- HOME
- BEFORE YOU GO
- Books
Books
Books About the Pacific Coast Highway in California, Oregon and Washington including travel guidebooks, route guides, restaurant guides, and many more.
Don't just take our word for what's good, as there are plenty of books to help you with your research into any Pacific Coast Highway trip, or any vacation anywhere along the way. There are several good guides that cover the entire route, for both drivers and cyclists, and you should pack at least one of these in your luggage.
There are also general guidebooks on the Pacific Coast, and on the individual states of California, Oregon and Washington. There are books about the wildlife, and the kinds of guides we most enjoy reading – restaurant guides.
Accommodation Guides
California Camping (Moon)
California Bed and Breakfast Inns
Camping
See under RV Parks and Campgrounds below
City Guides
San Francisco: 101 Free Things to Do in San Francisco (Kindle Guide)
San Francisco: Your Insider's Guide to San Francisco
Los Angeles: 111 Places in Hollywood That You Must Not Miss
Los Angeles: Soul of Los Angeles
Check out this Fodor's guide to Los Angeles, which also covers Santa Monica, Malibu, and Disneyland
Cycling Guides
Bicycling the Pacific Coast
Downhills Don't Come Free: One Man's Bike Ride from Alaska to Mexico
Two Wheels North: Bicycling the West Coast in 1909
Driving Guides
Backroads of the California Coast
The Best Coast: A Road Trip Atlas
Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip (Moon Handbooks)
Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Guide
Pacific Coast Highway Road Trips (Lonely Planet)
Road Trip USA: Pacific Coast Highway
The Best PCH Guide
Our recommended guide for
driving the Pacific coast is
Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip
(Moon Handbooks).
Click on the cover image to see the latest edition for sale on Amazon.
Food, Drink, and Restaurant Guides
Good Beer Guide to the West Coast USA
Moon Handbooks’ Napa and Sonoma Guidebook
Northwest Wine Country: Wine's New Frontier
General Guides
Culture Trails: 52 Perfect Weekends
A Journey into John Steinbeck's California
Lighthouses of the Pacific Coast
The Pacific Coast Highway in California (Images of America)
State, Regional, and USA Guides
California Coastal Access Guide
Coastal California (Lonely Planet)
Frommer's Washington State Travel Guide
Los Angeles, San Diego and Southern California (Lonely Planet)
Michelin Green Guide: California
Michelin Green Guide: USA West
Moon Handbooks: Santa Barbara and the Central Coast
Moon Spotlight Guide to the Olympic Peninsula
RV Parks and Campgrounds Guides
California Camping (Moon)
West Coast RV Camping (Moon Outdoors series)
Other books pages
Culture Trails
Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews the book Culture Trails by Lonely Planet, which has a section on Vintage Hollywood alongside 51 other perfect weekends.
California Living and Eating
California Living and Eating by Eleanor Maidment is a handsome coffee table book celebrating the food and lifestyle of the Golden State with 80 tasty recipes.
Guide to the Olympic Peninsula
Moon's Spotlight Guide to the Olympic Peninsula covers hotels, restaurants, and sights, including Forks, the Olympic National Park and other places.
Road Food Guide
West Coast Road Eats is a road food guide covering the Pacific Coast from California through Oregon to Washington, giving the best road trip food stops.
California Coast Guide
One of the best California coast guides is the California Coastal Access Guide, describing the coast’s beaches, National Parks, State Parks, with many maps.
The Best Coast Book Review
The Best Coast is a west coast travel guide, sub-titled A Road Trip Atlas it doesn't use photos but instead has hundreds of beautiful illustrations.
California Bed and Breakfast Inns
The guide to California Bed and Breakfast Inns lists over 250 boutique hotels, wine country cottages and more.
California Backroads
Some of the best California Backroads are included in Backroads of the California Coast, with 24 highly recommended driving tours off the Pacific Coast Highway.
Gardens Of the Pacific Coast Highway
Plant lovers can visit hundreds of gardens along or near the Pacific Coast Highway,ranging from lush gardens in the Pacific North-West to southern California.
Brewpubs and Good Beer on the West Coast USA
Brewpubs and good beer are at the heart of the Good Beer Guide to the West Coast USA which lists the best bars and breweries from Seattle to San Diego.
Soul of Los Angeles
Soul of Los Angeles from French publishers Jonglez is a travel guide to 30 Exceptional Experiences in California's largest city.
Greetings from California
Greetings from California is a beautiful coffee-table book which describes the legends, landmarks and lore of California, including the Pacific Coast Highway.
