Pacific Coast Road Trip

Seattle → LA · 8 days, 7 nights · Rainier + the whole coast

Aug 8–15 · ~1,550 mi · SEA lands 2:50 PM · LAX out 10:59 AM Aug 15

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🌊 Water safety — READ THIS ▼

You cannot swim the northern half of this trip. August water: Oregon coast 52–59°F, San Francisco ~58°F. Wetsuit-only.
Sneaker waves on the OR/N-CA coast surge 150+ ft up the beach with no warning and have killed 24+ people on the West Coast since 2012. Cold water takes your limb control in seconds.
Rules: never turn your back on the ocean · stay off and away from beach logs · keep well up the sand at Cannon Beach, Boardman & the Redwood beaches. Wading OK, swimming no.
Swimmable water starts in SoCal — Santa Monica/Malibu ~69°F with lifeguards (Day 7).

✈ Flights & the clock ▼

OUT · Sat Aug 8: DL2534 SAT 7:30 AM → LAX 8:33, then DL1045 LAX 12:07 PM → land SEA 2:50 PM. Grab the Hertz car right away (~3:45) — modify the reservation, the old 5 PM pickup no longer makes sense.
BACK · Sat Aug 15 (booked): DL2568 LAX 10:59 AM → SAT 3:59 PM. Morning flight: car back ~7:30 AM, airside by ~8:00.
Daylight: sunrise ~6:10 AM, sunset ~8:30 PM (OR) / ~7:50 PM (LA).

⚠ Monterey Car Week — Aug 7–16 ▼

Your trip sits inside Car Week. Don't book Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur — sold out, $500+/night. You sleep in Salinas (cheap, 20 min inland). Expect heavy Hwy 1 traffic near Monterey.

⚠ Big Sur road control ▼

Hwy 1 is fully open, but Rocky Creek Bridge has 24/7 one-way signal control through Aug 31 — delays up to 15 min. Check the Caltrans QuickMap the morning of Day 6.

🏔 Mount Rainier — Day 2 ▼

Be at the Nisqually gate before 7 AM — early entry has historically skipped the timed-entry window, but verify 2026 rules on nps.gov and grab a reservation if one's required. $30/vehicle, card OK.
Paradise is at 5,400 ft: bring layers + water, expect lingering snowfields on the Skyline Trail, and assume zero cell service — download offline maps. No gas in the park; fill up in Ashford.
Grove of the Patriarchs is still closed (flood damage) — don't detour for it.

🌤 August weather by leg ▼

Seattle: warm & dry, ~78°F.
Mount Rainier (Paradise): 60s by day, 40s at dawn — start in layers. Afternoon clouds can swallow the summit; mornings are clearest.
Oregon Coast: 60–70°F, foggy mornings, ~3% rain. Layers + windbreaker.
Redwoods: damp, foggy, low 60s.
Big Sur: marine layer AM, highs ~69°F. Clears by afternoon.
Pismo → LA: warm & sunny, 78–85°F. Actual beach weather.

🚗 Rental & driving notes ▼

Under-25 Hertz: young-driver surcharge applies — put all three of you on the contract so you can legally rotate.
Fuel: top off above half a tank — the OR coast and Big Sur are sparse. OR ~$4.56/gal, CA ~$5.37.
Cash needed: Fern Canyon ($12) and Pfeiffer Beach ($12) don't take cards.

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