California Highway 1 Road Trip Through SLOCAL

Highway 1 Road Trip Guide: SLO CAL, Here We Come!

Just four hours north of the city of Los Angeles is a nature, wine, and outdoor lovers playground—SLO CAL, or San Luis Obispo County. Taking a Highway 1 road trip is your ticket to experiencing this gorgeous coastal stretch, teeming with wildlife, epic coastal walks, beautiful rolling hills, and enough great food and wine to have anyone rejoicing. I’m going out on a limb here to say this is the best place for your next California road trip.

San Luis Obispo County is part of the Central California Coast and it brims with the best experiences on HWY 1.  The gateway to Big Sur and the famed Bixby Bridge, this iconic stretch of roadway is well within reach for any HWY 1 travelers. The Highway 1 road trip spans a 100-mile stretch of coastline, half of which are protected marine sanctuary and national estuary—that means you’re sure to see lots of birds and animals of all kinds on the way. 

Get ready for the ultimate Highway 1 roadtrip with all the local advice and tips you need to make the most of your time on the road—and exploring! I may include affiliate links in this post, so note that if you make a purchase through one, you’re helping me earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for your support.

Highway 1 Road Trip: The Discovery Route

A shorter road trip on this route, nicknamed the Discovery Route, is kind of a right of passage for locals and travelers coming to California. Traveling the Discovery Route will take you past dozens of state parks, through small towns full of crafty shops and local wares, past zebra, seals, and even a castle.

I’ve been through this area many times and always find new places to discover, hike, and explore. Here are the places not to miss for wildlife and outdoor lovers on a trip through the Central California Coast. 

Day 1

I left Los Angeles in the late afternoon on a warm January day. The cooler months are the best time to set off on an adventurous road trip through California. You miss the heat and have even more chances to see wildlife along the coast. In the winter months, there are far fewer people as well, and you are more likely to get great hotel and car rental deals for your trips. If you’re looking for a good deal on cars, check out rentalcars.com or make the trip even more memorable by renting an RV! Save up to 25% on your travel costs by booking an RV through RVshare here.

Leaving L.A. is the busiest part of this trip, but once you are out of the traffic and north of Ventura, the cars start to spread out as you drive along the coast and begin your Highway 1 road trip.

Even in the dying light, the drive was beautiful. Water reflecting off headlights, palm trees swaying in the breeze, and stars beginning to come alive with sparkles in the night sky made it magical. There are many small and large towns you can stay in while discovering SLO CAL.

On the southern end, there’s Pismo Beach—which you may remember from the movie “Clueless”—and the beautiful town of Avila Beach, where I stopped for a farm to table dinner at Gardens of Avila in the Sycamore Springs Hotel. While I did not stay at this hotel, I would love to go back as the resort has several outdoor hot springs underneath redwood trees in the forest for their guests. It would give you a truly wonderful and relaxing experience in the forest.

After a wonderful dinner of fried rock cod over orzo rice with braised greens, all sourced from local farms, I hopped back in the car, passing through San Luis Obispo. This is where many travelers may want to stay at the Madonna Inn, a themed hotel unlike anything you have probably ever seen. I was heading towards the quieter side of things though, passing Los Osos and Morro Bay before reaching my final destination of the evening the Oceanpoint Ranch in Cambria.

I chose Cambria for its great location and availability of restaurants, shops, and amenities. My hotel was just across and down the street from Moonstone Beach, and once you see a sunset here, you won’t want to stay anywhere else. The rooms at OceanPoint Ranch are beautiful with a romantic western flare and a great heater to keep you warm on a cool night. The hotel also features a swimming pool, private beach, game room, restaurant, ample outdoor space, and almost a dozen fire pits for late night s’mores under the stars.

Day 2

Today will be filled with adventure! I started my morning by grabbing a quick cup of coffee in town, then headed north to one of the most wonderful places on the California Coast. If you’ve ever asked where in California can I see elephant seals, this is the place.