Northwest Wine Country
Northwest Wine Country is a food and wine lover's guide to vineyards, fine dining, accommodation, restaurants in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia.
Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Guide
Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews the Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Guide book covering the drive from Vancouver to San Diego.
Cycling the USA West Coast
Lonely Planet's Guide to Cycling the USA West Coast is a bicycling guidebook for anyone touring California, Oregon and Washington by bike.
Lighthouses of the Pacific Coast
Lighthouses of the Pacific Coast, published by Voyageur Press, is a guide in words and pictures to historic lighthouses along the Pacific Coast Highway.
West Coast RV Parks
One of the best guides to West Coast RV Parks, covering campgrounds in California, Oregon, and Washington, is West Coast RV Camping from Moon Guides.
Your Insider's Guide to San Francisco
Pacific Coast Highway Travel's book review of Insider's Guide to San Francisco guidebook by Jill Loeffler, publisher of the San Francisco Tourism Tips website.
Olympic Peninsula Travel Guide
Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews an Olympic Peninsula Travel Guide published by the Beautiful Pacific Northwest website.
Los Angeles Travel Guide
The Los Angeles travel guide book from Lonely Planet also covers San Diego and Southern California, including Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, and Disneyland.
Vintage Hollywood
Vintage Hollywood in Los Angeles is an extract from the Lonely Planets book Culture Trails.
Frommer's Guide to Seattle
The Frommer's Guide to Seattle has good information about the city and side excursions to the Olympic National Park and elsewhere, plus free city and area map.
Pacific Coast Highway Road Trips: Lonely Planet Guidebook Review
Review of the Pacific Coast Highway Road Trips book from Lonely Planet, which includes a California Driving Guide, by the Pacific Coast Highway Travel website.
Cannery Row in Monterey
To John Steinbeck Monterey's Cannery Row was a place of sardine canneries, bums and honky tonks, but today the Monterey Aquarium attracts visitors.
Recent Articles
-
Expect Delays: PCH Lane Closures in Malibu Begin Friday and One Lane Closure Continues Next Week
Nov 17, 24 11:21 AM
Caltrans Schedules Rock Scaling Work, Announces a Week-Long 24/7 Lane Closure -
Think Big Sur Is Thrilling From the Road? Try Paddling It in a Winter Storm
Nov 16, 24 10:17 AM
A highway closure along the wildest stretch of California’s Central Coast inspired three dauntless paddlers to try another route. Here’s how that four-day odyssey went. -
New Hotels in Los Angeles
Nov 12, 24 05:40 PM
Pacific Coast Highway Travel lists the new hotels in Los Angeles, and those refurbished and renovated, and all open for business in 2025.
FTC Disclosure: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, we may receive a small commission on the transaction - at no added cost to you. Thank you!
LATEST BOOKS
Take a look at our latest books: 101 Best Things to Do on the Pacific Coast Highway and 101 Budget Hotels along the Pacific Coast Highway. Click on the covers to learn more.
LATEST NEWS
Recent Articles
-
Expect Delays: PCH Lane Closures in Malibu Begin Friday and One Lane Closure Continues Next Week
Nov 17, 24 11:21 AM
Caltrans Schedules Rock Scaling Work, Announces a Week-Long 24/7 Lane Closure -
Think Big Sur Is Thrilling From the Road? Try Paddling It in a Winter Storm
Nov 16, 24 10:17 AM
A highway closure along the wildest stretch of California’s Central Coast inspired three dauntless paddlers to try another route. Here’s how that four-day odyssey went. -
New Hotels in Los Angeles
Nov 12, 24 05:40 PM
Pacific Coast Highway Travel lists the new hotels in Los Angeles, and those refurbished and renovated, and all open for business in 2025.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases, but at no cost to you.
Buy an inexpensive journal to record your own Pacific Coast Highway adventure!
If you're planning a PCH road trip, take a look at our guide to hotels along the way:
FOLLOW OUR PCH VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE
The Best PCH Guide
We've read lots of guides to the Pacific Coast, and easily the best one is the Moon Handbook. You can read our review here, or buy it through the Amazon link below.
No words or images to be used without prior permission.
We do not sell personal information: see our Privacy Policy.
California Consumer Privacy Act - CCPA: Sale Of Personal Information
Pacific Coast Highway Travel does not sell any information it gathers for any reason. It has not collected or sold any personal information in the last twelve months or ever in the past.
This website was built using Site Build It!
