Looking for suggestions and tips for a last minute, hastily planned, good old fashioned college road trip in 2 wks starting in LA, winding up to San Luis Obispo and then finishing with a red-eye out of SFO. I will be glad to report back on the success or failure of our trip to CC as we visit USC, UCLA, Cal Poly, Stanford and Berkeley. Her interests that draw her to the west coast (in no particular order): technology/design/computer sci, beaches, iconic landmarks, warmer weather (after the last two storms and 2’ of snow, I don’t fault her for this). Itinerary gives us a few days in LA with free chunks between planned tours - any recommendations for must see/do/eat? Then we have 2 free days in San Luis Obispo area - staying near the beach for a couple days with time for exploring, hiking, etc - anything that is a must? SFO will just be a quick visit with my daughter there and no time for anything else really. Appreciate any suggestions!
In LA: If you like art and antiquities go to the Getty Villa. If you like more modern art go to the Getty. Both are free admission but you must pay for parking. Get tickets online.
For eating - if you like Asian food I recommend Tatsu - a ramen place on Sawtelle Blvd… It’s quite good. Nothing like the ramen you buy in a grocery store.
Is there any reason you’re not visiting UC Irvine or UC Santa Barbara?
In LA, besides the Getty, I highly recommend visiting the Griffith Observatory, certainly an iconic landmark with great views. Also, near USC are both the Natural History Museum and the California Science Center, both worth a visit. As far as beaches in LA, Santa Monica Pier and Beach and/or Venice Beach. Near SLO, Pismo Beach and Avila Beach are both nice. One of my favorite places near there is Montana de Oro State Park, which has some good hiking trails along the bluffs above the beach.
I’ll focus on SLO since you have 2 days there. On your way north stop in Santa Barbara – drive along the beach and down State St (you may want to drive by UCSB–right off freeway). Leaving Santa Barbara take the 154/San Marcos Pass instead of the 101, it’s a bit of a short cut and a beautiful drive. On the 154 look for the Solvang sign and drive through there too (touristy Danish town). In SLO the downtown area is great and there are several different beaches to see, the closest one to campus is Avila. Make sure you head north on the 1 to Morro Bay and Cambria. And tour the Hearst Castle (it’s worth the $25 fee). If you keep going north there is an elephant seal rookery–seals everywhere! It is too bad the 1 is closed for through traffic to SF (mudslide), it is one of the most beautiful drives in the world. Leaving SLO take the 101 to Paso Robles and drive by some of the wineries. Also, if you have time, visit Cambria and Big Sur.
In the LA area, you might also consider visiting the Claremont Colleges. As a collection of five co-located LACs, each with a different focus, they offer a very unique experience. For a tech-minded student, Harvey Mudd will be of particular interest.
A logistical note – don’t underestimate the traffic in LA. Likewise during rush hour between Stanford → SFO → Berkeley. The Waze app is a good resource.
Good luck!
@katliamom She’s OOS for the UC’s, and Irvine is the most commuter-school-ish of all the UC’s, I wouldn’t waste her time touring there. UCSB is so, so beautiful and fun, but is that worth the no-merit OOS tuition? Not sure, for a kid that has high enough stats that she’s also looking at Stanford and UCB. @amandakayak – SLO is gorgeous, as is so much of the Central Coast. Your daughter will love it. LA is…well, I live in LA and today it’s been raining so everyone has been driving like it’s the End Times. I was just on the 10 (the freeway you’ll probably be on at some point if you go to USC) and I was going an unpleasant 20 miles an hour. I love Los Angeles, don’t get me wrong, an the kids attending USC and UCLA have wonderful, wonderful, happy college lives, but just remember to give yourself extra time (beyond what Google or Waze suggest) to get from one place to another.
@katliamom not really but will look into that. thanks!
So in other words, a typical Sunday afternoon with light traffic in LA? :))
For LA–when leaving for SLO, don’t take the 405 to the 101. Instead go to Santa Monica and take PCH (Pacific Coast Highway/1) to Oxnard and then get on the 101 (Malibu and some great ocean views).
@amandakayak – Check out, online, UCSB’s College of Creative Studies – maybe the finest –
and certainly most selective – honors program in the UCs – I knew a kid who turned down Stanford to attend UCSB’s College of Creative Studies physics program.
Definitely try to fit in Pomona et al. They’re a good contrast to the larger schools on your list. Have a fun trip!
The elephant seals near Hearst castle that 1andonly mentioned!
Also consider UC Santa Cruz for computer science and more. Beautiful campus.
