There is a version of this summer that starts with the car packed and the phone face down on the seat.
Highway 1 is the kind of drive that reminds you why you live in California in the first place. No flight, no lines, no baggage claim. Just the coast opening up in front of you — one of the most beautiful stretches of road in the world, and it ends right at our door.
We’ve been doing this drive for years, so we know every stop worth making. Here’s how we’d spend it.
Stops South of Mar Vista
Valley Ford Cheese Shop · Valley Ford – A small detour worth every minute. Pick up something good for the cottage — local cheese, charcuterie, something you didn’t know you needed. The kind of stop that makes the drive feel intentional.
Bodega Bay Oyster Company · Bodega Bay – Fresh oysters on the coast before you’ve even gotten going. If you’ve never done this, now is the time. Eat them standing up. That’s the right way.
Cafe Aquatica · Jenner – The first real stop. Coffee, a pastry, and a view of the Russian River meeting the Pacific. Pull in, slow down, and let the city fall away.
New! Jenner Outpost– If you haven’t been yet, stop here. Pick up goodies for your cottage, grab a coffee, a bottle of wine and get a feel for one of the coast’s newest and most charming spots. Then continue north.
Fort Ross State Historic Park – The reconstructed Russian settlement that most people blow past. Don’t. Walk the grounds, read the history, take the trail down to the water. It earns the detour every time.
Salt Point State Park · Stewarts Point – Tide pools, dramatic rock formations, and a stretch of coast that feels genuinely wild. Stop at the Stewarts Point Store while you’re in the area — it’s been there since 1868 and still has everything you need.
Surf Market · Gualala – Pull into Gualala and stretch your legs for bit. Stop into Surf Market and stock up for your cottage dinner with local produce, fresh meat and fish, wine, beer, and everything else you need for a few days of cooking at your own pace.
Next Stop: Mar Vista!
4 miles north of the town of Gualala. Nine acres on the Secret Coast. Eleven cottages built for fishermen originally, but now for travelers passing through. When you pull in, it’s quiet, and there’s nowhere you need to be.
Settle in. The soaking tub is ready.
Stops North of Mar Vista
Worth a morning or afternoon if you’re staying a few nights, or the perfect send-off on your way back down the coast.
Hearn Gulch · Mile Marker 10 – A sheltered ravine, a sandy pocket beach, a small creek, and volcanic rock formations with a narrow sea tunnel. Five miles north and almost nobody knows about it.
Bowling Ball Beach – The geological wonder that looks exactly like what it’s named after. Best at low tide — take the north trail from the parking area and let it surprise you.
Pelican Bluff Trail in Point Arena – Two miles of clifftop walking with nothing but ocean on one side and quiet on the other. A Mar Vista favorite for a reason.
The Record in Point Arena – A music venue and gathering space in a small town that punches way above its weight. Check what’s on while you’re up here — you might get lucky.
Point Arena Lighthouse – Still worth every frame — and here’s the pro tip: the lighthouse offers a rare monthly near-full moon night tour that is genuinely unforgettable. Check their schedule before you come and book ahead if you can. You won’t regret it.
Ross Ranch + Manchester State Beach – Two reasons to head north for the day. Book a guided horseback ride at Ross Ranch — through the hills, down to the ocean and onto Manchester State Beach. This beach includes four miles of wide driftwood-strewn shoreline with Point Arena Lighthouse in the distance.
This is the drive. This is the summer. Skip the flight — the coast is right here, and it’s better than you remember.
