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This summer I will be visiting a friend in Seattle for the weekend, then want to road trip down to LA to visit another friend.
I have never been on the West Coast and have never done a long road trip solo. I'd like to see some of the coastline and perhaps stop in San Francisco. I would have about 5 days to get there.
Does anyone have any ideas about which scenic roads to take and when to get back on the interstate? Also, things to see along the way.
Thanks much.
Chris
If you have 5 days, you will have plenty of time to do the coast highway. You could cross over Puget Sound and start your trip in Port Townsend, WA, go across the northern part of the Olympia Peninsula and then head south through the Peninsula and along the coast the entire way to San Francisco.
Total distance is just under 1100 miles, and should take about 22 hours of driving. You could plan to drive about 225 miles daily and about 4.5 hours each day. This gives you plenty of time to stop and explore along the way.
There are a lot of threads here with suggestions of what to see. You might do a search and/or just read through the various threads to get ideas.
From north to south --
In Washington: Poulsbo, WA; Port Townsend, WA; Dungeness Wildlife Refuge, Hurricane Ridge, Lake Crescent, Makah Indian Nation Museum, Hall of Mosses, Ruby Beach, Kalaloch, Lake Quinault, Ocean Shores, Westport, Long Beach Peninsula, Fort Columbia and the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center
In Oregon: Fort Clatsop, Fort Stevens, Seaside, Tillamook Cheese Factory, Seaside, Newport, Sea Lion Caves, Oregon Dunes National Rec Area, Bandon-by-the-Sea, Gold Beach and Rogue River, Brookings
In California: Crescent City, Redwood National Park, Eureka, Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Mendocino, Bodega Bay, Point Reyes National Seashore, and Golden Gate National Rec Area
If you do this route, you might consider planning your stops for the night as follows: Night 1-Forks, WA; Night 2-Astoria, OR; Night 3-Reedsport, OR; Night 4-Eureka, CA; Night 5-Bodega Bay or onto San Francisco
Have a great trip!
Thank you so much! What a great itinerary -- I'm going to get planning right away!
I hope it works out for you. The stops for the night might need to be tweaked a bit. Let us know how your trip goes and enjoy!
be sure you take Higway 1 along the coast it is beautiful. Read about Hearst Castle, stop there. Continue along to Morro bay. Go to Avila Beach and during the night before you retire take out one hour and relax in the hot tubs at Sycamore Springs. From there go to Solvang. LA is just a few hours away! ENJOY YOURSELF,BE SAFE AND GOD BLESS
Take I5 South to just South of Salem, OR to Albany, OR then US20 West to US101. Follow US101 South along the coast into California for approx. 150 miles. Then connect to SR1 and follow that Along the coast until it reconnects to US101 just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. After SF you can get back onto SR1 and follow that along the coast until after Santa Barbara and then reconnect to US101 into LA. Enjoy, we will be following this exact route this coming Oct.
I'm just curious why you suggest skipping the Washington coast? Some of the most rugged and remote beaches are in this area and, IMHO, having done the entire coast from Washington to San Diego several times, it's worth seeing as much as those in Oregon and California. Not trying to argue but I'm just curious.