The Ultimate California Coastal Road Trip
originally published feb 11 2022
I don’t think I’ve ever seen something so beautiful as the California coastline in early fall. When I first started my cross-country road trip, it was one of the first drives I did. Because I was crunched for time, I didn’t spend nearly as much time exploring everything the way I would have wanted to. Ever since, I’ve been dying to get back on the road and plan a trip that does this amazing place justice.
It occurred to me that I’ve met quite a few people in this work who share my love of road trips – people who also enjoy blasting music with the windows down, getting junk food snacks at gas stations, pulling over to snap pics (and tasteful nudes in the trees…), and generally being fully present in the moment, with no rush or urgency to get to the destination. The journey is the point! I thought it might be a unique idea to do something a little different from the typical FMTY – let’s ditch first-class flights and globetrotting in favor of something a little more local, though no less luxurious.
Because I love planning, I’ve taken it upon myself to create The Ultimate California Coastline Roadtrip. This would be a grand adventure for the brave person with a love for driving, an easy-going nature, and penchant for both hiking and spa days. Though the activities are planned, the timeline is not, meaning this trip would be a minimum of 3 days, though could be up to a week depending on how many stops we wanted to make. Because of the length of time spent together, I would require that we have spent at minimum 12 hours together before - whether that is via two 6-hour appointments or an overnight (or more). Nobody wants to be stuck in a car with someone they can’t get along with for long stretches of time, so while I’m sure I could have fun with almost anyone, I wouldn’t want either of us to chance it with no practice!
If this sounds up your alley, then check out my grand road trip plan below.
Day 1: Fly into Humbolt County Airport. Rent car. Take the coastal route until we need to head onto the Avenue of the Giants. Take a slow, leisurely drive through the trees, stop and stretch our legs, and enjoy the fresh air and scenery. And maybe steal a kiss or two in the thicket…Once we’ve had our fill, we’ll bop back out to the coast for more scenic driving, then back inland to stay in Calistoga, at the Golden Haven Hot Springs Spa and Resort. We’ll likely be very tired once we’re there with a fully packed first day, so we can fall asleep into dreams of giant redwoods and birds swooping over the ocean.
Day 2: Thank god for hot springs. Golden Haven is a quaint but mighty relaxation stop, offering pools filled with natural hot spring water, and a couple’s mud bath option, along with massages. The town of Calistoga is adorable and there are plenty of shops and restaurants to explore – perhaps some wine tasting would be in the cards for us. Once we’ve had a full day of easy relaxing, we can hit the road again on our way to, yes, of course, San Francisco.
Day 3: We will have spent the night at Hotel Drisco, located in the quiet and beautiful neighborhood of Pacific Heights. After yawning our way through the morning, we can catch an Uber to Golden Gate Park, where there’s never a shortage of things to do. Botanical Gardens, Japanese Tea Gardens, walks all the way to the ocean…then again, we could just check out the latest exhibit at The de Young Museum, one of my favorite museums in town. After soaking up some culture, we can hit Mourad for dinner, Michelin-starred Moroccan food with a Californian twist. Nobody can say we aren’t well-rounded!
At this point, we would have spent 3 beautiful days together, and perhaps it’s time to head home. We can spend another afternoon in the city before flying back to our respective home bases, or we can continue on down the coast. We could also meet in SF to start, and check out these other ideas for a trip that takes us a little farther south:
Hiking and glamping in Big Sur
Communing with the Monarch butterflies at Pismo State Beach
Soaking up some sun and salt on the beach in Malibu at the Calamigos Guest Ranch and Beach Club
Whatever it is we do, I know we’ll have the best time together. If road-tripping and California sun sounds like your ideal vacation, then you know where to find me…