The Ultimate California Coast Road Trip // San Diego to San Francisco

The California Coast is arguably one of the most beautiful areas to travel to. Between its breathtaking landscapes, the combination of big and tiny cities to visit, it’s good vibes and plenty of good people to befriend, it is definitely worth your time visiting! Our first multi-day Car Camping road trip was this very itinerary! Feel free to read along and gain inspiration for when you’re here next. To see details about the route we decided to take, view our interactable map HERE or view our YouTube video on this trip below!

California Coast Road Trip Tips:

Weather & Road Conditions:

California generally has terrific weather all year around, especially on the coast! The summer months of June, July and August will have the warmest temperatures, and the fall, winter, spring months will bring more moisture and cold air into play. Important to note however that the California coast, especially Highway 1, is susceptible to landslides and roadblocks in the months with more varying weather. Make sure to double-check ongoing road closures before your trip, especially after lots of rain or during California’s fire seasons! Generally, no matter what time of year you visit, expect low-hanging fog on coastal roads and highways in the morning and for it to roll away during the day. 

Where to Stay:

One of the most important pieces of advice we can give is try to plan in advance! Cities along the coast are well traveled throughout the year and many hotels, campsites or boon-docking areas may reach capacity during the time of your visit. We recommend planning your trips at least two months in advance. While we are often self-sustained on the road and encourage individuals to do so whenever possible, we decided to book an Airbnb for security reasons in San Francisco. For dispersed camping options, we use FreeCampsites.net or the iOverlander App to view sites in the areas we visit.

Other Logistics & Tips:

We took this trip over the span of five nights and traveled approximately 1,000 miles round trip! Keep in mind the cost of gas and food in the places you’ll be planning on visiting. California is costly! As far as sights, there are so many more places to visit on this route that we didn’t reach. Below you will find where we went and the details that made these road trip spots so special for our first serious trip!

Places we Visited:

Megan & Sam under the Pirate Tower at Victoria Beach, California.

Long Beach:

Our first stop on our California Coast trip was obviously the beach! More specifically, Victoria Beach located in Long Beach. Named the “Pirate Tower'' is a curious tower that was established in 1926. Standing at 26ft tall, the tower looks as if it came straight out of the cliffs themselves, calmingly looming over the beach. While it’s mystic presence is something straight out of a movie featuring Johnny Depp or in Peter Pan’s Neverland, its origins are based in excess and glamour. It originally belonged to coastal property owner and U.S. Senator William E. Brown, who commissioned the project to be able to have stairway access to the beach from his backyard. 

Getting to the Pirate Tower is somewhat confusing if you are not familiar with the area, like we weren’t. You will more than likely have to park a couple of blocks in order to get there and then walk through a maze of residential areas. Once you get past the neighborhood, at the corner of Dumond Dr. and Wards Terr., walk towards the right along the beach. Make sure to research surf charts as it’s also only accessible during low tides! With these deterrents aside, we highly recommend that you check this tower out at least once to experience it’s magic. We came early in the morning to experience this place all to ourselves!

Santa Barbara: 

We reached central California and were instantly greeted by the dreamy Spanish deco of Santa Barbara.  Megan got to experience this beautiful city for the first time and Sam was a happy returner. Because we’re, well, us… All of the experiences in this beautiful city were absolutely free! Throughout the entire trip, we kept debating whether or not Santa Barbara was our favorite place that we visited during our trip. Without a doubt it was in our top three cities we have ever visited in California. Here are our top places we would highly recommend you visit during your stay. 

Take a walk through the Santa Barbara courthouse at 118 E Figueroa St, and enjoy the view of this beautiful Spanish-style courthouse, there’s actually nothing quite like it. The courthouse itself was built to honor those who had helped create the culture that made up Santa Barbara in the mid-1920’s. After a giant earthquake had destroyed the original courthouse, architects carefully rebuilt the current one as an honorable homage to its previous life. It occupies one whole street block. There are plenty of grassy areas, shady trees to sit under, and private benches to relax and enjoy this building. 

Known as the “Queen of the Missions,” the Santa Barbara Mission was another highlight of our trip. It is one of 21 that are established from where we live in San Diego, all the way North  to San Francisco. The missions were a place of communal housing and religious sanctuaries for many missionaries, Native Americans, and soldiers in the 18th and 19th century. If you’re interested in learning more when you visit, entry to the mission is $15 per adult.  The surrounding area is filled with rose gardens and a giant open field with stunning views of the mountains that encapsulate the city. We stopped by for a sunny lunch picnic.

The Santa Barbara Court House. Construction of the courthouse took place between 1925 and 1929 with a total cost of $1.3 million dollars. Adjusting for inflation, that would make this courthouse cost over $16 million if it were built today using current technologies.

Lastly, drive or walk along Stearns Wharf! It is an old, wooden pier perfectly placed in the city with more incredible views. Parking on the pier is free for the first 90 minutes. This gave us plenty of time to get a coffee and take in the sights of the sea and mountains looming in the back. The geographical direction of Santa Barbara is quite interesting. If you’re here at sunset, you’ll notice the sun doesn’t quite rest into the ocean like it does in most California cities!

Gaviota & Solvang:

Twenty-minutes North of Santa Barbara is Gaviota State Park where you can find incredible hikes or calming hot springs in the mountains. Our stop here was to take a quick sunset dip in the Gaviota Hot Springs. Reaching the springs was a short half-mile trip up an unsuspecting hill. Don’t miss it! The trail that leads to the springs is overgrown and overlooked. Follow the sound of the trickling creek up the hill and you’ll be surprised by this hidden gem. A $2 fee is charged to park at the trailhead parking lot. Find the trailhead coordinates at 34.504598, -120.2259 (34° 30′ 16.55″N 120° 13′ 33.23″W).

