previously visited Monterey and it really is a pretty town. If you are an HBO fan The series Big Little Lies is based here. I definitely think it’s worth the stop and you could also visit The 17 mile drive.
From Monterey we continued our drive to Big Sur. Our first stop along the route was Bixby Bridge. Bixby Bridge is one the most well known stops along the route. I almost didn’t even realize we were coming up on it, until we were right there! Luckily, there are viewpoints about every 5 minutes or so where you can stop and look and take in the view.
I think we stopped at almost every scenic viewpoint to get out and take in the view. Our next stop was Pfeiffer Beach, which a friend had recommended to me. This is a small beach on Big Sur known for its purple sand. We continued the drive and just took in the scene. This was hands down the prettiest part of the entire 10 day road trip.
We came across Elephant Seal Vista Point in San Simeon, which is exactly what it sounds like. A view point with tons of elephant seals sprawled out on the sand. It’s quite a scene to take in. It doesn’t smell great there but it's worth stopping to snap a couple of pictures! We also wanted to stop at Hearst Castle nearby but it was closed at the time we went, but it comes highly recommended on a Big Sur trip! Our stop for the night was in San Luis Obispo, a small coastal town.
Elephant Seal Vista Point
The next morning we drove to our final stop which was Los Angeles. We drove though Pismo Beach and we intentionally made a stop to see Santa Barbara! Many celebrities live here, like Oprah, Ellen Degeneres and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. So we really wanted to drive through the neighborhoods to see the homes. Well, not much luck because it turns out most of these people’s homes are hidden from public view so you can really only see the gate lol. Oh well! We enjoyed lunch at a restaurant and then continued our drive to LA.
Of course driving into LA is where we encountered the most traffic. We also returned our car that evening. Ironically, both my mom and I’s college roommates live in LA. So, we both went separate ways that evening. I met up with my friend at Dockweiler State Beach for the evening for a bonfire which was super cute and my mom met her friend for dinner.
Day 10: Back Home
The next morning we left to go back home. It was quite a trip! I was EXHAUSTED but so glad we did the trip.
Have you done the PCH trip? What was your favorite part?
