Appleby10

Hoping for some advice please for a trip to California in July ....

Flying into San Francisco early morning and taking a red eye out of LAX leaving us (myself and teen daughters) 7.5 days to explore. We like hiking, museums, beaches, swimming and sight seeing. Only planning 1.5 days in San Francisco as we have been there before.
Some ideas we have for either staying or just stopping in for a couple hours (we will have a car):

San Francisco - 1.5 days (have those sites planned)
Boardwalk in Santa Cruz
Monterey (would like 2 days here I think?)
Carmel by the sea & pebble beach
Bixby Bridge
Pfeiffer Beach & McWay Falls
Seals at San Simeon
Pismo Beach - would like a beach day here and maybe surfing lessons
Unsure about stopping in Santa Barbara
Malibu
Santa Monica
Joshua Tree ... really want to make sure this happens
Los Angeles - likely studio tour and hiking runyon canyon

Sounds like a lot but some will almost be a drive by we really don't want to be too rushed but I'm just hoping for suggestions on timing and anything to cut out or include.
Thanks for reading!

janisj

mlgb

It looks nearly impossible. I'm not sure where the half day is?

Day 1& 2 San Francisco and Santa Cruz, continue to Monterey Bay
I did a report ages ago on the stretch between SF (by the airport) and Monterey. The Boardwalk didn't appeal to me, so can't comment but there are some other suggestions in the thread for places to stop.
Off the Beaten Path around Monterey and Santa Cruz

Day 3 Monterey and Carmel
Monterey (would like 2 days here I think?) Not sure if you have time for 2 days maybe 1 would be enough since you don't mention the Aquarium.
I'd recommend staying in Pacific Grove rather than Monterey. Asilomar is an option, walking distance from the State Beach.
Staying in PG also puts you closer to 17 mile Drive and Carmel, and closer to the start of Big Sur.
Day 4
Bixby Bridge
Pfeiffer Beach & McWay Falls
Seals at San Simeon
Continue to Pismo Beach (you may arrive later in the day) or perhaps San Luis Obispo.

Day 5
Pismo Beach /(and or Malibu)- would like a beach day here and maybe surfing lessons
Sorry Don't have any input here but maybe half a day and continue on to see Malibu on the way to LA.
I don't think you have time for Santa Barbara. I would skip it and Santa Monica and just do Malibu. BTW there are also surf schools in Malibu. You'd have to look into timing and lodging options.
Continue into Los Angeles.

Day 6 Los Angeles , Studio Tour and Runyon Canyon.

Day 7
Joshua Tree.. Allow at least 3 hours one way from Santa Monica (slightly less if you stay farther inland). Can be done in a long day, especially if you leave before 5am (4am would be better).
Return to LA near airport (Manhattan Beach maybe)

I'm not sure where your 0.5 day is but as you can see it's really tight. If you're leaving at the end of Day7, I'd switch the order (Joshua Tree on Day 6, LA on Day 7).

As far as beaches in LA, Manhattan Beach is far nicer than Santa Monica. And closer to the airport.

emalloy

If you are interested in hiking, check out one of the state parks in the Big Sur area, like point Lobos, Pfifer, Julia Pfifer Burns State park, etc.

jamie99

If you are spending 1.5 days in SF, that leaves 6 for the drive to LA, so LA three nights, and 3 nights driving en route from SF to LA with 2 in Monterey and 1 in Pismo or Morro Bay and drop Joshua Tree, in July it will be pretty darn hot and you do not have time unless you can add more days.

Patty

Do you have 5 nights after you leave SF? Unless there's a heat wave beaches along the central coast aren't really conducive for swimming due to cooler air temperatures (usually 60's) and cold water temperatures (high 50's/low 60's). I'd also inquire locally as to where it's safe to swim. Around the Monterey Peninsula, it's generally calmest at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove. The beaches at Carmel River State Beach, particularly Monastery, are the most dangerous. July is a busy time so you need to start working on hotel reservations.

Some additional recommendations are Henry Cowell near Santa Cruz for coastal redwoods and Elkhorn Slough half way between Santa Cruz and Monterey for kayaking. The kayak tours/rentals here stay within the slough where it's fairly calm and you can see otters and harbor seals.

Get an early start on the day you drive through Big Sur as parking is always a problem in summer, more so on weekends. I'd get to Point Lobos at 8am when the reserve opens. Point Lobos is just south of Carmel so you could also do this on your middle day if you end up staying two nights on the Monterey Peninsula in order to give yourself more time for sights farther south on your Big Sur drive. You can stop at Pfeiffer Big Sur for old growth redwoods if you didn't go to Henry Cowell. Pfeiffer Beach (which is not located at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park) also has very limited parking and if the lot is full you'll be turned away at the highway as there's no parking along Sycamore Canyon Rd (the beach is 2 miles at the end of this road). Last year they were running a summer shuttle to Pfeiffer Beach from the Big Sur Ranger Station. There was talk of restarting the shuttle this year but I don't think it's been implemented.

