West Coast Road Trip

San Diego – Day 1

Landed in San Diego this afternoon and was immediately greeted with PERFECT weather! Found an extremely affordable SUV at Fox Rent a Car for my road trip and set out to explore La Jolla, Mission Beach, and Sunset Beach.

La Jolla

Driving up Interstate 5 from the airport, I was amazed at how one hill made this neighborhood feel like a completely different city than San Diego. La Jolla offers the ideal mix of trendy, beachy, hipster atmosphere! My first stop was a rooftop vegan restaurant/yoga studio/boutique (needless to say I spent A LONG time here) called Trilogy Sancutary. The Cali Tacos were on point! The boutique was filled with crystals, tarot cards, unique jewelry, yoga pants, and herbal tinctures. I ended up getting two books there “A New Earth – Awakening to your Life’s Purpose” by Eckhart Tolle as well as a collection of powerful quotes and poems (although I wanted everything in the store). The rooftop also had aerial yoga set up, however, due to Covid, no classes were being offered.

I walked down Girard Ave and popped into a few shops. It was such a lovely area and the beach was filled with sunbathers!

Mission Beach

In desperate need of a new bathing suit, I drove to Mission beach which appeared to have most of the surf shops per google maps. Ended up finding “The Bikini Shop” which did not disappoint. It was nice to see the precautions the shops were taking during the pandemic which included requiring every customer to sanitize their hands and have their temperature taken. Every shop required customers wear masks and it was nice to see everyone complying.

After getting some new swag, I watched the roller coaster zoom by at Belmont Park and almost ventured into the arcade, but figured I should head for another beach, as Mission beach had a bit of a Coney Island vibe to it.

Sunset Beach

In keeping with its name, Sunset beach is a great place to see the sun go down and watch the surfers catch a wave or two. Unfortunately, it was a little cloudy so I couldn’t fully appreciate my first West Coast sunset of this trip, but feel certain I’ll have some good ones near Big Sur.

Accomodations

After getting a feel for several of San Diego’s beaches, I soon realized my AirBnb was in the perfect location – as it was in the middle of all the places I visited. The hosts are very nice – even gave me some free camping gear other guests left in the past!

Overall, San Diego was a really nice way to start the trip. All of the people are so friendly and the flight, rental car, accommodations and explorations went as smoothly as possible!

Angeles National Forest – Day 2

Mount Baldy

From San Diego, I drove 2 hrs North to the Angeles National Forest where I decided to hike Icehouse Canyon Trail to Cucamonga peak. It was a strenuous hike and my knees started to bother me on the down hills but quite enjoyable!

The first 2 km’s are stunning – walking alongside the creek! The trail was heavily trafficked but I didn’t mind much. Would definitely recommend hiking the area – there were a lot of options on AllTrails!

Day 3 – Laguna Beach

Began the day with another hike in the Angeles National Forest. This one was much easier than the previous day.

Drove to Long Beach airport after a quick shower to pick up my travel companion (Morgan) for the rest of the trip. We stayed at Laguna Beach House which was a nice spot on the beach – typical hotel with free cookies and wine from 4:00 – 6:00 which we thoroughly enjoyed.

We then ventured to 1000 steps beach which was pretty popular and filled with the summer crowd. Picked up some sushi at 242 Cafe Fusion Sushi which was on point – highly recommend the hand rolls.

Day 4 – Venice Beach, Topanga, Ojai

What a great day! We began our drive up the coast making our first stop Venice Beach. We picked up some breakfast from Great White and decided to eat on the beach overlooking the skate park which was quite entertaining!

After breakfast we drove on to Topanga – very close to Santa Monica, yet it felt like a world away. Winding through the Topanga National forest was quite a treat! We explored the town and ducked into a few thrift shops – Hidden Treasures being the highlight.

We scoped out a hike between Topanga and Malibu called Solstice Canyon which was supposed to have nice views, but the hike was cut short as part of the trail as closed – nice to get some exercise in any case.

In Malibu, we stopped off at Pirate’s Cove – a private beach which was just past Zuma beach. The beach can only be accessed through climbing over large boulders – but highly recommend if you’d like to steer clear of large beach crowds.

