Southern CA to the Redwoods: A 5-Day California Coast Itinerary in a Sprinter
Pro surfer Tyler Stanaland and his wife Hannah drove 1,500 miles of coastline in one of our Vanspeed Shop Sprinters, eight months pregnant, with their dog Honey riding along. Here's their route, turned into an itinerary you can copy.
Tyler and Hannah have driven the California coast every couple of months since they started dating. Usually it's the familiar loop: Orange County to Cambria, through Big Sur, a night in Carmel or Monterey, and home. This time was different. With a baby due and Hannah eight months along, this was the last trip as a party of three (Honey counts), and somewhere between picking up the van and merging onto the 405 the plan grew to nearly three times the original distance. Or, as Hannah put it: YOPO. You're only pregnant once.
They made it to within an hour of the Oregon border and back in five days. Tyler wrote the whole thing up on his Substack, and we've reworked it below as a day-by-day plan with the practical details you'll need to do it yourself.
Quick Stats
5
Days
1,510
Miles round trip
2 + 2
Camp nights + hotel nights
Costa Mesa
Start and finish
| Day | Route | Miles | Overnight | Don't miss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Costa Mesa → Bodega Bay | 475 | Doran Regional Park, Jetty campground (camp) | Fish tacos at Fishatarian on the harbor |
| Day 2 | Bodega Bay → Mendocino | 110 | SCP Mendocino (hotel) | Sea Ranch, Salt Point, Point Arena Lighthouse |
| Day 3 | Mendocino → Sue-meg State Park | 170 | Sue-meg State Park, Trinidad (camp) | Glass Beach, Avenue of the Giants |
| Day 4 | Sue-meg → Monterey | 405 | Monterey Beach Hotel (hotel) | Sunset walk on the sand behind the hotel |
| Day 5 | Monterey → Costa Mesa | 350 | Home | Early start, or add a Big Sur day |
Route and mileage from Tyler and Hannah Stanaland's trip. Days 1 and 4 are long drives; days 2 and 3 are where you want the extra time.
Five days, 1,510 miles, two nights of camping and two nights in hotels. The first and fourth days are long hauls. The middle three are the reason to go.
Day 1: Costa Mesa to Bodega Bay (475 miles)
The first day is about getting north. Leave Costa Mesa early, take the 5 to the 101 or shoot straight up Interstate 5 and cut over at the Bay, and plan on roughly eight hours of driving plus stops. Tyler budgeted one mandatory In-N-Out stop and what he called a handful of much-needed pee breaks.
You'll come into Bodega Bay through farmland north of San Francisco Bay right as the sun drops, which is a nice reward for a day on the freeway.
Dinner: Fishatarian, a small seafood counter on the harbor. Tyler is a lifelong fisherman and a self-described fish snob, and he rated the tacos a 10 out of 10.
Overnight: Doran Regional Park, a Sonoma County campground on a narrow spit with the ocean on one side and Bodega Harbor on the other. Book a site in the Jetty campground at the far end near the harbor entrance. You're steps from the water, the evening fog rolls in thick, and the air is noticeably colder than anything you've felt in Southern California in months. No hookups, so the van's solar and batteries do the work.
Tip: Jetty sites fill up well in advance on weekends and through summer. Reserve as soon as your dates are set.
Day 2: Bodega Bay to Mendocino (110 miles)
Wake up to seals barking across the water. Walk the few steps to the beach with your coffee, let the dog run, then come back and cook a real breakfast on the picnic table behind the van. Tyler and Hannah nailed it: crispy bacon, fluffy eggs, round pancakes with crisp golden edges.
Today's drive is short and entirely on Highway 1, and none of it looks like the coast south of Monterey. The cliffs are bigger, the cypress trees are taller, and most of the pullouts are empty. Stops worth building in:
Sea Ranch, the planned community of weathered-wood houses on the bluffs
Salt Point State Park, for tide pools and sandstone formations
Point Arena Lighthouse, the tallest on the West Coast and open for tours
The real point of the day, though, is not knowing what's around the next bend. Don't over-schedule it.
Overnight: After a night in the van, Tyler and Hannah booked a hotel, and Hannah picked SCP Mendocino. Their cottage sat on the edge of a cliff looking straight out at the Pacific, with cows grazing across the bay and humpbacks breaching offshore. The on-site restaurant was memorable too, though Tyler notes for the record that they do not serve fries.
