Note: mountain route may be unavailable during winter due to road closures. In the Santa Barbara area of the article you mentioned that you had an article about Santa Barbara and what to do, I am not able to locate this article. That route looks good have you input all the drive times in Google to confirm that you want to be on the road that much each day? Great post. Well be camping out at most stops except for SF. Is Yellowstone worth the long detour? I would love to take this vacation but not fall short on money. Kim, December should be a pretty good time, but plan for classic marine layer weather (chilly and cloudy this is whats normal on the Pacific coast!). Just give yourself more time and end n LA. You could easily spend a weekend here, so give it an extra day if you like playing outside. The first leg of the trip was relatively short thanks to us . Liz is a freelance writer and editor who lives on the road. do you have a printable version of this? Here are my suggestions: Therefore, the best month to drive the Pacific Coast Highway is September, when youre most likely to have great weather along the entire length of the road trip. If you want an even more detailed guide to west coast road trips, I recommend this Moon Pacific . Thank you for sharing your travels and still helping others along their journey! Both offer amenities such as free WiFi and generous baggage policies. Have a great trip! . Have you heard any issues with the Covid and being able to rent places on the way down? The hotel has private parking, perfect for your road trip. Seattle is one of my favorite destinations in the world. Tickets cost $14 - $55 and the journey takes 3h 35m. Lan Su Chinese Garden is open to the public daily between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Always exploring, wherever she ends up, you can be sure she will be out hiking, biking, skiing, and paragliding. Thanks so much for any tips you can suggest on having adequate funds! Great questions, Julie. Day 1 Mount Rainier National Park, WA. Hi there, I am thinking of taking a solo trip down the PCH from Long Beach, WA to LA? When driving the PCH south from Portland, how much of a detour would it be to see Crater Lake on the way? While driving southbound, youll approach Marshall first. , Hi. Im thinking I might end my trip at Santa Barbara. We help you get the most out of your city and focus on the easy-to-miss details so that youre always in the know. 1. AAA has no candle to this. This will be a great resource for the trip that we are planning. For campsites, Im not super sure as Im not a big camper, but this might help: https://www.theoutbound.com/theoutbound/camping-along-the-pacific-10-seaside-campsites-for-your-west-coast-road-trip. It depends a lot on how long you plan to make the drive do you know how many days youll be driving? In this post, I promote travel across lands that are the traditional lands of many Indigenous groups. Drive time: 32 hours. 3. I had lots of recommendations from a friend, specific to Big Sur, but your article was so encompassing and complete. Its approximately around 180 miles in length and will take around three hours to get there. Along the way we plan to stop at the Benbow Inn near Garberville, CA and in Newport. The location is perfect to see the sights of downtown Seattle giving you access to everything on offer in this amazing city. Vancouver to Victoria: 70 miles/3 hours. I am not fond of the cold and a bit fearful of icy driving in the mountains. Glad to help, Andrew I hope you have an amazing trip! Before you hit the road, youve gotta figure out your car situation! Thank you so much for sharing this informative article with all of us. Amazing, Melanii! The Route. Located on the Pacific side of the Olympic Peninsula, Hoh Rainforest qualifies as a rainforest due to the amount of precipitation that occurs each year. Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Carry on south on CA-1, the PCH. From touristy attractions to woodsy explorations, theres something for everyone to enjoy in the hip city. Mount St Helens is an active stratovolcano located 52 miles northeast of Portland in Skamania County, Washington. Hi, and thanks for this terrific resource. Be sure to check out my Ebook: USA Wine Guide For Travelers. Great content here, thank you! I drove one and I hardly ever got to enjoy it!.why were you hardly ever able to enjoy driving a convertible???? It is a haven for wildlife lovers, featuring 24 species of fish located in three habitats i.e. We took this trip several years ago. To answer your questions: 1. Silver Lake is an exquisite lake that lies in Seaquest State Park in the northwest of Silverlake, an unincorporated community in Washington. If I am going to follow your 10 day itinerary from Washington State to San Diego, how many overnight stays can I have? Sorry; I dont have any suggestions