Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park (about 10 miles apart, on Hwy 1) both have nice redwood groves. Not hundreds of square miles, as you would see in Humboldt or Mendocino County, but enough to walk through and surround yourself.
I disagree; go hiking (or at least stop at Julla Pfieffer Burns and Limekiln SP) and then have dinner at Nepenthe. The food is pretty good (a little pricey, but that’ll be true anywhere in Big Sur) but the atmosphere is outstanding, especially if you get a table near the back by the indoor fire pit. If you get there before dark there is an outstanding view facing southeast down the coast. My favorite hotel in the area is Glen Oaks Big Sur; again, kind of pricey but much nicer than the adjacent family/RV resorts, and the cabins all have good privacy. I’ve never stayed at Post Ranch Inn (starting at around $1000/night) or eaten there, but I was seriously underwhelmed by Ventana when I ate there.
Also, if you are driving up the coast (CA-1 and US-101) then you should also have dinner at the Hitching Post (preferably the Casmalia location which is out in the middle of nowhere, but the Buellton location where they filmed scenes from Sideways is good, too). For the money it is the best steak in California. I like Morro Bay, although it has really become a tourist trap, and I think the best grilled scallops I’ve ever eaten were at The Galley. I can’t say that I care much for Cambria unless you are really into art galleries, but Hearst Castle is worth a stop, and people really like to stop and watch the elephant seals do absolutely nothing up the beach. There’s some decent kayaking around San Simeon Bay and a rental company out of the beach there (call ahead to make arrangements; they don’t generally have someone on site but will come out to rent you kayaks). I don’t have any food recommendations for Monterey but it also has good kayaking and a fantastic aquarium/research center, and Point Lobos SP (just south of Carmel) is a great place to spend a few hours hiking on a piece of coast with excellent views.
My recommendations on the North coast versus inland redwoods is just to see both. February is actually a great time to go, though, because as long as it isn’t actually raining it will probably be clear rather than overcast with an inversion layer as it is for much of day during the summer. If you can make the time, I’d recommend driving up the coast through San Francisco, stop and explore Point Reyes (there’s a pretty good hostel with some private rooms and a lot of camping), go up to through Bodega Bay to Mendocino and then across and back across to I-5 and back down inland to Yosemite, depending on time and weather conditions. As others have noted, Yosemite can (should) be snowy in the winter and going up above Yosemite Valley will require carrying if not using chains, so be aware, but even the Valley is gorgeous, especially in winter.
On camping: February will be a slow month but you may still find that camping spots hard to come by on the coast. Unfortunately, making reservations at both California state parks requires using Reserve America, which is expensive, has terrible customer service, and is unreliable. Hotels in Big Sur and other popular places are often all booked up even in winter, and don’t plan on camping on a random beach or pull off, as highway patrol does regular sweeps for loiters. Spur of the moment camping north of San Francisco and inland (except for Yosemite) is probably not a problem, especially in the western Sierras (Kings Canyon, Sequoia), but be advised that the coast will be moist and fairly cool, especially the further north you go, to the point of frost. I’d skip Santa Rosa unless you like wind, but camping up at Two Harbors or visiting Avalon on Catalina is well worth the ferry ride.
My biggest recommendation is to just take an extra week and see it all. There is no way you are going to cover a quarter of the most interesting sites in California in a few days.
Stranger
Actually, I was up there late last year, and the campground was packed to the gills with trimmers. I had much more luck further inland, staying at the state park campgrounds, e.g., Richardson Grove.
Nonetheless, I don’t think the OP should make the trek to the Lost Coast on their first week-long CA jaunt. Maybe next time.
California is a really big state. You may want to try to narrow your scope down and just concentrate on one area. Concentrating on one of the big cities may be a good idea this winter since there are more indoor activities available for when it rains.
I live on the Central Coast (midway between LA and SF), and it is a fantastic place to visit but it is over 300 miles from SD and probably at least a 6 hour drive including traffic. Many of the area’s highlights have already been mentioned (Hearst Castle, San Luis Obispo, Morro Rock, Elephant Seal Rookery, etc.).
The solution to that is easy: make sure to take in the areas outside of the paved paths, which only follow the valley floor.
My favorite hikes in Muir Woods are the hillsides: Ben Johnson, Bootjack, and Dipsea are some of the best hikes there, and once you get about a 1/4 mile away from the paved path, you lose about 95% of the people, so it becomes relatively uncrowded.
I’d like to repeat what a few others have said about visiting Big Sur… and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. It’s absolutely beautiful no matter the time of year or the weather. I wouldn’t want to be driving down parts of Highway 1 in Big Sur in a storm, though!