Finally, we reached Ojai which was a cute ranch-y town surrounded by beautiful mountains. We stayed at Ojai Ranchero Inn which was such a lovely experience. The Inn offered corn hole, hammocks, pool, sauna and free bikes. We enjoyed relaxing on the hammocks listening to music.

Day 4 – Ojai to Big Sur

I ventured off on a hike in the morning, but sadly experienced a lot of fog so the views were minimal. It was nice to take a hike in the familiar smelling desert climate, so still quite enjoyable.

We rode bikes to Burt’s Books and down the main street – everyone was so friendly!

After our bike ride we loaded up for our adventure to Big Sur where we’d be camping in a gazebo. Once you enter the pristine coast line, all cellular service drops and you’re left to enjoy the breathtaking surroundings. This was a drive like no other! I can’t recommend it enough. Each turn greeted us with viewpoints (vista points) more breathtaking than the last.

After arriving to our gazebo near Mill Creek Ranch, we unloaded the car and explored the grounds. The campers seemed to have such a little community. The communal outdoor kitchen, game room and art shed were sweet touches that we thoroughly enjoyed. We spent the evening in a hammock by the creek, listening to music, reading and enjoying the crisp Big Sur air.

Day 5 – Big Sur to San Francisco

We woke up to the sounds of roosters crowing outside of our gazebo. After laying in our gazebo enjoying the sounds of nature, we enjoyed some breakfast in the communal kitchen and hiked to the ocean. We forged through a dense jungle to arrive at the water crashing upon beautiful rocky beaches. The place is magical.

We decided to continue up the road to the town of Big Sur where we stopped at Henry Miller Library. A band with bongo drums was setting up and we picked out a few nice reads from the small curated collection. We found that many of the hiking trails were closed or parking lots were full – pro tip – come to trailheads early or book lodging in a campground months in advance. Julia Pfeiffer campgrounds had high recommendations but only two spots on the grounds.

We continued the drive up to Walnut Creek – just outside Berkley where we stayed the night at Morgan’s cousins house. It was nice to have a homemade meal!

Day 6- San Francisco to Mount Shasta

I woke up and ventured to a beautiful hike across cattle fields overlooking rolling hills. It was a gorgeous hike!

We drove to Berkley and toured the vintage shops, stopped off in San Francisco to say hi to a friend then drove over the Golden Gate bridge to Sausalito. We enjoyed a pizza from Bar Bocce and continued our journey to Mount Shasta.

The drive to Mount Shasta was pretty dull – especially compared to our drive through Big Sur. We made the most of our journey stopping in a beautiful sunflower field!

Soon enough we began to see the peak of Mount Shasta.

Mount Shasta is a spiritual town where hippies come by the dozens the drink from the pristine waters and bath in the beautiful creeks.

We got to our Airbnb and were delighted to pick some fresh cherries off of the trees by the creek in the backyard.

Another guest at our Airbnb recommended venturing to Head Waters where a drum circle was just finishing. We got their right as the last musicians were packing up, but were told about a drum circle at a nearby campground. We decided to follow Jesse to Twin Peaks campground where campers were building a fire and setting up for a wonderful sound bath experience.

Singing bowls, flutes, guitars and even a didgeridoo make the night under the stars a truly magical experience.

Day 7 – Mount Shasta to Redwood National Forest

We woke up to the beautiful sounds of the stream and started our day with a trip to Head Waters and some shopping in town. We decided to check out Soul Connections where the many of the drum circle’s musicians got their instruments from the previous night. Filled with crystals, incense, and every musical instrument you may ever encounter in a sound bath or drum circle – needless to say we spent a chunk of time here.

Once we were satisfied with our purchases, we headed to Faery Falls. This was a short (2.8 mile) hike up the falls and even had a small pool where you could swim – we saw a snake so decided to head on to Heart Lake.

Heart Lake was definitely a highlight of the trip. We parked in a lot outside of Castle lake and made our way up to the pristine viewpoint overlooking Mount Shasta. Heart lake was small but welcoming. The trail was easy to find using Alltrails but service was quite spotty so I would recommend downloading the route before the journey.

