Pacific Coast Highway National Parks

You can visit several US national parks while driving the Pacific Coast Highway and this guide covers ten parks with drive times and accommodation information.

Yosemite National Park

Ten US national parks are within reach of the Pacific Coast Highway, and here’s our guide to all of them, with some accommodation suggestions.

When we say that the national parks are within reach of the Pacific Coast Highway, we’ve set ourselves a limit of a four-hour drive from somewhere along the highway to get to the park. We figure we’d be happy to drive four hours to see these natural wonders, especially as many of the drives themselves are impressively beautiful.

Redwood State Park

For the longer drives we wouldn’t recommend trying to go there and back in a day, as there’s so much to see in every park, but instead make a proper side trip of it and book accommodation well ahead. Some of the parks have limited accommodation options and can get booked up a long way in advance. Several of the parks could also be easily visited at the start or end of your Pacific Coast Highway drive.

Olympic National Park

Here in alphabetical order are the ten national parks that you can incorporate into a drive along the Pacific Coast Highway. We haven't given detailed directions as those can be lengthy for the further parks and we assume you'll use a GPS, smartphone, or a good map.

Our Pick of the California Guides

Channel Islands National Park

Channel Islands National Park:
Santa Cruz Island

You can’t drive to this national park, of course, not even if you have an amphibious vehicle. Trips must be made on officially-sanctioned boats or planes, and private boats must have prior permission. Boats go from Ventura Harbor, where there’s an information office telling you all about the park and where you book your tickets. There are also plane trips from Camarillo Airport, which is a 20-minute drive east from Ventura Harbour in the city of Camarillo.

Bald Eagles in Channel Islands National Park

Flights take about 40 minutes and boat trips from 1-4 hours depending on the island or islands being visited. You can also book a whale-watching cruise through the officially-sanctioned company, Island Packers.

Channel Islands National Park website.

Crater Lakes National Park

Crater Lake National Park in Summer

Crater Lakes National Park is almost a four-hour drive from Crescent City. It's the only national park in Oregon and was established in 1902, making it the fifth-oldest national park in the country. Crater Lake is the result of a volcano that collapsed, giving it its unique and dramatic look, with water now filling the volcano’s caldera. The lake is 1,949 feet (594 m) deep at its deepest, making it the deepest lake in the USA and the 9th-deepest in the world. In fact if you measure it by average depth, it becomes the third-deepest in the world.

Crater Lakes National Park in Winter

It’s well worth the four-hour drive from the Pacific Coast Highway, and you’ll want to stay overnight. Crater Lake Lodge is within the national park and has rooms overlooking the lake, but book well ahead.

Crater Lake National Park website.

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is a drive of two-to-three hours from places like Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and San Diego. It’s a similar time from the beach cities south of LA, like Huntington Beach. To get from San Diego to Joshua Tree National Park takes under three hours.

Joshua Tree National Park

.Joshua Tree was originally created as a national monument in 1936, and became Joshua Tree National Park in 1994. Its 1,235 square miles (3,200 sq kms) make it larger than the state of Rhode Island, and encompass two deserts. It’s most famous, of course, for the thousands of distinctive Joshua Trees, though in fact they’re not trees but a succulent, looking like a cross between a tree and a cactus.

Joshua Tree National Park

If you want to stay overnight then there are several campgrounds inside the park, but no hotels or other accommodation. There’s plenty of choice around the park, though, in places like Twentynine Palms and Indio, and Palm Springs is about an hour’s drive away.

Joshua Tree National Park website.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen Volcanic National Park squeezes onto our list as you can just about get to it in four hours from Eureka, depending on the traffic. It's one of the few places in the world where you can see all four different types of volcano, the most dominant being Lassen Peak. This stands at an elevation of 10,457 feet (3,187 m) but is visually striking as it rises for 5,229 feet (1,594 m) out of the surrounding landscape.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen became a national park in 1916, the park being made up of what were previously two national monuments. It contains the highest road in the Cascade Mountains, so check out weather conditions and forecasts before you travel as snow can linger here as late as July! Lassen Peak last erupted in 1917, which means that it is still considered an active volcano, but no-one knows if and when it might erupt again.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

There's no public transportation to or in the park so you'll need your own car to enjoy the 30-mile (48 km) park highway and be aware that because of the elevation some people do experience altitude sickness. For accommodation you'll need to search for lodgings in the small towns that are around the park, like Susanville, Burney, Mill Creek, and Chester. There aren't any historic hotels within the park as there are with many other national parks, so you may have to settle for a chain hotel or motel like Travel Inn or Super 8.