The Pismo Beach Dunes. One of the first sights of the dunes after you walk through the RV resort.

Nearby is the enchanting city of Solvang. Solvang is a Danish Village brimming with wineries and restaurants. This made it the perfect pitstop to fuel up and head further north towards Big Sur. We unfortunately did not spend a lot of time here, but it is a popular attraction for many in central California - We will be back one day!

Pismo Beach:

We visited just after sunrise and were the only ones exploring this out-of-nowhere desert scene! The sand dunes appear otherworldly. With permission, we parked at the Pismo Coast Village RV Resort, walked our way up its sand covered staircase and were instantly greeted with an expansive view of the dunes. There is simply nothing like it, and it is very unique to California’s landscape. Scientists believe that it is one of the very few remaining coastal dunes in the North American continent. Once we started making our way back to the car, a lot of people began pouring into the dunes with boogie boards and skis to surf the dunes. It looked like so much fun!

Big Sur:

Big Sur is a rugged coastal stretch between San Simeon and Carmel-By-The Sea. It is known for its impressive seaside cliffs, beautifully blue water, and its 2-lane drive on Highway 1. It is estimated that over five million visitors come to this western stretch of coast each year! Whether you’re visiting for one day or weeks, you’re planning camping, glamping or cycling, there is plenty of everything in Big Sur, California.  

There are 10 state parks within the Big Sur region. Some facilities are free but others require vehicle day-use passes that average $10 a pop. If you’re planning on visiting for one day, four of the Parks - Point Lobos State Reserve, Andrew Molera State Park, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park - offer unlimited access under one purchase of your day-use vehicle parking! Big Sur can easily be driven and explored during one day, but if you’re prone to car sickness, don’t forget your medication! Highway 1 is very windy and steep on the south end. We took our time and stayed for two nights and three days taking it all in.   

Big Sur offers a variety of hotel, campsite, and boondocking accommodations at varying price points. From lavish rooms to beach-side camping, you’ll be able to find an overnight area to rest your head on this beautiful stretch of coast. For us, we were lucky enough to find a free, primitive boondocking spot in the Los Padres National Forest, on Plasket Ridge Road, in the peak of the fire restrictions. To see what boondocking gear we use, visit Our Gear List and if you’re interested in the coordinates, visit our list of West Coast Van Life & SUV Camping Overnight Parking Spots. Big Sur boondocking gets severely impacted because of the risk of fire in this delicate area. Make sure to go online or call the local Ranger districts for recent updates on these camping areas before taking your trip. Because they are also primitive sites (no restrooms or amenities) please pack out what you pack in - Do not leave these areas littered for its current residents and future visitors. 

Deciding what to do in Big Sur is easy - it’s all great! Our favorite spots were Partington Creek Trail, visiting the redwoods in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, and frolicking through the colorful calla lily blooms in Garrapata State Park. Service is limited throughout the coast so make sure to pre-download your itinerary on your mobile maps or bring along a physical map! Since our trip in June, we’ve returned back to Highway 1. There’s something truly special about it that we hope you get to experience, too...

San Francisco: 

It became very easy for us to fall in love with San Francisco. What’s not to love? The first day we arrived into the city we were greeted with rolling fog and a cold sea breeze that woke us up like a shot of espresso early in the morning. While we regularly encourage the use of free campsites or other public recreational areas, San Francisco is unfortunately a city that has a high rate of carjacking and other forms of car break-ins. While you can stealthily camp in San Francisco, we did not consider or will recommend it. We opted to get an Airbnb for two nights to thoroughly enjoy the city and not have to worry about our home on wheels.

Our first day we tackled San Francisco's Golden Gate Park as well as North Beach, which is SF’s version of a Little Italy, and Chinatown. Golden Gate park is the quintessential American Urban park that can draw parallels to Central park in New York. It provides that sense of calm, restfulness despite being in a bustling metropolitan. The sidewalks are filled with people from all walks of life! From street performers, to hot dog stand owners, couples taking their children or dogs out on a stroll… It was a great place to sit down and people-watch. We decided to make our way into the Japanese Tea Garden, where we paid a $9 entry fee each as non-residents. While it was nice, we couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed visiting. It was incredibly busy despite other COVID restrictions in the city, and many of the historical sites were closed off due to renovations and reconstruction. If you are wanting to go, we would recommend waiting ‘till after their changes have been finished, as it is a historical and beautiful place to explore. 

North Beach and Chinatown was an awesome feat we think every visitor should experience at least once. For many individuals, traveling outside the country is hard (especially in these times), but it is possible to experience some international hotspots that are outside of the US, within the US. These places felt like we had traveled into other countries. North Beach and Chinatown are located near the heart of downtown San Francisco, emulating the life those countries offer. We enjoyed walking (A LOT) through the steep, buzzing streets and alleyways, finding cheap eats and scenic benches to sit at.

Our second day in the city left us running around to other free places throughout. We visited the Palace of Fine Arts, squiggly Lombard Street, Lands End and its Sutro Baths, the Painted Ladies and Twin Peaks overlook. If we had more time, we would have spent significantly more time taking everything in. 

TL;DR

The magic that enshrines the California coast is very much alive and is beaming with every mile you drive on its highways. On our five day trip, we drove through beautifully decorated cities and equally as beautiful smaller, sleepy beach towns. Driving through Big Sur is one of the few things that we think all individuals should experience! For this being the Great Escape’s first multi-day trip, we couldn’t be happier with the way it unfolded. Have you made it to the Golden coast yet?