I lived in Carmel for three years and love that area. I don’t think anyone mentioned Point Lobos near there but it has some of the most beautiful coast line in California and some awesome hiking trails that follow the coast line. If you’re traveling with your doggie friends, Carmel River Beach is the place to go for a walk with them along the beach. Unfortunately, with this stormy weather and time of year, sometimes there is no beach to walk on. It literally gets washed away for awhile but you still have Scenic Road to stroll down if the beach is washed away.
Carmel By The Sea is definitely worth a visit. Rooms at The Homestead (owned by Clint Eastwood) located right in middle of Carmel By The Sea have very nice rooms starting at about $90. It’s right off Ocean Avenue. A friend of mine always stayed there when visiting. Il Fornaio (restaurant in the Pine Inn) was my favorite place for Happy Hour. Katy’s Place on Mission Street is THE best place for breakfast or Lunch.
I hope you have an awesome time, no matter where you decide to go. It’s truly a beautiful state with so many things to see and do. With limited time, it will be a hard decision to make.
Katy’s place is good for breakfast, but touristy and pricy. And if you arrive after 8:30, forget it. The food is actually better at Il Fornaio for breakfast, but they only serve after 9AM. They also have the best coffee in town, and a wonderful room to drink it (in the back), with a roaring (gas) fire. Or, go to [Katy’s] The Cottage just on the other side of Ocean Ave on Lincoln, and the food is just as good as Katy’s but lower in price and you can usually get right in.
Have a drink outside at the Mission Ranch (also owned by Clint). Best place to watch the sunset and see the sheep herded into the barn for the night.
Stranger: I only recommended lunch since I figured the folks would be on the go. Dinner at Nepenthe is indeed a better option, if you can make it.
The good news is that the breeding and reintroduction program is working. There’s now more than 60 of them in the wild. A long way to go, yes, but progress in the right direction for once.
::hijinks hijack::
My wife is a 4th generation crazy nutbag birder type…We drove up the PCH in a convertable to Big Sur explicitly to see one of those damn things. While most people would pull off and look at the ocean, we would pull off and look back up towards the cliffs. Spent most of the day with no success (unless you count a dozens of turkey vultures as success, which she did not).
Late afternoon she was on the verge of tears because we didn’t see one, and just as we were about to hop back in the car to find dinner, one of those great big bastards came lofting around the corner maybe 20 feet off the edge off the vista area and maybe 5 foot above us. It was a magnificent beast. We felt the breeze off the one giant flap of its massive wings. My wife was now in tears because she DID see one.
We then were finally able to go get dinner, and a few minutes up the road we found The Maiden Bar. A bar with an Iron Maiden motif. Now I was in tears! (had the run to the hills hot wings) and a few pints.
The next day, we went to the nature preserve, paid $10 to get in and instantly saw 5 of those damn condors (of the few dozen left on earth) in our binoculars at the same time. Made the struggles of the day before seem…less glorious. Oh well. It certainly was a fantastic trip all the way around.
I lived right next door to Mission Ranch. Saw that sunset every day and it’s a good choice for drinks and dinner … Katy’s is a little pricey but good every time… with a really great menu and large portions. Not easy on the wallet if you live there but a very tasty place to eat if you ARE a tourist…
Don’t get me wrong. I eat at Katy’s often enough that they know me by name. But I make sure to get there around 8:00 or earlier, so I can sit outside and enjoy a breakfast without being shmooshed between people. And when I eat there, I figure it’s going to be breakfast and lunch, since the portions are so large. And they only take cash. If you’re traveling as a tourist, you generally want to go to places that take credit cards. If you’re taking a family of 4 there, better have > $100 in cash to shell out.
[QUOTE=snfaulkner]
… maybe a california condor or two (of the like 20 or so left on earth).
[/QUOTE]
This site says that as of 2014 the wild population was 228 and the total population was 421. I believe the numbers have continued to increase since then.
They are indeed amazing birds to see in flight.
My view: California is absolutely full to overflowing with spectacular scenery and great tourist attractions. It would take months to scratch the surface. I endorse essentially all recommended above. …
And none of the others can hope to match Yosemite. If you haven’t been to The Valley, you really must put this high on your list of “If I die before getting there, I screwed up - bad.” I haven’t been in winter, but I’m confident it’s just as amazing as during the rest of the year.
Even moreso. It is spectacular in winter. If you stay in the valley, check on showshoe hikes.
Stranger
If no one has yet recommended this, I would suggest you maybe visit Big Sur. It is one of the most spectacular, breathtakingly beautiful places in this world.
Also, you might want to have a picnic near the Pacific Ocean. Once again - spectacular, breathtakingly beautiful - especially if you’ve never seen it before.