We unfortunately had to cut our time at Heart Lake quite short as we needed to get to the Redwoods before dark where we would be camping for the night.

A 4 hour drive led us to Gasquet where we were pleasantly surprised by the cozy campground that felt like our mom’s backyard. Only this backyard had a beautiful fresh mountain water stream flowing behind it.

We set up our tent just before dark, started a fire and watched the stars before falling asleep in our little nest.

Day 8 – Redwood National Forest to Cannon Beach

I woke up to the sound of sprinklers (I’m a light sleeper) so I decided to make a fire, boil some water and have some tea by the stream. It was so peaceful.

After heating up some oatmeal and toast over the fire, we decided to take a dip in the stream. It was rather cold, but extremely refreshing. Upon drying off, I came to find a snake sitting right next to my towel and felt like that was a sign, we needed to get moving and explore the forest.

We made our way to Jedediah National Forest (where scenes from Star Wars: Return of Jedi were filmed) and enjoyed the breathtaking surroundings. The trees are so majestic with the sun peaking through every few steps.

Our next stop was Cannon Beach – a 6 hour drive, so we decided to hit the road and made a few stops along the way.

Once we hit Oregon, we ran into the typical Pacific Northwest rain showers. The drive was beautiful, but unfortunately we weren’t able to enjoy much of the pristine Oregon coastline, as the blanket of fog never seemed to let up.

Day 9 – Cannon Beach, OR to Port Angeles, WA

I woke up and decided to try my hand on a hike, only to find the trail flooded and muddy.

We decided Oregon was nice for a night but were excited to check out Olympic National Park so hit the road.

We arrived to our Airbnb in Port Angeles and toured the town. The vintage stores and dispensaries gave Port Angeles a very hipster feel. We learned we might be able to see some Whales, but didn’t strike much luck – might be worth checking out the George Washington hotel if this is something you’re interested in. We stayed at such a cute house in between the town center and the Park – it was filled with hiking snacks, funny books, and quirky decorations – it was perfect!

We grabbed a pizza, watched Sleepless in Seattle and went to bed early.

Day 10 – Olympic National Park to Index, WA

We woke up early and made our way to a beautiful trail in Olympic National Forest. The drive up to the trail was gorgeous! We drove through the clouds and dense fog and were welcomed with sunshine at the top of the mountain.

The hike was a fairly easy 3.1 mile out and back with manageable elevation gain. We even spotted a Marmot on the trail! The flowers and crisp mountain air were so refreshing! I wish we could’ve bottled it and brought it with us.

Upon finishing our hike, we headed East toward Index, WA – a small town at the base of the Cascades Mountain range.

The drove through Native American reservations and cute coastal towns, even taking a fairy which was an interesting experience and picked up some food on the way to our Airbnb as there weren’t any restaurants in Index.

Crossing over the train tracks, we entered the cute mountain town of Index. We were warmly greeted by our hosts who’d lived in their house 40 years and obviously spent a lot of time growing a beautiful garden as well as hiking in the surrounding forests. They had miniature buddha statues and even an outdoor shower!

We enjoyed the garden and hit the hay!

Day 11 – Index, WA to Seattle

We started our day with a short hike walking distance from our Airbnb. The hike was an easy 3 miles, complete with a reward of beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. The forest trees were gorgeous – covered with moss and fresh dew.

Once we finished our hike, we drove toward Snoqualmie falls which was a beautiful gushing waterfall, but ultimately a tourist trap, so probably wouldn’t go back.

Seattle was only a 30 minute drive from the falls so we hit the road and checked into Morgan’s hotel – The Ace hotel which was stylish, clean, and affordable. We walked to the Public Market along the water, stopped into a few high-end vintage shops and even a Map Store which was pretty cool. After picking up a pizza, we headed toward the Gas Light which was really cool park overlooking the water and Seattle’s famous sky needle. We were even more delighted to discover a live Jazz band that played for hours. It was such a perfect end to a perfect trip!

All in all, driving from San Diego to Seattle is such a treat! I think our route was perfect and wouldn’t have done anything differently. We mixed it up with Airbnbs and camping which was affordable and loads of fun!

If you’re thinking about driving up the PCH I hope this helps!

Namaste.