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Pacific Highway trip from San Francisco to San Diego on a motorcycle
Hi friends!
I know part of the Pacific Highway are broken right now, but I was just wondering if there was any tips/places to stop at on a trip from San Fran to San Diego that I'm planning on next month. (More specifically for a motorcycle trip, which comes with it's own interesting routes and stuff)
I've always wanted to do the journey, so me and a friend are planning on going from SF -> LA over 2 days, and I'm planning on taking the bike down to SD after staying in LA for a couple of days by myself afterwards!
Hearst Castle is one of my favorite places to see along the way. Make sure to buy tickets in advance to get a tour, but it's a really beautiful place. The main tower on the property was inspired by the California Tower in Balboa Park, San Diego.
Balboa Park in San Diego, is at the end of the trip instead of part of it, but definitely highly recommended to visit. Multiple World's Fairs were hosted there, so the park has beautiful buildings built in the early 1900s with ornate South American facades. Right on the edge of the park off 6th Avenue is the Marston House. George Marston was one of the people behind creating the Balboa Park that exists today. His house is beautiful and the tour touches on many of the contributions he made to transform the park from empty land into a place where multiple World's Fairs were hosted.
Story time, circa 1995. Wife and I rode from western Canada to San Diego on a V65 Magna pulling a tiny cargo trailer. Great trip, lots of great memories. But we get to Balboa Park, spend the day and when it was time to leave, my extremely reliable Honda refused to even turn on. Nothing worked. So in frustration we left it in the park and took a bus back to our campsite.
On the trip back we're chatting with the bus driver and tell him that we left our bike in the park. "Oh. You cant do that" he says. "Why not?" "Cause it wont be there in the morning"
So now we're totally panicked. We're 2600 km from home with a broken down bike, no idea how to fix it no way to retrieve it and its already nightfall.
Got back to the campground, its very late, and I see some guys sitting around a campfire having a brewski. They were already a little loaded but I didnt even see anyone else outside so they were my one and only choice. I noticed they had a utility trailer hitched to their truck. I went over and shedding all dignity BEGGED them to drive me back to Balboa to pick up my bike. They were NOT happy about it but they did it, God bless 'em and I gladly handed over some cash.
With the bike on the trailer they asked where they should drop it off. By chance I had driven by a bike shop earlier that day and I vaguely recalled where it was. We found it, dropped the bike in the back and locked it up as best we could and hoped like mad it would be there in the morning. Later I ask a local whether that was a good shop. He says, "You picked the best shop in town. If he cant fix it, no one can."
Next day I come back to the shop, the owner says, 'Oh I saw your bike out back. Yeah, I cant get you in for about a week. I have 20 bikes ahead of yours and we're way behind' Again, I shed all pride and explained we were stuck in San Diego, had no other way to get home and that I had borrowed a bicycle to make the miles to his shop but we NEEDED the bike. Fortune favors the bold, or else he saw how pathetically desperate I was, and he took the bike in a couple of hours later.
I came back at closing time and he started prepping me for presenting the bill. "It was the ignition switch. Worn out. Had to replace it. But I had a used one laying around. But, you know, this was an emergency repair. And I put you ahead of a lot of other waiting customers, so..."
And at that point I thought, well, an $800 bill is cheaper than staying a week in San Diego I guess.
"so... Im gonna have to charge you... 25 bucks."
I just about fell over. I thought he was joking but he wasn't. No smile. No joke. He ONLY wanted 25 bucks!! I was totally blown away. Paid him as fast as I could and thanked him at least a dozen times for saving my ass.
And then we got on our nicely repaired Honda and rode all the way back to Canada without another hitch.
Not all heroes wear capes, half loaded campers and big hearted bike mechanics included.
Thanks! I do really like parks and I've been kinda into nature-y stuff too, so I'll definitely swing by both places!
Northern California has the more beautiful view, imho, so I would spend more time up there if you can. Specifically, Big Sur is worth its own trip, and if you have time for a hike it has some flat/easy ones that can be fit in without making a whole camping trip out of it. I wouldn’t try to rush it either, though, since part of its magic is appreciating the majestic untouched splendor. You could potentially stay in Monterrey if you want to make a day out of it.
