SO-CAL Road Trip

The best that Southern California has to offer can be experienced through your van trip up the coast.

Written by Gracie Rounds

Introduction

Southern California is a charming place to visit all on it’s own. From trendy food and coffee scenes, to beaches, to vibrant social activities, it would be hard to get bored. However, we have found that the best way to experience all that SO-CAL has to offer is on the road- specifically the road of historic Highway 1.

Follow our guide based on my sister, Callie Rounds and I’s road trip through Southern California in 2023.

Choosing Your Route

There are many different options for routes to choose in SO-CAL for your road trip. Based on the time you have available (or lack thereof), money you want to spend, etc. your route could look very different from the one we did.

For example, if we had had more time we would have wanted to hit Joshua Tree on our way back from the northern portion of our trip. We didn’t have a chance to make that work, but if you do, we would definitely recommend adding that as we wished we could have!

Our route started and ended in San Diego, heading up through LA, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, up the 101 to Monterey (as this section of Highway 1 was closed), to Big Sur and then all the way back.

If there is any way that we could have avoided having to go up around using the 101 we would have (Highway 1 was closed for construction in that part when we went), as that area was as boring as it could possibly be for a drive. But making it to Big Sur was entirely worth it.

Choosing Your Van

We would recommend doing this as a “van life” expedition rather than using a car as we got the most out of our experience being able to do it this way. Camping in the van was incredible and made getting from place to place so much more accessible, not to mention cheaper than renting hotel rooms.

We used Sandy Vans for our trip as Callie had a partnership with their owner, and they were absolutely fantastic.

A good place to look for other van rentals options would be this website list: https://roadsurfer.com/rv-rental/usa/california/

San Diego

Just because this is where you’re starting your trip doesn’t mean you should skip San Diego as an adventure point by any means. We loved this portion of our trip just as much as any other, and enjoyed it thouroughly. One thing we would note is that we decided to do this trip at the beginning of May, and that for the majority of our trip it was still really chilly there. If you are looking for a beachy warm California trip, definitely wait until June.

A first key spot to visit in San Diego would be Sunset Cliffs Natural Park. They have beautiful yellow flowers lining the cliffs at this time a year, and there are lots of people surfing. This is a fun spot to back up your van against the edge of the parking lot overlooking the flowers and cliffs and open the back doors.

The Saigon Trail in La Jolla is another really great trail down to Black’s Beach. It involves lots of technical manuevering so make sure to wear grippy shoes and bring snacks and water. You can park on La Jolla Farms Road in spots right next to the start of the trail.

The farmer’s market in downtown San Diego is absolutely epic. It has the cutest different stands and vendors and more delicious coffee than you can imagine. We specifically loved the Seven Seas coffee truck.

Kate Sessions Park was an incredible spot to have a picnic at, it was my birthday when we went to we brought a whole group of girls and sat and had a beautiful picnic overlooking the ocean while having wine and cake and dancing in the grass.

Dinner at the Smoking Goat in North Park was fantastic, the wine there was especially memorable. The North Park area in general has some really great restaurants and spots to walk around as well as an awesome Yoga Box location!

It is of paramount importance to see the seals in La Jolla, it wouldn’t be a worth-while trip to San Diego if you miss this, despite the crowds. We made the poor choice of visiting this spot on the weekend, and would definitely recommend coming here during a weekday so you can actually find parking sooner than an hour after arriving.

Los Angeles

After heading North a bit, you’ll find yourself in the bustling city of Los Angeles.

As for Callie and I in particular, we aren’t big city girls. Knowing this we breezed through LA as quick as we possibly could. If you have the inclination though, feel free to spend more time here!

We did LOVE stopping at Memory Look Café though on Olympic Boulevard. Their drinks are social media famous, and we weren’t disappointed.

Santa Barbara

We loved driving around Santa Barbara and thought it was the cutest most charming town. Our great grandmother had lived here for a long time so it was really special for us to explore where she used to live.

The BEST part of this area though is a hot springs hike. This is one of our favorite things we did on this trip. The Hot Springs Canyon Trail above Montecito (which is a really cute area to explore as well) is something you cannot miss. The hike is challenging but rewarding, and at the top is an AMAZING natural hot springs system. Some people choose to go nude here, like Callie, and it is a really special spot.

We also loved checking out the drinks at Cajé Coffee Roasters. They had a unique and aesthetically pleasing beverage selection like the one below!

San Luis Obispo

If there was one place that Callie and I said that we would move to in California, it would be here. Surrounded by rolling hills, close to the ocean, in a vibrant college town- SLO is an amazing place.

We could have spent way more time here than we did, and loved every minute of it. It was very difficult for us to leave at all.

We camped up a service road near town called the TV Tower Road. This brought us high up into the hills above the clouds. It was absolutely incredible. Although the clouds never completely cleared for us while we were up there, seeing the fog roll over the tops of the mountains was incredible.

The coffee was probably one of the best parts of the town for us. Scout was one of our favorites with cozy ambience and amazing drinks. They have a couple locations in SLO and we hit up both and weren’t disappointed.

But our all time favorite coffee shop of our entire California trip was Sally Loo’s. I had been following there account for a long time before going to visit them for the first time on this trip and my expectations were really just blown out of the water. It’s one of my top five coffee shops I’ve been to in the world quite honestly. You’ll just have to see it to experience it, but it’s one of the most wholesome places ever.

For an amazing gym check out Headstrong. This is one of the coolest open gyms I’ve ever been to, with every machine imaginable.

Monterey

Our highlight of Monterey was once again the coffee scene. SO-CAL is famous for this and we really started to realize that at this point.

Parker-Lusseau is an adorable spot for coffee and pastries located right next to Monterey’s Trader Joe’s. This is a super quaint, rustic spot that has lots of old wood-work and delicious pastries.

For an amazing cafe with incredible latte art you can’t miss Captain + Stoker. Their branding and vibe is really unique, and the lattes are absolutely superb.

Including some of the best latte art i’ve ever seen:

Big Sur

The rest of our trip traveling to Big Sur was the road trip highlight. The coastal views are absolutely sunning and like nothing in the world. After traveling to so many countries people sometimes ask Callie if she thinks views in the U.S. are overrated. And she says that a place like this would blow her out of the water every single time she saw it, no matter where else she’s been.

Just be cautious that if you are planning to be here you book campsites in advance. There is no free camping on any service roads, only campgrounds, and they fill up incredibly fast.

We ended up choosing a cheaper camp ground on Pfeiffer Big Sur Road that was really nice and woodsy, tucked into towering trees with a dark, peaceful vibe.

In addition to crossing all of the beautiful bridges, make sure to go all the way to McWay Falls, as this was a beautiful view from the road even if you decide not to park and go hike down there.