When to Drive the Pacific Coast Highway (2024)

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.

Your decision on when to drive the Pacific Coast Highway maybe out of your hands, if you're having to coincide with a family event, say, ora conference, or if your holiday period is fixed. But assuming you have a freechoice, when is the best time to headfor the west coast and one of the most famous drives in the USA?

When to Drive the Pacific Coast Highway

It firstly depends on whether you plan to include any of theOregon and Washington coasts in your trip, or if you'll be staying inCalifornia. If you intend to drive the whole of the Pacific coast then yourwindow of opportunity is a little smaller, assuming you want to have decentweather for your drive.

Driving the Highway inWashington and Oregon

The further north you go, the worse the winter weather.Unless you like driving in snow and rain, Washington and Oregon are bestavoided in the winter months.

Even spring and fall can bring cold weather, andsome snow. Our advice is to plan your PCH drive for the summer months of Junethrough to September, when you're more likely to have warm days, withtemperatures in the 70s and 80s.

There's still a chance of rain so pack your raincoat and anumbrella, just in case. And you are by the sea, so it can get chilly at night.

Driving the Highway inCalifornia

If you're only going to be driving in California, andespecially in Southern California, then you have a much wider time period tobuild your plans around.

The further south you are, the milder the weather evenin winter. The song says that 'It never rains in Southern California', andwhile this isn't strictly true, you do get a lot of sunshine.You do also get winter storms, so be prepared for those.There have been some bad ones in recent years, not the kind of thing you wantto be driving in if you can help it.

The winter storms often bring problems around the Big Sur stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway, where the mountains come right down to the sea. It makes for the dramatic scenery, but it also makes for landslides and road closures.

We've been in Southern California in the winter when it's been warm enough to enjoy the beach in Santa Monica, but we've also experienced heavy rain and cold winds.

When to Drive the PacificCoast Highway?

For us, the best times to drive the Pacific Coast Highwayare from late spring, through summer, to early fall. In July and August youhave the best chance of almost-perfect weather, but you also have the busiestcrowds and high-season hotel prices. It will be harder to get into therestaurants you want to eat in, as well.

We would choose May/June or September/October as the besttimes to drive the west coast. If you're driving from south to north then do itin the spring, so the weather ought to get better as you head north. And ifyou're driving north-south, the opposite applies and you should drive it in thefall. These aren't fool proof, obviously, as you can never predict the weatherin any given year, but they're a guide as to what to expect.

Booking Hotels

If you're driving in July and August you should definitelyplan your trip more closely and book your hotels in advance, not just to securethe best rates but to secure a room!

Outside those months (and outside holidayweekends) you should be pretty safe if you prefer to do things more loosely andfind your accommodation as you go long. This allows you the flexibility ofstaying longer if you find a place you like, and making up the time later.

OurPCH Hotels Guide lists places in different price brackets in most of the placesyou're likely to want to stay in.