PCH in summer? (LA - SF)

[6x6TLL]

Hi,

thanks for the great suggestions last summer about the 395, it was a great trip with fantastic landscape and things to explore.

I find myself with a few weeks of holiday this summer and would like to drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco and back, exploring the coast, Big Sur, Monterrey, Santa Barbara and the coast.

As my planning skills haven't improved much since last year, all the campgrounds along the coast are full, the handful of hotels in the area that I've checked so far are either full or $400-800/night, a bit outside my budget.

Last year we managed to camp on BLM lands in some spots where there weren't any camping spots available, and it turned out well.

I wanted to ask two things of the kind people here -

1. What spots would you recommend along the coast that are a must-see?
2. What options would you suggest for finding places to stay? Doesn't have to be free, nor luxury-priced. Something in the middle would be fine.

Thanks!

[Bernice Loui]

Similar was discussed previously here:
https://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?153376-San-Francisco-Monterey-10-Days

HWY 1 remains highly recommended.


Bernice

[John Kasaian]

For something unique that's budget friendly, try the Hostels at Pigeon Point (N of Cayucos) and Pescadero (N of Santa Cruz) Lighthouses.
One of our favorite hotels is Kon Tiki in Pismo Beach---not cheap but not outrageous either.
The Shoreline Inn in Cayucos is very good as well, again not cheap but not outrageous.
Lots of motels in Monterey/Pacific Grove.
There is a decent state campground in San Simeon. This time of year you'll need reservations for all these of course.

[6x6TLL]

Thanks Bernice, great thread that I've gone through and pulled out the highlights from.

At this point I'm mostly concerned with accommodations, either hotel/camping/BLM/similar.

[John Kasaian]

I forgot to mention Phil's Fish Shack in Moss Landing---between Monterey and Santa Cruz
The Fishwife in Pacific Grove
Rosa's and Ada's, both in Pismo Beach
Giuseppe's Cucina Italiana in Pismo Beach----all very good places for dinner

For wine tasting try Stax in Morro Bay and Hearst Ranch Winery in San Simeon

[6x6TLL]

Great suggestions John, I found all of them in the thread Bernice referenced.

Will have a look at accommodations this weekend and see what's available.

Oh btw, this is for a trip with myself and my 18 year old son, both avid photographers, and both of us like a good hike.

[BrianShaw]

I forgot to mention Phil's Fish Shack in Moss Landing---between Monterey and Santa Cruz
The Fishwife in Pacific Grove
Rosa's and Ada's, both in Pismo Beach
Giuseppe's Cucina Italiana in Pismo Beach----all very good places for dinner

For wine tasting try Stax in Morro Bay and Hearst Ranch Winery in San Simeon

Jocko's in Nipomo?

[DavidFisk]

Your top priority along Hwy 1 is not getting stuck behind 3 rented RVs from Arkansas traveling at 15mph and who refuse to pull over. To avoid this, stay a night in Morro Bay or environs and hit the bottom end of Hwy 1 at 6 a.m. Doing so may give you the feeling that you have the entire highway to yourself, a rather eerie (but pleasant) sensation. Getting behind those guys will make for a REALLY, REALLY MISERABLE 6 hours.

[Willie]

As you travel the Highway take the side roads you see. Go a mile or more inland on each. You might be surprised at what you see and how nice they can be.

[brucetaylor]

Be sure to sort out your accommodations before hand. We like to head up the coast from LA and usually have our itinerary planned out, reservations made, etc. Once we just decided to head out and be more spontaneous- this was in the summer. We ended up sometimes split between 2 motels (4 of us traveling) or simply nothing available without driving a considerable distance inland. If you head inland at times from PCH you’ll find some gorgeous country and more lodging availability. Have a great trip!

[John Kasaian]

Your top priority along Hwy 1 is not getting stuck behind 3 rented RVs from Arkansas traveling at 15mph and who refuse to pull over. To avoid this, stay a night in Morro Bay or environs and hit the bottom end of Hwy 1 at 6 a.m. Doing so may give you the feeling that you have the entire highway to yourself, a rather eerie (but pleasant) sensation. Getting behind those guys will make for a REALLY, REALLY MISERABLE 6 hours.

The gridlock sounds like Santa Cruz on the weekend.

[6x6TLL]

Any difference traveling north vs south on PCH?

I was thinking to barrel up the 5, possibly the 101 to SF, spend a few days in the city being a tourist, and then spend 3-4 days coming back down the coast and exploring, hiking, taking pictures. I could do the opposite if there's some reason that makes more sense.

