If you want to hit some beaches with epics view on your PCH road trip then I have five that you won't want to pass up!

Disclaimer: These beaches/lookouts don’t have swimmable shores so they are purely there for ocean viewing so please read all of the safety signs! Keep your eye out for a bit of fun bonus information at the end of the blog.

1. Gold Bluffs Beach

This beach provided the most isolation out of all of the beaches we visited along this coast with only one other couple on the beach. As a quick note, none of the beaches were really busy at all so it is easily possible to social distance if you plan on making a trip anytime soon. Gold Bluffs Beach is the beach closest to Fern Canyon so if you decide to do some quick day hiking and want to watch the sunset on the beach, this is a great place to stop. (See my blog for Fern Canyon for reference!) Also, there are loads of elk in the area that seem to have no fear toward people. There are signs everywhere about the danger of elk so be aware. Even on the beach! That is where we saw them.

2. Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center

This visitor center is the nearest landmark point with a name for this particular beach. If you park here and walk out to the water there are large rocks off to the right that are close enough to the shore that you can see every drop of water crashing off of them! We visited this beach in the late morning and also saw some seals trying to catch some seagulls. As far as seeing anyone else goes, we saw some fisherman along a river running into the ocean and one whale watcher, so again pretty isolated.

3. Big Lagoon

Hopefully you can tell by the name that there is a lagoon by this beach. In fact there are LOADS of lagoons off the coast around here but obviously this one is pretty big. There are kayak tours, fishing, and camping around these areas along with beautiful coastline! Which also means there a quite a few more people, but still not overcrowded and worrisome for a socially distanced trip. The view from this beach includes a pretty big cliff face to the south that provided a ton of mist giving the whole experience a moody vibe. As an additional note, this area does require a day fee of $8, if I remember correctly, so bring cash because it is an honor system with no way to run a card.

4. Patrick's Point State Park

This state park isn’t really a beach, but more of a cliff lookout and worthy of noting in my opinion. The photos below were taken just outside the park so as you can see it’s beautiful! We also got lucky again with the wildlife here. When we pulled up and shut the car off we could hear sea lions barking and promptly ran to look over the edge (carefully) and there they were barking on the rocks just off shore! Since this is a lookout spot, as it got closer to sunset a few other cars pulled up around us and we all watched the sunset in silence together.

5. Trinidad State Beach

This beach is definitely the busiest beach we visited while beach hopping and especially around sunset. However, there is so much beach to walk along that it really doesn't feel that crowded. It is right under a cliffside home to the cutest little town of Trinidad so a lot of the beach goers are locals which was fun for us when we did chat with people. There is also a trail up to a cliff side with a lighthouse but the lighthouse is only accessible on the first Saturday of every month so don't make the mistake of climbing the hill unless it is the first Saturday of the month you are there. There is one lookout about halfway up the trail though that is really beautiful if you want a different perspective and quick workout. Trinidad State Beach also closes 30 minutes after sunset and don't take that lightly as we almost got stuck on the wrong side of a huge rock when high tide came in. Oh! And this is where I saw a ton of wild starfish for the first time! Be careful if you're trying to check out the tide pools because this is not a swimmable beach and the tide is no joke.

Bonus Information:

This area is said to be great for whale watching depending on the time of year you go! Research says September-January and I am 80% sure I saw a one so keep your eyes peeled!

To see more images from this part California's coast, click here.