Highway One in Big Sur is considered one of the best road trips in the world. Plan for a lot of time to stop along the way – there’s more gorgeous views than one can count.

Great, short hikes in Big Sur include the ones at Limekiln Park and the hike to McWay Falls at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. The Henry Miller Library is set in the middle of a redwood grove and has a really funky vibe (plus concerts almost every weekend). If you’re up for camping, there’s lots of camping spots along the way – but reserve in advance, as they sell out quick! On Saturday nights Fernwood Resort has great (often up-and-coming indie) bands, and there’s no cover. Sundays the Big Sur River Inn has live bands from 1-5pm, again no cover.

Carmel-by-the-Sea is beautiful. You can take a picnic to the town beach and watch the sun set. (It’s a dog friendly beach, in case you’re taking a furry pal with you.) There’s also great and inexpensive wine tasting in Carmel-by-the-Sea and Carmel Valley.

17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach is truly breathtaking. It’s private land so there’s a $9 admission fee, but it’s worth it!

The coastline in Pacific Grove and Monterey is jaw-dropping. There’s a great bike path – the Monterey County Coastal Recreation Trail – that runs along the coast. You can rent a bike and follow it, or just walk it.

In Monterey, all of the restaurants on Fisherman’s Wharf give out free samples of clam chowder to entice diners. (Deep-fried artichoke hearts are also a local specialty, and seriously yummy.) The sea lions have taken over the beaches next to the wharf, and harbor seals have taken over a dock next to Wharf 2. If you like watching sea life, you can do it without leaving shore!

A little more expensive is a whale watch. However, right this moment Monterey Bay has more whales than anyone’s seen in at least a decade, so if you’ve wanted to see whales now is the time to go.

Heading north, in Seaside you can hang on the beach and watch people fly truly massive kites (I mean, MASSIVE), and at the beach in Marina you can watch the hang gliders fly. If you like watching marine mammals, stop in Moss Landing. There’s an inlet there with tons of seals, hundreds of sea lions and many otters. You can just hang out and watch them.

My favorite place in Santa Cruz is Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. It’s got a one mile long, very flat path through an amazing redwood grove. There’s also Natural Bridges State Beach, a beautiful place to watch the sunset. The Boardwalk has great rides (it’s like an old-timey version of the Santa Monica boardwalk).

If you’re not planning to go any further north than Santa Cruz, then Sonoma and Mendocino are out – they’re both north of San Francisco.

I hope this helps!