Also, I heard someone refer to this month as "Fogust" in SF, is that true? Might make for some very cool images! Is the coastline the same, at least in the mornings?

[DavidFisk]

The gridlock sounds like Santa Cruz on the weekend.
Sort of. But the scenery is better on PCH. And you can always hope an RV driver might get distracted by the beauty and drive off a cliff, say at Hurricane Point.

[John Kasaian]

Any difference traveling north vs south on PCH?

I was thinking to barrel up the 5, possibly the 101 to SF, spend a few days in the city being a tourist, and then spend 3-4 days coming back down the coast and exploring, hiking, taking pictures. I could do the opposite if there's some reason that makes more sense.

Also, I heard someone refer to this month as "Fogust" in SF, is that true? Might make for some very cool images! Is the coastline the same, at least in the mornings?

Drive Southbound on 1 and you'll be on the ocean side---better views IMHO

[DavidFisk]

Drive Southbound on 1 and you'll be on the ocean side---better views IMHO
True. And there are likely more turnouts on that side of the road. The "fog" in summer is really more of an overcast rather than ground-hugging wisps, but if is looks as if it is low to the ground, then do check out Point Lobos. Get there when it opens at 8:00. Getting just one image of the cypress emerging out of the fog can make the entire trip worthwhile.

[Bernice Loui]

Coastside fog is noting like it once was. The once dense and intense fog is now significantly less and lower in density and less often these days due to changes in the climate.

Keep in mind, areas of the Northern California coast have been scorched by massive fires last year during adding to the difficulties from the COVID 19 Pandemic.

This is what the coast near Pescadero looked like during that fire.
218232


Bernice

[John Kasaian]

Coastal fog generally burns off by late morning. We were in Santa Cruz last weekend and instead of burning off, the fog bank just retreated out into the bay

[Drew Wiley]

Coastal fog less, Bernice? Tell that to my front yard. And where is does tend to shift away during afternoon, it's apt to have simply shifted somewhere else instead. The pattern varies, based on where you are. The timing is different here on the Bay compared to my sister's place near Monterey, for example. But the basic engine driving it, is that the hotter it is inland, the more the marine atmosphere with potential fog is sucked inland. We call it our natural air conditioning. It banks up against the coastal mountains except where there's an opening. But when inland and coastal temperatures tend to reach equilibrium, particularly around October, the wind and fogs seasonally stop and local conditions get hotter. The calmest clearest weather can often be in November. But forest fire issues are a complication to weather no matter where you live. The air has been quite good here so far this summer, in contrast to the hellish smoke last year, when we were surrounded by massive fires. There was plenty of fog then too; it just unfortunately got combined with ashfall and other crud turning it into nearly opaque smog instead. Keeping my fingers crossed.

What your Pescadero shot looks like to me, Bernice, is in fact what I just described. The crud is suspended in fog, or at least shaped by it to an extent. Otherwise, hot ash would be raining down, volcano-lke. It would be the next morning, after the fog dissipated late at night, that all those yellowish flakes of incinerated Burger King stands and back yard sheds would settle on everything. Nasty stuff, way more unhealthy than forest fire smoke per se, though I'm miserably sensitized to even that. There's a lot of creosote in California brush. Yet what beautiful light destruction can sometimes bring! Thanks for sharing the picture.

[nbagno]

There is a report from the pacific costal fog project that says costal fog is down 33%.


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[Drew Wiley]

You'd have to be more specific. I don't find anything like that on their site. When and where? How monitored? There are some random reports in relation to wildlife habitat, but nothing recent. Over the long run, it's all ecologically interconnected anyway, with healthy forest, especially redwoods and old growth firs, capturing more fog, and hence returning more moisture to the atmosphere. That got seriously impacted way back when these forests were cut down down in the first place. Watershed was dramatically impacted. Now there's a fair amount of second growth, but nothing will ever be quite the same. The very tallest trees ever discovered on earth were once atop the hill behind me. But now there are just some eucalyptus, and not even an extant stump of those giant redwoods. But like I already mentioned, being drier and hotter inland actually draws the fog in. Nobody waters their garden or has an air conditioner around here. There was a 50 degree temp differential last month between here and just twenty minutes inland. Damp cold fog and lots of wind. I've hardly been able to use a view camera all summer due to it. Just too windy. Everything is about microclimates around here. Last year there was a massive late season variable, with soot and smoke collecting around moisture particles in the air and transforming it into something else. I don't know how they official classify that other than disaster. Everyone was too busy just trying to stay alive in those areas.

