{"id":10406,"date":"2010-09-22T08:30:59","date_gmt":"2010-09-22T13:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/?p=10406"},"modified":"2016-12-16T11:43:19","modified_gmt":"2016-12-16T17:43:19","slug":"california-vacation-fall-drives-on-the-pacific-coast-highway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2010\/09\/california-vacation-fall-drives-on-the-pacific-coast-highway\/","title":{"rendered":"Fall drives on the Pacific Coast Highway"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Get lost in the mystic of giant trees at Redwood National Park. Credit: Photodisc. <\/p><\/div>\n

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By Pieter van Noordennen<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s that time of year when, from San Diego to Seattle, East Coast transplants start waxing philosophic about Robert Frost, crisp New England morns, and hillsides flush with fall color. But just because it\u2019s autumn doesn\u2019t mean travelers should skip a California vacation<\/a> or leave the scenic drives<\/a> tothose on the Right Coast.<\/p>\n

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The Pacific Coast Highway<\/strong>, or California\u2019s Highway 1<\/strong>, ranks as one of the best drives in America, and when September comes, the summer heat and crowds that stifle California\u2019s beaches and highways begin to disperse. While the state only designates a scant 130 miles of tarmac as the official Pacific Coast Highway, the actual PCH runs more than 1,800 miles up the coast, from the cliffs and surf shops of SoCal, through the wine valleys of the Central Coast, and finally up into Redwood country north of San Francisco<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Napa South <\/strong>
\nWhile the wine regions of Napa Valley and Sonoma<\/a> get the headlines, Central California has long been a major producer of reds and whites. Only recently has it come into its own as a vacation destination for wine-savvy travelers, with the valleys outside of Santa Barbara<\/a> and San Luis Obispo boasting terrific wine tours and cozy bed-and-breakfasts. Try the Santa Ynez Valley<\/strong>, where places like Sunstone Vineyards<\/a> and Alma Rosa Winery<\/a> serve award-winning vintages in cavernous tasting rooms set among rustic gardens.<\/p>\n

Mind and Body<\/strong>
\nMoving north, the coastline becomes more dramatic as you head toward Big Sur<\/strong>, long the haven of poets and authors. Hearst Castle<\/a>, the manse of legendary newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, pulls the most tourists, but those driving the PCH should take advantage of this section\u2019s more outdoorsy offerings, as well. The courses at the Esalen Institute<\/a>, founded 1962, may be too new agey for some (think courses titled \u201cA Cleansing Through Fire\u201d), but even the most conservative traveler would be foolish to pass up a soak in one of their mineral tubs while sitting under the night sky overlooking the California coast. If that\u2019s too passive, continue north past San Francisco to Sausalito<\/strong>, where you\u2019ll find excellent sea kayaking<\/a> with views of the Golden Gate Bridge.<\/p>\n

Tall Trees<\/strong>
\nLack of foliage notwithstanding, the case can be made that the best forests to visit this fall may be in Mendocino County. True, the weather can be wet and chilly during this time of year on the northern California\u00a0 coast, but that makes for ethereal, exciting hikes through cathedral-like stands of massive trees. About 45 minutes from the Pacific Coast Highway, near the town of Fort Bragg<\/strong>, you\u2019ll find MontgomeryWoods State Natural Reserve<\/a>, home to 370-foot-tall trees set into a massive wilderness area in the Coast Range. Along the coast, on a stretch of U.S. 101 known as the Redwood Highway, Redwood National Park<\/a> offers camping, hiking, and the chance to see wildlife like Roosevelt elk and black bears and tide pools teeming with ochre sea stars and purple shore crabs. Who says these forests lack for color?<\/p>\n

Related resources<\/strong><\/p>\n