There is so much more to California’s Central Coast than Big Sur. Save a day or two, or three to road-trip and explore the charming Central Coast of the Golden State.
Last updated: February 9, 2026
Road Trip across the Central Coast of California
When we think of the Central Coast of California, Big Sur with its exquisite state parks and ragged shoreline comes back to us in a flash. California’s Central Coast is synonymous with the crushing waves and sweeping hills of Big Sur that in spring turn into floral seas.
Several years ago, Big Sur had been our ultimate road trip destination along the Central Coast as well.
A few weeks ago, the pull of the scenic region became as strong as back then. No, not Big Sur this time, but the area south of it.
I ached to see nursing northern elephant seals near SanSimeon. We’d watched the massive semi-aquatic mammals lazing on a beach near the coastal town in Central California some years back. Those images got imprinted on my mind indefinitely. Now I longed to see these species of California marine animals during a different season. A phase when they bred, gave birth, and nurtured their pups.
The Coast South of Big Sur
San Simeon is a strategic point along the Central Coast of California. It’s a gateway to the famous Big Sur, past which the geology and landscapes of the state change.
In terms of hours, it’s a good 4-hour drive from Los Angeles.
While I needed a new adventure closer to home, a staycation wasn’t on my list of things to do along the Central Coast of California. A day trip would suffice. Thus, we intentionally broke this 2-3-day exploit into three one-day road trips.
Our first destination was so close to home that it could be classified as Southern California. Officially, it is a northern corner of the Southern Coast. Yet arguments exist. In my previous articles, I referred to it as a part of Southern California.
But since it felt so natural to roam from one place to another in a seemingly effortless way, I included it in the Central Coast. Just this time and for fluidity purposes. The place in question in Ventura, a beautiful coastal city with the massive Pacific Ocean as its playground.
Let’s not dawdle any longer and dive straight into the exciting road trip along California’s Central Coast south of Big Sur.
3 DAY ROAD TRIP ACROSS THE CENTRAL COAST OF CALIFORNIA
DAY 1: VENTURA
Ventura is the gateway to Channel Islands National Park and the Santa Barbara Channel where marine animals abound. We skipped Channel Islands National Park this time. A trip to the most secluded national park of California requires at least a full day, lots of hiking and sun exposure.
To not exhaust Dylan and my mom who hadn’t been out in the sea off the coast of Ventura at that point, I booked a shorter, 3.5-hour whale watching trip.
The experience is what you expect it to be: lots of cruising in the Santa Barbara Channel and more marine wildlife encounters than you dare to hope for.
Alternative tours include a day excursion to one of the Channel Islands with an option to camp there and a longer, up to 5 hours, marine wildlife watching trips.
TIP: Whichever tour you choose, plan to spend a day in Ventura. Even if you opt for the shortest trip like we did, stay in the city longer and explore the bustling Ventura Harbor Village where dining and shopping options are endless.
DAY 2: PISMO BEACH AND MORRO BAY
Stop 1: Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove
Pismo Beach and Morro Bay are two adorable coastal cities in Central California. With their small town cultures, easy access to the ocean, and abundant water activities and scenic hikes, these destinations are worth visiting year round.
We planned – more like jumping in the car at the latest of the morning that it was possible – and drove along the coast from south to north in winter with one intention. To watch migrating monarch butterflies.
If I can name a few places that I’ve been putting on the back burner for years, then the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove would be at the very top of the list.
The butterfly grove is approximately a 3-hour drive northwest of LA. It’s a beautiful place that a few months a year hosts a large colony of brightly-colored migrating insects. A place we’d been thinking about visiting, but missing the butterfly viewing window year after year.
The butterfly sanctuary is one of 200 overwintering sites in coastal California where the vibrant insects spend a few months of their short lives. Normally the butterflies stay along the Central Coast of California from late October through February.
Note: A few years ago, the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove had counted more than 10,000 insects each season. The place would turn into a sea of orange-black butterflies. This is what we hoped to see. Yet, due to current climate change as well as constructions on the overwintering grounds, fewer and fewer butterflies arrive at the grove each year.
