Pacific Coast Highway
If you look at a map of the most popular spots on the PCH, most of these pop up there. Here’s a snippet of where we stopped from Morro Bay to Monterey on the Pacific Coast Highway.
Morro Bay
Something about the giant boulder on the beach made this place so stunning. We spent a solid 48 hours here just bumming on the beach and parking in town for the night (aka attempting to be stealthy by getting there late and leaving super early).
Paso Robles
Paso Robles isn’t on the PCH, but we decided to take a detour inland since we were only 30 minutes away! We drove into town early, stopped at Planet Fitness, and 100-degree temperatures quickly greeted us. Rookie move on our part for thinking that the coastal weather would be the same here! Our Harvest Host membership came in handy, and we were able to spend the day and night at HammerSky Vineyards. The area was beautiful, and by night the temperature had cooled off to a crisp 70 degrees. Our spot for the night was in the middle of a grape field!! Bright and early the following morning, we booked it back to the coast to spend the day driving up the highway.
Pacific Coast Highway Scenic Drive
Our drive up the notorious part of the coast was super foggy. A sighting of wild zebras made up for the lack of coastal views. Zebras? Yes, we were just as confused. Allegedly, Hearst Castle used to have a private zoo that contained zebras. A long time ago, they decided to let all the animals go, and somehow the zebras ended up thriving. They now roam across an expansive plot of land along Highway 1.
Seals and scenic stops filled the remainder of the drive until we reached Carmel.
Can’t leave BC out of all the fun!
Watching waves is exhausting.
Carmel & Monterey
Once we arrived in Carmel, we found a California Pizza Kitchen and got some fresh pizza! (It is better than their frozen ones) The Carmel/Monterey area became our home for three days. Overnight parking wasn’t an issue, and we had a spot right by the ocean to park during the day. We drove the 17-mile drive and got to see bits and pieces of the Pebble Beach golf course. On our last morning, we walked around Carmel by the Sea, a famous street in town with lots of cute cottage shops.
Up next… Yosemite!