[nbagno]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2822705/

https://baynature.org/article/fog-and-redwoods-demystifying-the-mist/
The last link references the first

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[Drew Wiley]

Thanks. But that is all pretty generic. Coastal fog is largely marine and seasonally related, and not necessarily affected by drought except in the manner that potential affects the thermals. And how it gets classified or potentially measured the last few years in certain areas could be atypical simply because some of these new mega fires introduce a kind of ash that is lighter, and goes higher and further than natural fires, and temporarily creates a strange hybrid atmosphere here on the coast. Thankfully not so far this year, at least this far north.

Inland tule fog has a very different cycle. It IS dependent on winter rains. Much of the Central Valley was once vast river networks and marshlands. It rises on clear days when the ground is wet in Winter and can be like a thick gloomy blanket over 1500 feet deep. From either our coastal ridges here, or looking the opposite direction from the Sierras, it can resemble a vast inland sea of white from above. Not soft lovely fog like here on the coast, but oppressive stuff very dangerous to drive through during certain hours. I knew that all too well, for over forty years needing to carefully time my weekend commutes from here on the coast to my place in the mountains. It gets particularly bad not only along extant riverbeds, but near big pollution sources, which vent at night so the public isn't so aware of that. I'd always return via long detours through the foothills and Mother Lode country, bagging 8X10 shots en route, until the fog broke later in the day, and only then I'd cross the Valley. Roman Loranc formerly lived in the Valley and would brave the fog to get his well-known shots of old oaks and so forth in the damp preserves and duck refuges. Risky business; lots of deadly pileups on the roads and freeways under those conditions.

Since a lot of these reports are selectively geared around the ecological condition or habitat quality of a handful of specifically monitored areas, it's hard to make generalized statements. Drought impact per se is blatant inland this year. I've never seen the San Joaquin Valley so dry in my entire life. The southern Sierra isn't hit quite as hard, but is down about 40% average. Along the coastal margin, like Pt Reyes, the streams are still flowing, and the cloud forest is still as drippy and drizzly as ever for this time of year, and the ridgetop zone per se even escaped last year's fire over there due to localized dampness. But rainwater for farming and residential use, yikes - the reservoirs are virtually mud puddles at this point! The slightly damp bathtub rings left around Nicasio Reservoir in particular turned into fascinating thin colorful line patterns of various wildflowers and grasses, and I carefully timed my color shots to coincide with the progressive shrinkage of the lake.

[Drew Wiley]

Just an afterthought. The Coast Guard would keep regular fog statistics, though their interest would obviously be in relation to offshore safety rather than what is transpiring over land. And among their training facilities near here, the more academically and research oriented academy in Vallejo is apparently doing a certain amount of long-term climate-related monitoring of ocean levels and its effects. Long-term impact on shorelines and ports is integral to that.

[Tin Can]

Is PCH back open after the mudslide last winter?

[Drew Wiley]

It's been at least three weeks, maybe a month, since the slide was fully repaired. There has a been a brief subsequent highway closure due to a nearby forest fire. That's over too; but one should always check official road conditons in advance. Hwy one in several sections, and especially just south of Big Sur, has a long history of problems. An enormous amount of reinforcement of potential slides and replacement of suspect bridges is currently going on all over the coast here further north too. Our worst section, near the appropriately named "Slide Ranch" just north of Muir Beach, was redone two years ago.

[Tin Can]

Good

it is a great drive

[6x6TLL]

Great advice so far! Made it to Santa Cruz today.

San Francisco was great, although after 3 hours of waiting to capture the golden gate at or after sunrise (was there at 6:30 this morning) I finally gave up. The fog concealed everything.

It looks like Big Basin Redwood park is closed and burned almost entirely last year. Any other stands of redwoods in the area we could check out that are open?

Also, I thought there was a gallery somewhere here or in Monterey/Carmel that has a bunch of Ansel Adams work, but haven’t been able to figure out what it’s called or where exactly it is.

Can anyone tell me?

Thanks!

[Dugan]

Off the top of my head, there are:

Photography West Gallery
Weston Gallery
Center for Photographic Arts.

I was in Carmel about a month ago, all were closed, but would open "by appointment".

[nbagno]

Off the top of my head, there are:

Photography West Gallery
Weston Gallery
Center for Photographic Arts.

I was in Carmel about a month ago, all were closed, but would open "by appointment".

I was able to walk into the Weston gallery without an appointment in early July. There just happened to be someone there.


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[Drew Wiley]

Ha! If you want golden sunrises and sunsets at the "Golden" Gate, you need to wait three more months, not three hours! But last year, you would have just gotten smoke instead of fog later in the year. Summer is heavy fog season. That's what I love about this area, natural air conditioning and natural soft box lighting.