Piedras Blancas is a protected area of coastline with a raised wooden boardwalk running along the beach. Most of the year, you can come here and see elephant seals—an animal I had never seen before. San Simeon is also the only elephant seal rookery in the world that is easily accessible, free, and open year-round.  Parking in the large lot around 7am, I was one of only two cars.

Getting to Know the Elephant Seal 

Elephant seals are the largest seal in the northern hemisphere, almost hunted to extinction. The beaches around San Simeon have more than 20,000 visitors throughout the year. The Northern elephant seal migrates to the rookery twice per year, and when they leave, can swim more than 3,000 miles. They spend 8-10 months in the water, diving up to 5,800 feet deep for up to two hours. Males can weigh up to 5,000 pounds!

Want to learn more? Stop for a visit at the Coastal Discovery Center in San Simeon which has a marine touch pool, ocean exhibits and lots of educational information on the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary and all the migratory marine animals that frequent the area.

The air was brisk but the skies clear. Grabbing my cameras, I headed towards the boardwalk in hopes of seeing at least one or two seals. As I approached the sand, my heart sank as I thought I would see a sea of black mammals covering the beach and I saw only wood washed ashore. But as I got closer, I realized those logs were actually giant male elephant seals that blended in so well with the sand I hardly saw them at all from far away!

Now giddy, I walked farther along the boardwalk and saw dozens of seals laying on the beach. Most of them were still asleep, especially the large adults, but many of the young seals were moving about, cuddling and curious at their onlooker. One male was out frolicking in the sea, and seeing his bulbous head stick out from the surf was a strange sight indeed. The most incredible experience of that morning though happened just a few minutes later.

A female seal was laying on the beach, surrounded by seagulls, and she seemed to be making a lot of noise. Much to my surprise, as I snapped a few photos of her, out popped a little baby seal right onto the sand! Seeing a seal give birth right in front of me was absolutely priceless.

I found out later that day that this little seal pup was the first one of the season. I left the rookery just in time to beat the onslaught of tourists that started to arrive just after 9am. The rookery is also located along the California Coastal Trail. Start at the rookery and head north to pass by the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse and along more of the coastline to spot more seals.

If you visit this area please make sure you DON’T LITTER, pack out whatever you bring with you, and if you see trash, please pick it up. This area is an important and sensitive area for many species of marine mammals. I witnessed a tourist throwing a coffee cup just feet away from a seal and was utterly horrified at the lack of respect for these animals and our seas. Areas like this are special and can only be kept open to people if we respect them.

Watch the Elephant Seals and see the whole road trip! ↓↓↓↓↓

You can find more information on Piedras Blancas and other activities in the area for your Highway 1 road trip on the Highway 1 Discovery Route site.

San Simeon is also home to Hearst Castle, a National Historic Landmark that was built by publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst from 1919 to 1947. Worthy of a tour if you love architecture, the castle is beautiful and very well preserved. It’s open daily, making it a great stop for your Highway 1 road trip. 

The castle sits on 250,000 acres and was once home to one of the world’s largest private zoos. Now closed, the zoo is still home to several species of animals on the large ranch, like sambar deer and zebra, which can be seen along Highway 1.

Salmon Creek Falls

Leaving Piedras Blancas, I headed north for 13 miles, passing through Ragged Point and into Big Sur.  I always incorporate hikes and walks into my travels and this was the first of several on this central coast Highway 1 road trip. The trailhead for this beautiful hike is located right on Highway 1 and is hard to miss.

There is no cell reception here, so make sure you mark your map before you leave. You’ll see a dirt lot with many cars on a sharp curved part of the road. The hike to Salmon Creek Falls is short but beautiful. There are several caves I crawled around in next to the falls after checking out the two large cascades of water on such a perfect winter day.

The trail continues on to another pool farther up the trail that would be perfect for a swim, or you can hike farther up the hill towards Spruce and Estrella Camp for some amazing views of the California Coast with a 5.4-mile round trip hike. Grab the Salmon Creek Falls Trail Map here.