Have a good time!
Well, as a Northern Californian—Armstrong Woods is only about four miles from my house, actually. Lovely place!—I will concur that, while this is certainly beautiful country with plenty to see, a drive from San Diego might be a bit much to tack on to a vacation. It’s roughly, by my measure, the same distance as going from southern England to Scotland, or the width of Iraq, or a little less than the length of the Korean peninsula, or all of Kansas and half of Missouri, and I-5 can be a miserable drive.
Add to that, that this is an El Nino year, and it’s not only very likely to be rainy, but my neck of the Redwood Empire actually would have more than a chance of flooding around then.
But, if you’re determined, I will note that there’s actually a direct San Diego to Santa Rosa (to Charles M. Schulz Airport) commuter flight via Alaska Airlines these days, for about $120 bucks a head, round-trip. It might be worth the cost, even with renting a car on the other end, to cut down on the slog of travel time.
On a related note, I-80 through the Sierras is gorgeous this time of year, at least when the roads are open. Especially around Donner Summit, and the Donner Lake Memorial State Park—I last visited the latter last Feb., which was almost autumnal weather-wise, and it was just breathtaking. Very quiet, very peaceful. No “ghosts” to be felt. The Donner Camp proper, six miles away, however, was a lonelier, gloomier experience. Being there, alone, not long before sundown, probably didn’t help.
Wonderful educational exhibits at both sites, though. Including a full-on museum, with artifacts, at the Donner Lake park.
OK, that does it. We, in this thread, have decided that the OP must move to CA and live here at least one full year in order to appreciate it. We will accept nothing less than that!
I’ve never been to CA outside of LAX & the SF airport. People dressed Very Nicely I thought. It’s not likely that I’ll ever get back so…
A TODO List that will never get to be completed…
I’ll never get to do a Napa valley wine tasting.
I’ll never get to visit Winchester House.
I’ll never get to ride a SF street car.
I’ll never get to Fisherman’s Warf (Please tell me there are restaurants that serve same-day catch)
I’ll Never get into a ‘Trendy Club’ (Oh, but how I could have Fun after I was refused. ;-p )
I’ll never get to eat in “China Town” (I’d have ordered the second “Special” and the third “appetizer” mentioned by the waiter… unless they had “Pacific Roll”…).
I’ll never drive on Rt 1. (Some say I’m just too shy, too polite & just too slow to drive there anyway…)
I’ll never see a Giant Redwood (let alone plant a fertilizer spike 10 feet out from its base and say “thank you”).
I’ll never grab a scorpion by the tail & say, “Listen you Bastard…! I know where the drawn butter is… and if you or your fuckers bother us Just Once… I’ll lop off with your tail, show you boiling water & It Won’t Be Kosher…”
I’ll never know if I’m as good with a 6-gun at the cans on the fence as the guy in the Wild West show.
I’ll never get into any acting studio tour. (“You are BANNED until The End of Time.” “Why?” “For being Annoying. You’re on The List!” “Anything else?” “oh… its says you can’t do lunch here either…” “Swell.”)
I’ll never know what Smog smells like. (Some people say it smells like Long Island)
I’ll never get to drive through Silicon Valley or get to see the smartest people in the world… holding up signs that say “Will Code For Food”.
I’ll never get to ask for directions in East LA to that famous restaurant called “Pendejos”.
I’ll never get to break the jaw of the loud-mouthed conservative at Bullard’s Drug Store or get to say, “Don’t say it, chum. The customer’s always right, so I’m fired. But this customer wasn’t right…”
I’ll never get to taxi a plane out to the end of Meadows Field using only my knees.
I’ll never get to buzz the news helicopters filming highway car chases, let alone drop any rolls of barbed wire above them.
I’ll never get to cook Taylor Ham on a grill off of food truck in Santa Monica to see if I could hear, “Hey, this is Good. What IS this…?”
I’ll never get to walk on Rodeo Drive, be snubbed by the pretty girls, yet laugh & point back “No… not even with HER dick!”
I’ll never get to visit Alcatraz. (OK, I wasn’t going to anyway. Some might find it Way Too Tempting.)
I’ll never get to ask Governor Schwarzenegger for his autograph… (but that could also be bcause the governor is now Jerry Brown.)
Greetings from Reno! I just drove this yesterday (well, to Truckee last night, finished the last leg early this morning) and I concur, the snowy Sierra scenery is stunning. I’ll take my time driving back on Monday, hoping to add some of the endemic birds (white-headed woodpecker, mtn chickadee, mtn quail, black-billed magpie) to my lifelist.
…continues hijack…
Omigodwhere? I’ll go tomorrow!