Why you should plan a trip to drive the Northern California Coast!
Whether you want to take a day trip from Napa or San Francisco to drive the California coast or if you are starting at one point and ending at another on a road trip, the Pacific Coast Highway is an amazing drive.
Technically the highway begins in southern California and runs almost the entire length of the state, ending in Mendocino County. What makes this highway so unique is that it runs almost entirely parallel to the Pacific coastline, with scenic cliffs, overlooks, and drop-offs along the way.
Driving the entire coast takes over 10 hours without stopping. Instead we have chosen some of the best stops and most popular highlights to break your northern California coast drive into smaller pieces.
Tip: For the best sights we recommend driving north to south so the coast is always in view!
Itinerary 1: Take a Day Trip from Napa to the Sonoma Coast
When we visited Napa Valley in June, there was a heat wave creeping across the west coast. One day the temperature was going to reach 105°F… not great for outdoor wine tasting!
We were staying with an awesome couple who made many great recommendations for a day trip to drive to the Sonoma coast. Once we realized it would be about 30° cooler there, we packed up and hit the road that morning. Napa is only about an hour and a half from the Sonoma Coast so it totally made sense to go explore!
Start at Goat Rock Beach
We began at Duncans Mills General Store on our way to the coast, ordering freshly made (and huge!) sandwiches, and filling up our cooler with all local Napa and Sonoma drinks. Then we headed straight to Goat Rock State Beach for a picnic, where the Russian River spills into the Pacific Ocean.
The harbor seals playing in the ocean were definitely our favorite part of the beach. We sat on one of the scattered driftwood logs, ate our sandwiches while watching the seals, and listened to the huge crashing Pacific coast waves. The weather on the coast was slightly overcast, breezy, and 63 degrees. It was a great morning!
Bodega Bay and Tomales Bay
Next it was wine time! We continued heading south down the coast until we stopped at the Sonoma Coast Vineyards tasting room overlooking Bodega Bay and enjoyed a refreshing wine flight on the outdoor terrace.
At our friend’s suggestion, we continued further down the coast to check out Hog Island Oyster Company for fresh oysters brought in daily from the Tomales Bay. Unfortunately, the outside patio is only open on weekends and we were visiting on a Monday. (But don’t fret, we found juicy Hog Island oysters a few days later in San Francisico!)
Our day trip ended here because we wanted to get back to Napa for an early dinner. But feel free to continue down the coast the the Point Reyes National Seashore, read on for details!
This portable GPS navigation we brought on our trip was a life saver when we found ourselves in the middle of places with no service. You can type in anything you want to see and it will direct you there, making it easy to find trailheads and landmarks. It even shows recommendations and Trip Advisor reviews. We highly recommend it!
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Itinerary 2: Visit the Point Reyes National Seashore
If you continue down the coast from Tomales Bay for another half an hour, you will end up at the Point Reyes National Seashore. Obviously the day we went was pretty foggy, but it was still beautiful. The seashore is also an easy one-hour drive north from San Francisco, making a great stopping point when heading up to Napa Valley.
The Point Reyes seashore is an expanse of protected coastline, headlands, and nature preserve for elk, birds, and Elephant Seals. When the skies are clear, you can spot gray whales migrating up the Pacific Coast!
Park at the Point Reyes Lighthouse visitor center and walk the 313 steps down to the lighthouse, or visit the observation deck on a clear day for a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean and Mount St. Helena.
Itinerary 3: Take a Day Trip from San Francisco to Monterey
If you have a few extra days when you are visiting San Francisco, taking an idyllic drive on the California coast should be on your list. It only takes a few hours to get from SF down to Big Sur without stops, but adding in some of the top sights makes it a full day trip.
Pescadero and Santa Cruz
On this coastal drive our first stop was at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse on the west coast. On a clear day you can see whales, dolphin, and harbor seals playing in the water!
Hoping the fog would eventually clear, our next stop was the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk. All the rides were closed since we were visiting in September, and it felt like a ghost town to walk around on the boardwalk with no one around in a dense fog. I would love to go back and see it in the summer!
Monterey and Pebble Beach
Heading further south, we stopped at a little deli on the side of the road and shared fish and chips. One thing I love about a drive along the California coast, fresh seafood abounds and it is so, so good!
If you don’t already know, David is a golfer. He would golf every single day if he could. One thing that was hardest for him when we moved from Florida to Colorado was the shortened golf season!
Since we were going to be right next to it, we had to stop at Pebble Beach. I’m glad we did because it was a beautiful course! So we added the Pebble Beach 17-mile-drive onto our itinerary, which takes you right to the Lone Cypress along with 17 other iconic stops.
Our foggy photos don’t do it justice, but we loved how you can explore the greens and visit the pro shop without paying to play. We enjoyed a drink at the clubhouse, David stared out onto the 18th hole for a (long) while, then we continued our road trip.
Coming from Florida, the beaches on the Pacific coast were totally different. Cold and windy with some of the biggest waves we had seen, being on the California coast just felt intimidating and parts left us in awe. And seeing the occasional seal pop up near the waves was always a treat.
Carmel-by-the-Sea
Our original plans were to head all the way to Big Sur, which was just about 40 more minutes south of Carmel-by-the-Sea. But more fog was rapidly rolling in and the temperature was dropping. So we found a spot to eat dinner right on the water and watched the sun set on the Pacific Coast.
Carmel-by-the-Sea was an adorable artsy town, we’d love to have an overnight here and really check it out! There were tons of restaurants, shops, art galleries, and places for wine tasting rooms. Since it was getting dark, we took the 101 back to our hotel in San Francisco instead of going back the way we came. What a great day trip driving the California coast!
Have you had the opportunity to drive the California coast? We hope you are inspired by all of the breathtaking landscapes and exhilarating experiences that await you.
Let us inspire you to create your own epic California road trip! And while you’re at it why not discover some of the amazing places we’ve ventured through:
Safe travels!
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