Redwoods between SF and LA
 

We are driving from SF to LA in August, stopping one night each in Cambria and Santa Barbara with my 20 year old daughter who has never been to CA. We are from MA. She wants to see Redwood Trees. Any suggestions where we should stop on our drive down the coast?

If you are taking the Coast Hwy you can see redwoods galore in Big Sur

Any suggestions for a specific place to stop and maybe take a short hike?

There are some great redwoods in the Santa Cruz mountains. Big Basin and Henry Cowell State Parks are good choices as is Butano State Park near Pescadero.

Further south in Big Sur, you can find them at Pheiffer Big Sur, Julie Pfeiffer Burns, and Limekiln State Parks.

You will not find a shortage of redwoods in this area, that is for sure. I live in the middle of San Jose and I can see 5 of them from my bedroom window - LOL.

Have fun!

The best place would be Big Basin, it has the biggest redwoods and the best interpretive trail, but it is a bit of a side trip for you, especially if you want to be in Cambria from SF in one day. It's on Hwy 236, 25 miles north of Santa Cruz. 236 north of the park is very narrow and winding, so you might want to take 17 to Scotts Valley, then take Mt. Hermon Rd to Felton and Highway 9 north to 236 north to the park. right there on 236 are the biggest redwoods within 100 miles of San Francisco. This will add a few hours to any trip south, so you might want to stop in Monterey or Santa Cruz or Big Sur for the night, or do it as a day trip before you head south.

Otherwise, probably Henry Cowell is your best bet. It's right outside of Santa Cruz, maybe a ten minute drive off of Highway One if you come south from SF. You'll see plenty more redwoods on the way south through Big Sur, but they aren't quite as big. Big enough, but not record setters.