Thanks all - appreciate the tips. I kind of think 5 colleges in 7 days is maxing out on that side of things. I put this in the cafe because just need help understanding the traffic, the fun must see things, the best tacos. I am sans dh on this trip so I am both anxious nervous and excited because that opens up the trip to more options he would not be up for. I’m looking at ziplines in slo for example.
I would second the recommendation for hiking in Montana de Oro state park near Morro Bay and SLO. Also, it’s worth at least a 10 minute detour to drive through UCSB when you go by to see it’s proximity to the ocean. All of those campuses you are planning on visiting are very nice. Some very different than others, but all nice in their own way. We really enjoyed them all. Have fun.
If you DO drive through Malibu, drive up to Pepperdine. Drive all the way to the tippy top where the law school is. There are beautiful scenic overlooks where you can see breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean.
Pepperdine was not the school for,our kid…but she took more pictures there than anywhere else we visited. Every building as a gorgeous view of the ocean. If you feel like parking…check out their chapel…gorgeous stained glass window?
But the drive to the top! Well worth it for the vista!
@amandakayak, my teenage daughter and I did a road trip from San Diego to SF a couple of years ago. We did zip-lining at Margarita Adventures near SLO. We stayed at the Madonna Inn, which is a somewhat famous, super-funky hotel where every room is themed to the max. Think tacky-chic. From there, we did the drive to Hearst Castle. Absolutely worth the trip. We had lunch at a little beach side place and checked out all the elephant seals. We then drove to Carmel and stayed in town there. The Seventeen Mile Drive is beautiful as well as the Awuarium and the town of Monterey. There are all kinds of cute shops and tons of art galleries in Carmel.
- Pomona and the Claremont colleges are far from the ocean--almost might as well be in Kansas (given the traffic).
- Diddy Riese cookies in Westwood/UCLA
- Taco chains: Rubios and Wahoos are the more iconic of the chains. There will be hole-in-the wall taco shops everywhere, some good, some not-so-good.
- Leaving LA to head north, I second the recommendation of going through Santa Monica to PCH (Hwy 1). You can stop in Malibu to see the beach, and if you go to the Malibu Country Mart you are guaranteed to see celebrities in their native habitat, if that's your thing.
- Stop at Michael Landon Park (across from Pepperdine) for a nice walk and a view of the ocean and the Malibu colony.
- If you want to get a higher view without going out of your way, you could go over Malibu Canyon/Las Virgenes to connect to the 101 in Kardashian country (Calabasas). Or do as the earlier poster said, and take PCH all the way to Oxnard to connect to 101.
- In Ventura, Surfer's Point/Seaside Park is a nice walking/surfing beach
- Just north of Ventura, at the Santa Barbara county line is Rincon Beach--very iconic surf spot. Exit 101 at Bates Road.
- If you decide to go over 154 through the Santa Ynez valley, you will miss UCSB. Both 101 and 154 have their merits; I would suggest go through Santa Barbara to visit UCSB, at least briefly, and then continue north (really west) on 101--it's a very pretty stretch of coastline.
- In SLO, eat at Firestone Grill, and if you're there on Thursday night, the downtown farmer's market is fun, with good food. The Central Coast is known for beef (tri-tip sandwiches and salads are all over SLO), but there's lots of good local produce also.
- Hearst Castle--Meh. The good thing about it is being able to drive up into the Hearst Ranch property, but otherwise, I would skip it.
- On the way to San Simeon, Cayucos is a fun little beach town. There are often sea otters visible from the pier, sometimes whales. Of course Morro Bay is also fun, walk out around the rock--you will often see sea otters in the harbor there as well. And you might not need to drive all the way to San Simeon to see elephant seals--sometimes they haul out on the beaches/rocks south of there. You can sometimes get a photo with a seal and a cow in the same shot.
- Highway 1 is closed just north of Ragged Point, so if you head to San Simeon it will be an out-and-back trip. You can go back down to the intersection with Hwy 46 near Cambria and take that to the 101 in Paso Robles. Hwy 46 itself is OK, but a lot of the backroads around there are very pretty--lots of wineries.
Google maps is indispensable to us for driving in LA. If you can drive on Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 1), you’ll love it but check traffic and conditions if its raining. It’s been rainy lately and will be for most of this week. Hopefully, the sun will be back in two weeks.
I second Firestone Grill in SLO and will go further to recommend their tri tip bbq. SLO has many cute shops downtown.
@rocket88 thanks for your ideas. I will be in Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez in April. Is there a hotel you like by the beach in the SB area? Thx