Pacific Coast Highway: San Francisco to Los Angeles
≈ 720 km · ~10 h driving · ideal in 8 days · 7 stops
America's most famous drive: Highway 1 pinned between the Santa Lucia mountains and the Pacific, through Big Sur's bridges and fog, with sea otters, elephant seals and In-N-Out along the way.
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The route at a glance
- San Francisco — 1 night
- Santa Cruz — stop en route
- Monterey — 1 night
- Big Sur — 1 night
- San Luis Obispo — 1 night
- Santa Barbara — 1 night
- Los Angeles — 2 nights
The stops
1. San Francisco· 1 night
Golden Gate viewpoint at Marin Headlands, then south past Half Moon Bay onto the 1.
2. Santa Cruz· en route
Boardwalk nostalgia and surfers at Steamer Lane — a classic California lunch stop.
3. Monterey· 1 night
The aquarium is world-class; Cannery Row is Steinbeck with gift shops. Fuel up here for Big Sur.
4. Big Sur· 1 night
Bixby Bridge, McWay Falls, Pfeiffer Beach's purple sand — and nowhere better to overspend on a clifftop dinner.
5. San Luis Obispo· 1 night
College-town ease after the wilderness, with Hearst Castle and the elephant seal beach just up the coast behind you.
6. Santa Barbara· 1 night
The 'American Riviera': white mission, red roofs, and the Funk Zone's wine tasting rooms a walk from the pier.
7. Los Angeles· 2 nights
Roll down the PCH through Malibu into Santa Monica — the pier is the official end of the road.
Good to know
Drive north→south to be on the ocean side of the road. Check Caltrans for Highway 1 status — Big Sur slides close sections most winters. Bixby Bridge and McWay Falls pull-outs fill mid-morning; Big Sur has little fuel and less phone signal, so top up in Monterey. June gloom is real — September–October is the clear-sky season.
More road trips
- Las Vegas national parks loop: Zion, Bryce & the Grand Canyon≈ 1100 km · 8 days
- Miami to Key West road trip≈ 270 km · 6 days
- New England coast road trip: Boston to Bar Harbor≈ 500 km · 7 days
- Calgary to Vancouver road trip≈ 1050 km · 9 days
- Munich to Venice road trip≈ 580 km · 8 days
- Rome to Florence road trip≈ 350 km · 7 days
Or start from a blank map and build your own — Stopful shows drive times between stops, splits long days, finds hotels and EV chargers along the route, and tracks the budget as you plan.