There are some redwoods in the Big Sur area south of Carmel; but there's been a lot of fires there too. I think the trails in Julia Pfeiffer State Park opened back up. That's a lovely spot for trees upstream, and for the beach and its waterfall downstream; but ask locally because some fire cleanup might still be involved.

[6x6TLL]

Hi,

Just got back from the trip, it was great. Very foggy, spent many hours hoping the sun would peek through before it set, and was rewarded on one of the days with 6 minutes of sunshine after hours of heavy fog, so it was worth it.

Photography West gallery did let me in. The Weston Gallery seemed like they weren’t interested in visitors. Oh well.

Waiting now to get the chromes back and need to find time to develop the B&W soon.

Phil’s Fish Market was amazing, well worth the wait to get in (went on a weekend, probably not the best time), amazing food.

Is there a time of year when there’s less fog? I wouldn’t mind catching the tail end of a storm, or maybe a sunset somewhere along the coast.

I also discovered that the new 90mm lens I bought was what I’ve been missing these last few years getting into LF, I think over half of my shots were with the 90mm, a handful with the 150mm and a final few with the 210mm. There was one shot where I wished I had something even wider.

Thanks again for all the great advice and suggestions!

[Drew Wiley]

It's cat and mouse with winter storms, and the cycle varies a bit year to year, being more unpredictable than ever with the whole world climate now getting seriously roto-tilled. But the fog traditionally ends sometime in late Aug, and then the air goes dead and warm once inland Calif starts cooling down and reaches temp equilibrium with here on the coast, fully stopping the inward flow of marine air in Sept and Oct. But in my opinion, that's NOT a good photog season here, either in terms of color, light, or comfortable activity. Oct is traditionally our one hot month on the coast, and the most forest fire prone. And tons of people will still be flocking toward the beaches.

It's during Nov, Dec, and Jan, between storms, that the air is calmest, most open and crisp, and the lighting more angled and especially appealing, if you're looking for that classic Weston look. There are far less people and more wildlife around. Intermittently rainy days can be especially nice for solitude and dramatic lighting, but that's all based on the immediate forecast. Just keep a raincoat in your pack. I personally love what fog does for photos, but appreciate the crisp direct lighting of autumn and winter too. Famous places like Pt Lobos which can be overwhelmed with people in Summer can be downright intimate in winter. Accommodations are easier to get, and the risk of forest fire smoke under present circumstances should at least statistically diminish after some rain arrives. Also, forays on back roads inland will not be hot like in summer, and offer their own exciting photo possibilities. But always check local back road conditions in advance. Those coastal hills are rather unconsolidated, geologically, and slides are common during big storms.

[6x6TLL]

Thanks Drew,

the fog was great and provided amazing atmosphere, I was just looking for some other looks as well, as many days the fog was simply a grey wall that didn't help provide any depth or visual interest. Other days it was much more interesting. Something more brooding and dramatic would be nice, as I was shooting mainly B&W.

One other thing I noticed is that every single road inland was closed except for the old Coast Road - the 11 mile section between Bixby bridge and Andrew Molera State park. Had some incredulous 4x4 drivers we passed who were impressed that I would take a Mercedes S-Class over that section of road, but it's a solidly built car and did just fine. Found a few spots with some great redwood groves and sunlight filtering down to the forest floor and took a few sheets while there.

I'm not sure why the other roads were closed, I checked every one I saw and all had locked gates across them. Maybe next time.

I have nothing against a little rain and always have an umbrella and raincoat in the trunk, that kind of weather makes for more interesting photographs and clearer skies.

Sounds like I'll have to go up there again this winter and see it in another light.

[Drew Wiley]

Gated road closures were probably due to "red flag" severe fire risk conditions. They don't want anyone camping back in there or smoking a cigarette. There has been a tremendous amount of unwanted camping this past year in those particular counties. It's Covid related, with not everyone back to work yet and wanting somewhere to go. It didn't happen in the past; most of those roads were lonely. And lots of agencies are logically taking advantage of pandemic restrictions to get backlogs of road and tree work done, even in our immediate communities here. Some of this involves seasonal closures, since numerous back roads are either single-lane or unsafe to repair or re-bridge in portions without total closure. Additionally, a flood of funding has come through for this kind of work, especially in and around parks. So it all makes sense, and will probably be mostly all done long before you visit again, which I hope you will do.

Spring can be wonderfully green and wild-flowery, especially a bit inland; but true to the stereotype, March tends to be windy. Pinnacles NP is a certainly a lot more comfortable in Spring than Summer. But the kind of light you seek is characteristic of Nov to Feb.