for that! Start here. My stop in Fort Bragg was relatively short, but it was worth it! This magnificent 14,410-foot (4392.16-meter) peak with a glacier above it is gorgeous and intimidating. Hope to rent a car there? Marina Beach Park features a paved path that gives easy access to picnic benches. Thanks so much for reading, Teresa! Hi Valerie, Great job! Book well in advance, and youll find the best dealsas in $1 ticketswith BoltBus. Driving makes it a 1 hr and 50 minute scenic day trip from Seattle. I am planning a trip in late July. its also an excellent day trip out of Seattle. Hood, Crater Lake, the Redwoods in much greater depth than I advise above you could also spend some time at Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, or elsewhere in the Sierra Nevadas! Most of these attractions are in downtown Olympia. If youre planning a PCH trip and want to pass through San Francisco, you can either skim over along the side of the city as you drive down the coast, take a detour inland to visit Yosemite National Park or dive in for one night knowing it will only make you want to come back for more. We are just looking to site sea on our way back home from Disneyland I was looking at Hearst Castle and the Elephant Seal Vista Point but dont see much reviews on them with kids. I recommend checking out California resources for the pandemic before you book anything. Send me a pic if you remember . Youd need to drive about 7-10 hours out of the way depending on the bridge, and miss major stretches of the road . I plan to rent a car in Los Angeles in the summer and make a similar journey, Hello! The island lies just between the Lewis River and the Willamette River. 12 of the best hikes to see wildflowers in Washington this summer, A post shared by capturing the bliss of life (@capturing_bliss_of_life). #addittothelist. I hope you can make it happen sooner! You will have to turn off Highway 12 onto Route 123, leading to the Mt. Thanks Teena. Amy, take a look at the Santa Maria Valley I stopped in Lompoc on a trip recently and they have some fun and interesting wineries there. My blog posts likely contain affiliate links, including for the Amazon Associates program.If you click, book, or buy from one of these links, I may earn a commission. When not wandering the world and running Global Grasshopper, youll find me walking my rescued Greek street dog in leafy South West London, strolling around the Brighton Lanes on random day trips, hunting for photogenic landscapes or daydreaming about my favourite places; Havana, Copenhagen, Italy, Laos, California and the surreally beautiful landscapes of a wintry Iceland. Next, youll pass through Point Reyes, which again seems underwhelming. Now my only problem is trying to figure out how many extra days were going to need! Combine a visit to Portland with an adventure down the PCH. It is enormous and offers a ton of sights and activities. Not to mention its one of the largest mountains in the US and were lucky to have it right here. Stargazing along the PCH depends a lot on the weather; since there arent a lot of roads that connect the PCH inland, you kinda have to make do with what happens out on the coast. If you'd rather take the scenic route, swing west into the Olympic Peninsula. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is a protected estuary spanning 762 acres of natural land. 10 out of 12 places below were experienced by us and our kids (3, 6, and 11 y/o) in July 2020. I am not a family travel expert so I dont have advice there! What are must see spots. While you are driving from Portland to Seattle, you must have a stopover at this unique garden built by Chinese artisans from Suzhou. Portland is the only city on this list thatisnton the coast, and its definitely a trip extender if you want to visit Portland while driving the Pacific Coast Highway. I was born on the East Coast and currently live in the Midwest but my heart will always be out West. The latter tells about the history of the region and has a super-interesting map of the more than 50 shipwrecks around the region. Getting excited. I havent stayed at any L.A. hotels, so I dont feel comfortable recommending any. You will only be on Interstate 5 for a short period, as you will turn off onto Highway 12. I hope you have a great trip! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! A road trip implies a trip between two destinations with some (generally unplanned) stops along the way, whereas a trip between point A and point B with a specific timeline in mind is more a trip by car than a "road trip.". Paradise is a lookout that lies at the height of 5,400 feet and offers mesmerizing views of nearby mountains and meadows. For accommodation, try a small hotel like the. Time & distance from Portland: 80 miles, 1.5 hour drive. Some of the most prominent attractions of Tillamook include Cape Lookout State Park, Cape Meares Light, Munson Creek Falls State Natural Site, Tillamook Forest Center, and Tillamook Air Museum. 