There are still several closed areas in Big Sur due to the Soberanes Fire in 2016 followed by a couple of stormy winters. The trail to the viewing platform at McWay Falls is partially open but most of the inland trails at Julia Pfeiffer Burns are still closed. Here's a list of what's currently closed and open in the northern section of Big Sur https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=29841 Farther south Limekiln has some nice, short trails that lead to old kilns and an inland waterfall with mostly second growth redwoods Redwood Hikes

MmePerdu

My first thought, given the time crunch & the fact that San Francisco seems less important this trip, why not just head south on arrival. Instead of 101 south toward Santa Cruz, from the airport (I'm assuming SFO), go west directly from the airport on 380 to 280 south, then west on 92 over the hill to Half Moon Bay and down the coast of San Mateo County & Santa Cruz County, a really wonderful drive along the Pacific. That would make more sense to me & give you another day in your very crowded itinerary for the new places on your way south.

Any route you choose driving out of the Bay Area may be impacted by the time of day you'll be leaving. I don't see that in your original post but can be addressed once your itinerary is firm.

mlgb

jamie is correct about JT being sweltering in July. I assumed you knew that, but maybe you didn't? You really can't hike then, but there are paved roads that take you to some of the sites.

Appleby10

Wow... great info... so glad I asked!

We land at 11am at SFO so that is where I'm including half a day. We are taking a red eye home .. so pretty much a full day our last day.
I definitely didn't think about the heat at Joshua Tree so maybe I omit that.
I like the idea of not stopping at Pismo beach and looking into surfing in Malibu instead.
Also cutting out Santa Barbara and Santa Monica.

1.5 Days San Francisco
3 Days Monterey / Big Sur Area / Pfieffer Beach
1.5 Days in Malibu
1.5 Days in LA

I'm stuck on where to get hotels that make the most sense and when is the best time to leave each location. I put half days for Malibu and LA to include travel time and stopping for pictures along the coast ...

Thanks for all the information.

Jean

What were you planning to do in Malibu for 1.5 days? There is some great hiking in the Santa Monica National Recreation Area, although a few trails remain closed because of fire damage from last year. Otherwise, IMO Malibu isn't worth much more than a walk up and down the beach for an hour or so. Check the tide table and go at low tide.

https://www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/hiking.htm

Parking at Runyon Canyon can be impossible, and some portions of the trails can be full of people and dogs, esp. on weekends. If communing with nature is your priority, as opposed to mass group hiking, start off as early as possible. Sunrise in July is just before 6:00 a.m., and the heat and sun can get intense by mid-morning. Carry lots of water.

Jean

In Manhattan Beach, you can take surfing lessons:

https://campsurf.com/

as well as stand-up paddle board lessons:

Lessons

janisj

tomfuller

Joshua Tree NP is not the only place to see Joshua trees. There are lots in the Mojave National Preserve. If you want to detour to see them, drive 46 all the way over from Cambria through Wasco to get on 99 south to Bakersfield. Take 58 up over the Tehachapi Pass to Barstow to get on I-15 to Baker. Drive south through the Preserve to get to I-40 back to Barstow. Take I-15 south to go back into Los Angeles.
The ocean water temp is not as warm as you would expect. The surfers all wear wet suits even as far south as Malibu.

Jean

Joshua Trees grow all over the California desert, and you don't have to go to the J.T. national park or as far east as the park to see them. They even grow in the median strips and along the shoulders on some highways (14, 395, 138 between the 5 and 14). You don't even have to get out of your air conditioned car... which is where I would stay if I was driving in the California desert in July. The hottest place in the U.S. yesterday was Thermal near J.T. national park. 114 degrees. Palm Springs was "only" 112 degrees.

clarkgriswold

Santa Barbara has much nicer beaches than does Pismo. The cliffs at Shell Beach are a nice stop though.

Barely any hotels in Malibu.

Since it's on your way and a logical stop, I would choose Santa Barbara over Manhattan Beach or Santa Monica beach. Santa Monica's just too crazy busy in summer.

Watch your drive times into the Los Angeles area if it's a weekday, you really want to settle into your hotel by 3pm at the latest, traffic picks up terribly afterwards.

jamie99

There are only about 3-4 places to stay in Malibu and they are pretty expensive. It is also a VERY long drive from Monterey to Malibu without an overnight, so you would have to skip a lot of places like Point Lobos, 17 Mile Drive, and pretty much be limited to a few photo ops like the elephant seal rookery. I would stay instead in Santa Barbara.

mlgb

I would stay anywhere between Cambria/Cayucos/ Morro Bay and Pismo/Grover Beach on the central coast, after driving the Big Sur stretch. I wouldn't try to make it Malibu. And I still would skip Santa Barbara. It really doesn't offer anything you can't find on the way in to LA. There are stretches of sand the entire way along the coast into Los Angeles County. Sometimes I pull over at Paradero Lane, sometimes at Cross Creek/Malibu Lagoon, but I think they're looking for a "beach day" with surfing camp. If they can find it in Pismo, probably makes sense to stop there.

My favorite place to hike along the central coast is Montana de Oro State Park south of Morro Bay. If they had more time I'd suggest including a hiking day around Morro Bay.