Day 3: Mendocino to Sue-meg State Park (170 miles)
This is the bucket-list day. Grab breakfast at GoodLife Cafe & Bakery in Mendocino, stock up on dinner supplies at a market downtown, and head north.
Stop 1: Glass Beach, Fort Bragg. A former city dump that the Pacific has spent decades turning into a shoreline covered in smooth sea glass in every color. Tyler is an avid sea glasser and was in awe. It's a catch-and-release beach, so sift all you want and leave it where you found it. Glass Beach sits inside MacKerricher State Park.
Stop 2: Avenue of the Giants. From Fort Bragg, Highway 1 turns inland at Leggett and winds through a couple of hours of tight turns and dappled sunlight (you're officially in Bigfoot country) before meeting the 101. Then you drop into the Avenue of the Giants, a 31-mile stretch of old road through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The trees are impossible to describe at scale. Take it slow, stop often, and give yourself at least an hour and a half.
Overnight: Sue-meg State Park, just north of Trinidad and about an hour from the Oregon border. Moss-covered trees meet the ocean here and everything feels a little wilder. Set up camp, build a fire, and cook steaks over the coals. Tyler admits his were a little overdone. Still one of the meals they'll remember.
Tip: Sue-meg campsites are reservable May through September and first-come, first-served the rest of the year. Fog is common, so pack warm layers for the evening.
Day 4: Sue-meg to Monterey (405 miles)
Having gone so much farther north than planned, Tyler and Hannah split the drive home in two. This day is mostly transit: back down the 101, through the Bay Area, and on to Monterey. Expect traffic around San Francisco and plan your playlists and snacks accordingly.
Overnight: Monterey Beach Hotel, right on the sand just outside downtown. Walk down to the water after check-in, dip your feet, let the dog lose her mind in the surf, and be in bed before the sun fully sets. That's how they did it.
Day 5: Monterey to Costa Mesa (350 miles)
Leave early. Tyler had a 4 p.m. showing back in Orange County and they pulled into the driveway a little after noon with time to unload and shower. If you don't have an afternoon commitment, this is the day to slow down (see the add-ons below).
If you have an extra day or two
Big Sur on the way home. Instead of taking the 101 from Monterey, drop onto Highway 1 for Bixby Bridge, McWay Falls and a night at one of the Big Sur campgrounds. Add a day.
Redwood National and State Parks. Sue-meg sits at the southern edge of the park complex. Prairie Creek Redwoods and Fern Canyon are 30 minutes north. Add a night at Sue-meg and spend the morning there.
Point Reyes. Between Bodega Bay and the Golden Gate on Day 4. Worth a detour if you're not racing the clock.
Before you go
Mileage. This route is roughly 1,500 miles in five days, well beyond a typical daily allowance. Check your rental's included miles and budget for the overage before you commit to the full distance.
Fuel. Our Signature Collection Sprinters run on diesel only. Fill up before the Mendocino and Humboldt stretches, where stations get sparse.
Cell service. Count on losing it for long stretches north of Bodega Bay and through the redwoods. Download maps and playlists ahead of time.
Weather. Even in summer, the North Coast is foggy, damp and cold at night. Bring real layers.
Pacing. Tyler is honest that the trip was a little ambitious. If you're traveling with someone eight months pregnant, or with kids, consider cutting Day 1 into two shorter days with a stop in Santa Cruz or Half Moon Bay.
Reservations. Doran's Jetty sites and Sue-meg's summer campsites both book out. Hotels in Mendocino and Monterey fill up fast on weekends.
The van
Tyler and Hannah have rented from several companies and keep coming back to our Signature Collection, a fleet of Mercedes-Benz Sprinters manufactured for us by Vanspeed Shop in Orange County. His take on why: buy nice or buy twice applies to conversion vans too. When you're covering this much ground this fast, the kitchen, the bed and the small details are what make it comfortable rather than just possible.
The vans pick up a few minutes from where Tyler and Hannah live in Costa Mesa, which is also where this route starts. If you want to do the trip, browse the Signature Collection or see what's available across California.
Five days, mostly off the phone, one last adventure before everything changes. Now, as Tyler said, let's go have a baby!
