San Diego to Seattle drive?

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Don't miss Carmel, either. The mission is beautiful, and the Carmel art galleries are impressive (or were, pre-COVID). I've done the "17 Mile Drive" a few times, along the ocean. It's been a while, but I'm sure it is as spectacular as ever.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by Clark Fork Fantast

Don't miss Mendocino on your way north from SF. Quaint little community perched on the cliffs above the beach--and the location of James Dean's first movie, East of Eden, plus other movies.

If you're back on I-5, looking for a place for the night before heading up through Shasta, I'd recommend staying in Red Bluff rather than Redding. Better vibe.

Just off the top of my head.

I'm a Bay Area native (been in SD many years now), but it took me and my husband many years to finally make the trek to Mendocino. It was very scenic and a cute town, although we agreed it didn't hold a candle to Carmel, and the drive is longer to Mendocino (almost 3 hours vs 2 hours), so we would always choose Carmel over Mendocino. Glad we saw it once though. :-)

[bloom]

I did not find either Mendocino nor Carmel so great but liked Arena-Stornetta area and Point Lobos state park

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by CirculateRX

We are moving from Phoenix to Seattle. But will be going from Phoenix to San Diego in the first day then starting our trip north. We only have a 2 wheel drive older Honda CRV (no trailer) so we are trying to avoid snow and ice. We want to take the PCH / make this drive as scenic as possible. Any advice for us? We don't mind it taking 5 days or so from SD to Seattle. What areas should we stop at? What cities/towns? What are the must see little areas, shops, food, etc? Where should we stay the night? We probably won't drive more than 5-6 hours each day max.

Thanks for any advice.

Just take Highway 1 / US-101 the whole way. You shouldn't run into any significant snow or ice anywhere along the route except maybe around Seattle. But you may need to increase your travel days from five to six, or drive more than 6 hours a day.

San Diego, CA to Seattle, WA - Google Maps

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Axxlrod

Take PCH from Santa Monica up to Oxnard.

Then 101N from Oxnard to San Luis Obispo, then you can link back up with Hwy 1 and go by Hearst Castle and up to Big Sur and Monterey.

Hwy 1 north of SF will take much, much longer even though it is scenic. I'd rec you take the 5 from SF up to OR

Once in OR, you can head west after Grants Pass or Winston, and cruise all the way up the OR coast or head back inland through the Willamette Valley to PTL. Then 5N up to Seattle.

I-5 from San Francisco to Oregon would likely involve snow and ice on the Siskiyou Pass. It would also add time, over just staying on Highway 1/101.