Solvang is a quirky little town that can be a quick visit. It’s modeled after Danish villages so it feels surreal to see it in the middle of California, but can be a fun detour on your way to Santa Barbara (also worth spending time in).
Santa Barbara has a lot of wineries which practically operate as bars if you’re into that. Depending on when you go there’s also a Summer Solstice festival that is cool to see.
I'm hoping that we can stop at Big Sur for a day, not too sure about hiking but I've heard it's gorgeous. I do like the idea of wineries too, that might be a fun stop!
If you make it to the Monterey Peninsula (kind of out of the way for you due to the road closure), I recommend driving along the water up past Pacific Grove and stopping somewhere to see the hermit crabs (if the tide is low). Still a great view on a sunny day, though there might be fog.
The Santa Cruz boardwalk is interesting and will be less out of your way. I also like going to restaurants by the water in Capitola. The west entrance to the Pinnacles is off 101 and would be a good stop for a hike, if you have the time to drive to the trailhead and go hiking.
Thanks for the recommendations! I'm not too sure about hiking tbh but we'll see, I do really like boardwalks though, so I might stop by there!
If you like Taco Bell, the nicest one you’ll ever see is on the beach in Pacifica.
I highly recommend spending some time in San Luis Obispo. I love Whalebird Kombucha from there and the Architectural Graveyard is really cool to walk around.
Be careful at the Taco Bell Cantina. They have incredibly strong pours, and you can easily find yourself too drunk to drive from one drink.
Taco Bell, you're speaking my language. I loved the one in Vegas too lol.
Thanks for the recs! I do like kombucha so I'll take a look!
If you have time and interest, the aquarium in Monterey and the zoo in San Diego are world class.
The Steinbeck center was a special interest of mine.
I've been to the SD zoo when I was younger, maybe I'll go again but I thought the panda's were gone now :( I have been to the Aquarium of the Pacific a couple of times though, not sure if another aquarium would be that fun for me -shrug-
The Steinbeck Center seems cool though! I'll take a peek at that :)
I took the PCH from Oregon to San Fran the year before last. The thing I failed to factor in was how physically and mentally taxing it was. I can road trip w/adaptive cruise control in an suv on the interstate for 12+ hour days (I love the drive from Seattle to San Diego and have done it 5 or 6 times, round trip). The PCH on a motorcycle is a whole other maryanne. You're on the right track researching things to stop and do along the way. If you're me, you're going to want frequent breaks and 2 days might just barely be enough time.
I think I should be fine with 2 days! San Fran to LA is only about 6-7 hours, 3 hours a day seems not too bad. And then from my parent's place in LA to San Diego is only another 2 or so hours. On a bike it's usually not as bad for me because I actually need to pay attention to stay alive lol.
What do you ride?
Have you already seen the extended bay area including the Santa Cruz board walk and the redwoods up north?
Sadly the route down past Pfizer is closed, that is the most magical part of the entire drive.
It is a little off the beaten path, and it is a little hot right now, but Joshua Tree is an utterly magical spot. You would be well advised to swing by on the way to San Diego.
I actually don't ride anymore and it's been a few years since I have :') so I'm practicing on my friend's bike and we're renting two when we get there!
I've seen the redwoods at Muir Woods actually, one of my favorite places so I'll probably go there a bit! And my parent's place is about 2 hours from Joshua Tree so I'll be stopping by there as well!
Some day, I suggest you make a point to visit Calaveras Big Trees state park, but not this trip.
Redwoods are magic
I've been meaning to spend more time on the west coast so I'm totally gonna try!
Taqueria y Mercado de Amigos in Pescadero got voted as the best tacos this side of Mexico.
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/21/travel/escapes/21tacos.html
It is only an hour out of San Francisco, but seems like a good place to stop for a snack and a quick rest?
i'm gonna eat a bunch of tacos that week so i will definitely hit this!