Stop 2: Morro Bay
After not particularly successful butterfly viewing in Pismo Beach, we headed farther north along California’s Central Coast.
We had driven past Morro Bay many times, never really giving the city the attention it deserved. This time without planning it, we slowed down to enjoy the views, find wild sea otters, and explore a little open-air museum by the sea, which was sensational for its size and location.
The city is a little gem along the Central Coast of California. It’s a place to wander along oceanfront trails in Morro Bay estuary, stopping to observe local and migrating birds and playful marine mammals in the distance. For a closer look and a personal encounter with dolphins, whales, seals, sea lions, and otters, book a wildlife watching tour or get on the water in a kayak or on a stand-up paddle board.
With half of the day left during our second mini road trip along California’s Central Coast, we adhered to a more subtle activity, watching wild sea otters from Morro Bay T Pier.
DAY 3: SAN SIMEON
If you are a visitor of the Golden State, stay in Morro Bay and continue your road trip along the Central Coast of California the next day. After Morro Bay, we, however, headed back to LA just to resume where we left off the following weekend. Mind you, it’s a lot of driving, but well worth it. (I mentioned earlier we didn’t have any need or desire for that matter to rent a hotel room while exploring the Central Coast. Not this time at least.)
San Simeon is the last spot on the road trip along California’s Central Coast south of Big Sur. We wanted to return to this picturesque town for three reasons.
Elephant Seals
The first and main reason was marine wildlife. Northern elephant seals that haul out and spend several weeks on a beach near San Simeon look different depending on the phase of their breeding-nurturing season.
Last time we had seen these incredible mammals was in April during our Yosemite-Pinnacle-Big Sur road trip. The pinniped still looked large and clumsy on the land, but visibly wasted away.
I didn’t realize how huge adult northern elephant seals could actually be until we pulled over at Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery on the last day on this Central Coast road trip. The gigantic seals with conspicuous noses (proboscis) that look like short trunks laid heavily on the beach. Tiny, wrinkled, and still ugly looking babies (many just a few hours old) struggled to find their mothers’ nipples.
For the next four weeks, mothers’ milk will be their primary food source. High in fat and nutrients, it will fatten the babies quickly. An elephant seal pup gains on average 10 pounds a day. But while the babies grow bigger and stronger, their mothers, deprived of food while on land, lose weight fast.
Feral Zebras
Zebras are not the most exotic animals any longer. Most zoos have at least a pair of these black-and-white striped animals. Feral zebras, however, are.
I’ve heard about wild zebras roaming freely along the Central Coast of California between Cambria and San Simeon for a while. The animals are descendants of zebras that had come to Central California to live in William Randolph Hearst’s zoo. In the 1920-30s, the animal sanctuary was the world’s largest private zoo.
When Hearst encountered financial difficulties during the Great Depression, the zoo couldn’t stand a chance. It had to be dismantled and animals to be donated to public zoos or sold. Zebras were left to fend for themselves.
Over the years, the herd grew bigger. More than 100 animals graze on the hills along California’s Central Coast south of Big Sur today.
We had driven past this area many times before. This time we were particularly vigilant, gazing to the right of Highway 1 (the opposite side of the ocean) as soon as we approached Cambria. Sure enough, the wild zebras were there, sharing the hills with domestic cows as they graced on the grass.
The feral animals hid from our view when we were heading back south a few hours later. According to a local guide, these zebras are best to be seen in the morning and early evening. I guess we were lucky as it wasn’t a morning, but rather an early afternoon when we spotted them.
Hearst Castle
When you travel along the Central Coast of California south of Big Sur and with enough time to explore this vast area in depth, you can’t afford to miss Hearst Castle. One of the most opulent private residences ever built in the U.S., the mansion towers over the hill overlooking San Simeon and the scenic expanse of the Central Coast.
During the roaring 20s, “La Cuesta Encantada” (“The Enchanted Hill”), as Hearst referred to it, gathered some of the most affluent people of that time. Hollywood celebrities, politicians, authors, and business leaders attended the most extravagant parties at Hearst Castle.
In the early 1950s, Hearst’s family donated the estate to the state. Today, it’s one of the most intriguing California State Parks along the Central Coast just south of Big Sur.
