California Coast Guide

The California Coastal Access 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.

We were curious about this California coast guide. Many of our website visitors told us they had bought it and found it really useful, so why didn’t we review it? So we bought a copy and took a look. And we were impressed.

California Coastal Access Guide Cover

The California Coastal Access Guide is an unusual book in that it is produced by the California Coastal Commission for the State of California, and published by the University of California Press. It’s been updated several times over the years, but the most recent one we could get our hands on was the 6th edition, which came out in 2003.

Update!

This review is of the 2003 edition of the guide. There is now an updated edition which we thoroughly recommend.

Not a Guidebook

Let’s start by saying this California coast guide is not a guidebook. You won’t find hotels and restaurants listed here, although they do list all the hostels you’ll find along the coast.

But apart from that, it won’t tell you where to stay or where to eat. There are also only brief entries for museums and other attractions, and not every attraction in every place along the coast is listed.

Why Buy this California Coast Guide?

If it isn’t a very thorough guidebook, why on earth would you want to buy the California Coastal Access Guide? The answer is because it’s the most thorough guide to all the natural wonders of the California coast that you’ll find. By the time this edition had come out in 2003 it had sold over 100,000 copies, which is a good sign.

The Introduction

The various sections of the Introduction give you some idea who the book is aimed at. There are pages on Children and the Coast, Boating and Boating Safety, Access for Persons with Disabilities, Environmental Camping, Coastal Hostels, and several sections about the California coast’s precious wildlife: Protecting Marine Wildlife, and Marine Sanctuaries, for example

The Heceta Head Lighthouse on the California Coast

California Coast Wildlife

The guide will definitely appeal to those who - like us - love the wildlife we see on our journeys up and down the Pacific Coast Highway. Dotted throughout the book are numerous full-page features which cover subjects like the Northern Elephant Seal, Monarch Butterflies, the Southern Sea Otter, Tidepools, Clams, Shellfish, Sharks, Seabirds, Shorebirds and Waterfowl, and the California Gray Whale. All of these are in-depth looks at the creatures that live on or just off the coast, and will add a great deal to your journey through California.

Young Northern Elephant Seal

National Parks, State Parks, State Beaches

As this is an official publication, you’d expect it to be good on state facilities - and it is. It includes full details (including maps, facilities, phone numbers) for all the California coast’s National Parks, Recreation Areas, State Parks, State Beaches, Marine Sanctuaries, Natural Reserves, Natural Preserves, and Natural Refuges. For anyone who likes visiting any of these places, the book is invaluable.

Russian Gulch State Park

Some Dated Details

Inevitably in a book this old, some of the information is dated. I certainly wouldn’t reply on the opening hours, for example! Very few websites are listed, of course. Places like the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Scripps Institute in La Jolla have changed a lot in ten years.

One notable omission is the place we always stop at when driving the Pacific Coast Highway: the Piedras Blancas Beach, just north of Hearst Castle. This is where the elephant seals gather, to mate and give birth, and it’s one of the most thrilling sights anywhere along the west coast of the USA. But the seals only started arriving here in 1990, and the first edition of this book was published way back in 1981. It looks like it hasn’t been updated properly, as you can’t ignore this rookery of up to 17,000 elephant seals if you’re describing the California coast.

Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas Beach

Photo (c) Donna Dailey

There’s no entry for Piedras Blancas in the index. There isn’t even an entry for elephant seals - you have to look under Northern elephant seals to find the page devoted to these amazing creatures, and not every reader might know they’re called Northern elephant seals.

Piedras Blancas might be excluded because it isn’t a State Beach, but the California Coastal Access Guide is so much about wildlife that this very special place ought to be in there. Next edition, anyone?

Bixby Bridge on the California Coast

California Coast Guide Verdict

Despite some of the information being slightly dated, we still thoroughly recommend this guide for your Pacific Coast Highway drive if you are at all interested in wildlife, walking, scenery, or any other natural aspect of this fabulous stretch of coast.

This review is of the 2003 edition of the guide. There is now an updated and improved edition, which you can find on Amazon.

Other books pages

Books About the Pacific Coast Highway
Books About the Pacific Coast Highway in California, Oregon and Washington including travel guidebooks, route guides, restaurant guides, and many more.
Whale Watching in California
Whale watching in California is one of the most popular things to do along the Pacific Coast Highway, in places like San Diego, San Francisco and many more.
Napa and Sonoma Guidebook
The Napa and Sonoma Guidebook to California Wine Country is from the Moon Handbooks’ travel guide series with reviews of wineries,vineyards, and wine tastings.
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.
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.
Oceanside
Oceanside is a typical southern California beach town with a surf culture and with the Pacific Coast Highway running right through it.
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.
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.
John Steinbeck California Guide
This John Steinbeck California Guide, A Journey into Steinbeck's California, shows readers how towns like Monterey, Carmel and Salinas influenced the author.
Coastal California Guidebook
Lonely Planet's Coastal California guidebook is the ideal travel guide for driving or cycling the Pacific Coast Highway from the Oregon border to Mexico.
Bixby Bridge
Drive the Pacific Coast Highway and you have to cross Bixby Bridge in California, ten miles north of Big Sur and 30 minutes south of Monterey.
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.
Unique Inns on the Pacific Coast Highway
Unique Inns on the Pacific Coast Highway include some of the best independently-owned boutique hotels, spas, and lodges in California, Oregon and Washington.
Stanford Inn by the Sea Mendocino
The Stanford Inn by the Sea in Mendocino on the California coast is an eco-resort with yoga classes and the award-winning Ravens Restaurant.
San Clemente California
San Clemente in California is a small city on the Pacific Coast Highway midway between San Diego and Los Angeles, noted for its beaches and surfing.
Olympic Peninsula Travel Guide
Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews an Olympic Peninsula Travel Guide published by the Beautiful Pacific Northwest website.
Vagabond's House Inn
Historic and romantic Vagabond's House Inn Bed and Breakfast in Carmel is a great place to stay with free wine and cheese and generous breakfast.
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica in California is famous for its pier, and beaches, and is one of the best west coast vacation spots, with hotels, restaurants, surfing, museums.
Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay is a small California coastal town on the borders of Marin County and Sonoma County, and the filming location for Alfred Hitchcock's the Birds.
Top Wildlife Spots on the California Coast
Pacific Coast Highway Travel recommends some of the top wildlife spots along the California coast.
Free Things to do on the Pacific Coast Highway
There are lots of free things to do on the Pacific Coast Highway and here's our list of ten of them including wildlife, the best free views, and free museums.
Best Time to Visit Mendocino
PCH Travel picks the best time to visit Mendocino, with a monthly summary of the weather, plus hotel prices and special events to help plan a visit.
Pacific Coast Highway in California
The Pacific Coast Highway in California book shows in historic photos the building of the Pacific Coast Highway from its earliest beginnings in 1911.
California Camping Book Review
Pacific Coast Highway Travel's California Camping book review rates the 20th anniversary edition of Moon's complete guide to over 1400 tent and RV campgrounds.
Pismo Beach
Pismo Beach is a small beach town on California's Central Coast, a resort famous for surfing and clams.