Trip Goal:
We created this 10 day road trip with kids itinerary guide to help you plan the perfect road trip along the Pacific coast of California. Our guide contains all the must-see locations, suggestions on where to eat, and recommendations on where to stay, along with suggestions for other places slightly off the coast.
Our hope is that you find this guided itinerary helpful as you plan the perfect Californian road-trip that you can unplug, spend time in nature and have fun!
Must-See Locations:
While planning our trip, our must-see locations were the Pacific Coast Highway 1, Joshua Tree National Park, Kings Canyon, Channel Islands National Park, Sequoia National Park, Yosemite National Park, and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
However, due to the extreme, unprecedented weather that California was receiving in the winter/spring of 2023, much of our trip had to be re-routed while we were traveling. Accommodations were made on the fly and will be notated with changes and detours in the daily posts.
Trip Length:
10 days total, with 9 days driving
Trip Route:
This is the route we completed in 10 days. We began our trip by flying into Las Vegas, Nevada and then driving the remainder of the trip in a rental car. We drove 1,400 miles in 9 days.

About Us
My husband, Clayton, is the master planner of vacations. It’s the one thing he looks forward to the most, and tries to squeeze in as many vacations as possible each year.
At the current time, our kids are 9, 12, and 14 and have now visited (road trip style) 46 states! (and 5 countries!) This California road trip has been said to be their favorite to date!
In these posts, I share what we did every single day. There are a lot of photos (I’m a visual person!), but my hope is that this guide will not only inspire you to get out and see the world with your family, but also peek your interest about some of the places we visited so you can add them to your list of places to visit!

Daily Road Trip Itinerary
Plan the perfect road trip along the coast of California with kids seeing all of the must-see locations!
- Day 1: Las Vegas, Nevada
- Day 2: Joshua Tree National Park, California
- Day 3: Santa Monica & Ventura, California
- Day 4: Ojai & Santa Barbara, California
- Day 5: Channel Islands National Park, California
- Day 6: Solvang, San Simeon & Big Sur, California
- Day 7: Big Sur, Point Lobos, & Cannery Row, California
- Day 8: Santa Cruz, Muir Woods & Walnut Creek, California
- Day 9: San Francisco, California
- Day 10: Walnut Creek, California