Lassen Volcanic National Park website.

Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier National Park is a two-hour drive south from Seattle, and then east. It covers an area of 369 square miles (957 square kms) and contains volcanoes, mountains, waterfalls, meadows, forests and glaciers - so there's lots to see. That includes Mount Rainier itself, a stratovolcano that is 14,411 feet (4,392 m) high, the highest point in the Cascades. If you want to visit the park's higher elevations then you should always check the weather conditions. Winter here can start in November and last through to May. The park gets a lot of rainfall too, and the best times to visit are July and August.

Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier was made a national park back in 1899, making it the fifth national park to be created in the USA, and today it gets over 1.5 million visitors a year. For that reason you need to book ahead, especially if you want to visit during the summer months. There is accommodation within the park boundaries and you need to look for lodgings in places like Packwood, Greenwater, and Ashford. Ashford has the most hotels, with great views of Mount Rainier.

Mount Rainier National Park website.

North Cascades National Park

The North Cascades National Park is a two-hour drive northeast of Seattle. It covers over 500,000 acres and encompasses the North Cascades mountain range, glaciers, rivers, huge forests, and vast areas of wilderness. In terms of flora and fauna, it's said to be the most bio-diverse park in the whole of the United States. There are black bear, grizzlies, grey wolves, elk, bobcat, lynx, cougar, coyote, and numerous other animals.

Mount Shuksan in North Cascades National Park

The park was established in 1968 and because of its remote nature, up against the Canadian border, it gets only about 30,000 visitors a year. There is accommodation within the park boundaries in places like Stehekin and Rockport.

North Cascades National Park website.

Olympic National Park

See our page on the Olympic National Park in Washington, and our separate page on Olympic National Park Accommodation.

Olympic National Park website.

Pinnacles National Park

Pinnacles National Park is just over an hour’s drive from Monterey and Carmel, so is one of the easiest national parks to visit when you're driving the Pacific Coast Highway. You can easily make a day trip of it from the coast, though there is accommodation there as well if you want to make the most of your visit. The park covers over 26,000 acres and attracts over 200,000 visitors a year.

Pinnacles National Park

The park was only established in 2013, although it had been designated as a national monument by President Roosevelt in 1908. Its highest point is North Chalone Peak at 3,304 feet (1,007 m) and the best times to visit are from May to October, when there is very little rainfall and temperatures are warm... though they can easily go over 100 degrees at lower elevations in summer. The pinnacle rock formations that give the park its name are popular with climbers, and there are plenty of hiking trails too.

Pinnacles National Park website.

Redwood National and State Parks

Redwood National Park

You can’t miss the Redwood National and State Parks as Highway 101 goes right through them. In total they cover 139,000 acres, of which about 40,000 acres is given over to redwood forests. Although they're best known for their giant redwood trees (the tallest trees on earth) there are also prairies, rivers, oak forests, and almost 40 miles (64 km) of coastline. They are definitely among the top attractions if you're driving the Pacific Coast Highway.

Redwood National Park

The Redwood National Park was created in 1968 and together the parks receive about half a million visitors a year. If you want to make the most of the parks and do more than simply drive through, the nearest decent-sized place to stay along the Pacific Coast Highway is Crescent City, where there are plenty of accommodation options to suit all budgets.

Redwood National and State Parks website.

Yosemite National Park

You can reach Yosemite National Park in under four hours from such places as San Francisco or Monterey. It became a national park in 1890, only the third in the country after Yellowstone and Sequoia national parks. Today it attracts well over four million visitors a year, and covers an area of 748,436 acres. Many people only go to see the park's main attractions, but if you want to escape the crowds the park is certainly big enough to enable you to do that. It's also a park that you can visit all year round.