1-2 days in Portland to visit college and check out Portland. Have a great drive! Take the coastal route for a longer, more scenic drive,and you can hit up Canon Beach or even Tillamook, where you can tour the TillamookCreamery. Pacific Coast Highway Directions: Follow California Highway 1 south. Hi Valerie. Thats right folks, West Seattle, uou really cant go wrong with a cruise on Alki because youll get to see stunning views of the Sound, Olympics and downtown. Portland has loads of great hotels, but my favorite is the, For vacation rental options, consider this. How do I do it? My English is very very basic but if you write to me I can understand it. I hope you had a good trip! Best of all, theres no cell service so theyll have to look around to see them . On your stop here, be sure to walk out along the pier and keep an eye out for surfers working the breaks along the beach. Glad this was helpful! Learn more about our editorial policies here. But take your time: Both Olympia (the capital) and Tacoma (home of the Museum of Glass) are worth a stop. ), Valerie, My wife and I are planning this very trip you outlined. Are we likely to hit snow in the northern stops? Silver Lake is an exquisite lake that lies in Seaquest State Park in the northwest of Silverlake, an unincorporated community in Washington. You can get a printable version by signing up on the forms in this post. Enjoyed this 14 day article! You can choose the spots you want to stop at that way . I live in Florida and have never been to the pacific coast. Seaside is a picturesque coastal town, a western interpretation of the East Coast summer destinations along the Atlantic. It's a 760-acre urban park, which includes a huge zoo and . Long Beach is and always will be one of my favorite destinations in Washington. I hope you can make this trip someday (hopefully soon!). When venturing from the i5 highway, the trip takes approximately 12 hours and 45 minutes of non-stop driving. Thanks for reading, Sonia. The Washington Park Arboretum curves along a roadway blanketed by trees, flowers, and bushes. Loren Kerns / Flickr. You can meander the quaint shops in Langley, go kayaking, explore Whidbey Island wineries, eat at the best Whidbey Island restaurants, and more. It has 18 rooms and 31 RV lots. The Kathryn Riverfront Inn is a spectacular beachside hotel with a gorgeous interior, located right at the center of the town of Seaside. Here are some different starting/ending points for a PCH road trip: As you can see, you have options! As I mentioned above, both are southbound itineraries. Book well in advance, and youll find the best dealsas in $1 ticketswith. We definitely want to visit the redwood forest, which is the main reason we want to go so far north. We didn't expect much from the road until realized that adding 0.5-2 hours will turn it into a real adventure! Use our Scenic Drive Finder and Road Trip Planner to easily create custom road trips. We will only have 7 days. If you are a wildlife lover, you must make a stop at this wildlife refuge center while traveling from Portland to Seattle. Am interested in your upcoming 7 day itinerary of PCH. I wish I could remember the name of the mountain turnoff in Washington. Its a very winding cliff-side road and doing it in an RV is going to be laboriously slow and probably make you a bit nervous at times. Are people moving about freely or are things locked down with the covid? I am beginning to plan a family trip and loved all the recommendations. I am doing this trip with the boyfriend end of this month. Despite the weather being slightly worse, shoulder seasons are definitely a great time to do the road trip from Portland to Seattle. This site uses cookies. Thanks for asking! Rainier National Park. If you want to make the most of the popular and beautiful journey, here are the best stops on the Portland to Seattle drive. Thanks for reading, Kay. Ronald, I dont know for sure as I dont recommend people drive in an RV. Technically, Seattle is not on the Pacific Coast Highway, but you can fly into Seattle and drive one hour south to Olympia to start your PCH road trip. Distance: 361 miles. my best friends and I have talked about driving down from San Francisco to some of the Orange County, CA cities. Thank you, Archimedes. Additionally, the substantial rocky outcrop is protected and considered a component of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Thanks again! If you will drive back to Denver from Seattle, you will spend 48 hours behind the wheel just to get there and back. If youre planning a full 10-day west coast road trip, make sure you follow my guide and do at least one overnight on the Olympic Peninsula. 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