janearound12

Hi there!

Would like to schedule a 10 day long trip with my husband along highway one. Planning to start in San Francisco where we'll spend a night or two with family, and then drive up the coast to either LA or San Diego. We are thinking May or June 2019 (I know September/Oct is best but it's so far away). Not super excited about May Grey/ June Gloom, but still seems better than busy tourist July/August? Any tips or advice whether one month is better than the other? We plan to rent a camper van and sleep along the way at campsites that we'll prebook 6 months out. Our general interests are nature, hiking, adventures, sight seeing, nature, etc. Less interested in museums/art/tours.

Swimming is a top interest always but I don't think the weather will really allow it? Maybe I'm wrong?

My husbands 40th is June 20, so we debated going June 14-23, but wasn't sure if that was too late in the season for the crowds? If there's a totally different reason to go another month let us know!

janisj

IME May will generally give you better odds for good weather and less fog. May would be better than June, and surprisingly better than later in the summer. The hotter it is in the Central Valley the foggier it can be on the coast.

>>and then drive up down the coast to either LA or San Diego>Swimming is a top interest always >We plan to rent a camper van and sleep along the way at campsites that we'll prebook 6 months out.

Jean

I would try to end this trip before Memorial Day weekend or start it immediately after the holiday. Public school terms will be ending as early as June 4th (San Francisco).

I agree with janisj about the car v. camper. Much more comfortable for the driver and for the bank account. Gas prices in California are extremely high, second only to Hawaii, and you'll find they are worse along the less-populated stretches of the coast.

jamie99

I also agree with May before Memorial Day, prices will be lower.

november_moon

I agree - May will likely have less fog and fewer crowds. Plus, it should be greener that time of year.

Most of the coast isn't super crwded though anyway, even in summer - not like the Florida or the East Coast beaches or anything.

And the ocean is cold no matter when you come, but you might find it ok for swimming in southern CA.

Surfergirl

Warmest Pacific Ocean temperatures along the California coastline are in San Diego. In LA, water temperatures in May - June generally run in the low '60's and generally peak in August at around 70 degrees. An exception was this summer when the water was about 10 degrees warmer. Don't know if that's a sign of things to come or if it was just an aberration. I just know when I stepped into the water at Paradise Cove this summer, for a hot second I thought I was in the South of France. Nonetheless, you don't have to completely don a wetsuit . . . you can get by with a rash guard. It's not like the English Channel where your feet freeze in two seconds.

If it were me, I'd go end of July, early August. I agree with November Moon that the coast isn't super crowded, just getting reservations if going in a camper may be difficult. Frankly, even if the coastal drive was crowded, you'd get to spend more time looking at the beautiful scenery as you drove down the coast. And give the driver a little bit of an opportunity to enjoy it as well. I actually prefer doing the coastal trip in summer, since earlier in the year roads sometimes get washed out due to rain or slides. I've done this route maybe 10 times in winter/spring, and about 30 times in summer.

But if you want to limit to May or June, I agree that May is generally the matter month with less fog. This summer was also weird in that June, July, and August were all extremely warm, and then the weather cooled down a lot in September, when September is usually our warmest month, at least in LA.