Yosemite National Park

Its features include granite cliffs that make challenging climbs for climbers, groves of giant sequoia trees, waterfalls, rivers, lakes, glaciers, mountains, and meadows, and it ranges in height from 2,127 to 13,114 feet (648 to 3,997 m). Most people limit their visit to Yosemite Valley, from where you can see several of the park's big draws, but allow time to explore further if you want to get a feel for the majesty of Yosemite. There's also plenty of accommodation around Yosemite Valley, if you want to stay overnight and see Yosemite at sunrise and sunset.

Yosemite National Park website.

Some driving pages

Oregon Coast Charging Stations
Pacific Coast Highway Travel's guide to Oregon coast charging stations for electric vehicles, from Brookings in the south to Astoria in the north.
Driving the Pacific Coast Highway in Three Days
Pacific Coast Highway Travel's advice on driving the Pacific Coast Highway in three days, including the best places to stay, and the best things to do and see.
Driving the Pacific Coast Highway in Four Days
Pacific Coast Highway Travel's advice on driving the Pacific Coast Highway in four days, including the best places to stay, and the best things to do and see.
Washington Coast Charging Stations
Pacific Coast Highway Travel's guide to Washington coast charging stations for electric vehicles along Highway 101 from Oregon and around the Olympic Peninsula.
Maps of the Pacific Coast Highway: Free Driving Maps of the PCH
Road maps of the Pacific Coast Highway or PCH are essential for anyone planning to drive the trip, and detailed routes are available for free.
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.
Ways to Go
Here are links to the different ways you can go along the Pacific Coast Highway, one of the most popular drives in the world but you can also cycle it.
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.
Best Time to Drive the Pacific Coast Highway
The best time to drive the Pacific Coast Highway is when you have the most time to spare, but late spring and fall is when you'll get the best weather.
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.
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.
The 17-Mile Drive between Carmel, Pacific Grove, and Monterey
Pacific Coast Highway Travel takes the 17-Mile Drive from Carmel to Pacific Grove and Monterey, stopping to see the Lone Cypress and beautiful coastline views.
Pacific Coast Highway Stops
Pacific Coast Highway stops include big city vacation destinations like Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, and smaller places like Monterey.
California Coast Charging Stations
California coast charging stations are so numerous that the Pacific Coast Highway is one of the best US road trips to drive in an electric vehicle or EV.
Pacific Coast Highway Driving Tips
Pacific Coast Highway driving tips for this great American road trip include finding cheap gas, watching the speed limits, and allowing plenty of travel time.
Driving the Pacific Coast Highway in Five Days
Pacific Coast Highway Travel's advice on driving the Pacific Coast Highway in five days, including the best places to stay over, and the best things to do and see.
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.
Driving the Pacific Coast Highway
Driving the Pacific Coast Highway is made easier with Road Trip USA by Jamie Jensen, a good handbook for the west coast drive.
When to Drive the Pacific Coast Highway
When to Drive the Pacific Coast Highway depends on whether you want to drive in Oregon and Washington as well as California, and on the weather.
California Driving Laws
If visiting California and planning to drive the Pacific Coast Highway it's important to know California driving laws in case they differ from your own state.
Drive the Pacific Coast Highway
Here are the basic facts if you plan to drive the Pacific Coast Highway, including which is the best direction and when is the best time to go driving.
San Francisco to San Diego
Driving from San Francisco to San Diego has two main options, the fast way on I-5 or the scenic route along the Pacific Coast Highway.
Driving the Pacific Coast Highway in Two Days
Pacific Coast Highway Travel's advice on driving the Pacific Coast Highway in two days, including the best places to stay, and the best things to do and see.
Epic Drives of the World
Epic Drives of the World from Lonely Planet describes 50 of the world's most exciting road trips, including, of course, the Pacific Coast Highway.
LA to Hearst Castle
Pacific Coast Highway travel offers advice on driving from LA to Hearst Castle, including distance, journey time, and route.