After returning to Cambria, I headed for the downtown area to explore one of Cambria’s most famous winter attractions: The Cambria Christmas Market. For the month of December, the the Cambria Pines Lodge comes alive with dozens of exhibits made of lights. The family friendly attraction resembles a traditional European Christmas Market with food and beverage stalls serving hot drinks, holiday grog, and lots of things to eat.

There are plenty of fun and games to be had in the market while you shop for holiday gifts or wait for a photo with Santa. The light exhibits blew my mind in how intricate they were. The tunnel of light is a big crowd pleaser and one of my favorites was the Alice in Wonderland display!

A convenient shuttle service to the market has stops all over town and at almost every hotel, so after my visit I headed back to town and straight to Robin’s restaurant for a delicious farm to table meal. Robin’s sources all their food and beverages from sustainable and local sources and has a ton of vegetarian and vegan options.

Tired from the long day, it wasn’t time to turn in yet—I had one more thing to do before the night was over. Back at OceanPoint, I grabbed my camera and a few extra layers and walked across the street, away from any lights, to set up my tripod for some night photography of the Milky Way. 

Day 3

After packing up and taking one more walk down to Moonstone Beach and back, I loaded up my car and headed south towards Morro Bay. It’s hard not to pull over at every parking lot on the side of Highway 1 and a few of them just beckoned for me to stop.

Almost to Morro Bay, I stopped for a quick walk on the coast through Estero Bluffs State Park. With rolling green hills and a gorgeous windswept coast, I felt more like I was in Ireland than California. Continuing on, I stopped in Morro Bay for a quick cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich at Top Dog Coffee (some proceeds go to help veterans adopt service dogs).

Morro Bay is a pretty well known coastal city in California on the Highway 1 road trip route. It’s known for Morro Rock, an ancient volcanic mound at the end of Morro Rock Beach that was used in the movie The Goonies to hide a pirate ship. The beach around Morro Rock is beautiful, the northern side state park and the southern open to dogs and people. 

Refueled, I drove a few miles East into Los Osos: the valley of the bears, another great central California small town where I found a local honey stand selling locally-made honey in several varieties that all tasted wonderfully sweet and delicious. I think it’s very important to support local businesses when traveling, and finding little shops and farm stands is a great way to try local products and get to know the locals. 

Beelieve Honey in Los Osos 

Montana De Oro State Park was my next stop. There are actually 11 state parks in SLO CAL and they are all unique with lots of hiking, walking, and exploring to be had. Montana de Oro has several bluffs walks and dune paths that meander down to the beach and along the coastline.

The first stretch of beach has an impressive amount of birds and beautiful colors that contrast against the sand. The Coastal Bluffs trail near the end of the park is a great 3-mile round trip walk along the coast with lots of places to stop for photos and see sea otters along the way. Read more about other great hikes in this state park here.

Another great hike in SLO CAL is in San Luis Obispo and is well known with locals and rock climbers: Bishop Peak. It’s a rocky outcropping that rises up right near downtown San Luis Obispo, is the tallest of the nine morros (ancient volcanoes), and one of the most popular hikes in the area. At 3.4 miles round trip, it’s a great afternoon hike, especially if you reach the top as the sun starts to set.

Bishop Peak was my last hike on this full two-day Highway 1 road trip through SLO CAL. I discovered so many wonderful new hikes and places to explore on this more immersive stay. I always look for trail maps on AllTrails, which is a great way to explore the local area. It truly is one of my favorite areas of California, and there is still so much more to explore, like more great hotels, natural hot springs, dozens of hikes, wineries, and beautiful places to camp on the beach.

Don’t forget to check out my great list of Road Trip Essentials next to see what to pack for your next adventure!

Continue North towards San Francisco to see Bixby Bridge, Big Sur and Monterey where the HBO Show Big LIttle Lies is based. From there you can head to San Francisco, Napa Valley and through Yosemite National Park on a multi day California Tour. Check out some of my additional California videos and travel guides for the best routes and places to stop.

Join my conversation and let me know what you would do on a California Highway 1 Road Trip!

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