Top Travel Spots on the West Coast of America

In this post, we will discover the best places along the road trip of a lifetime, east to west coast USA.

Seattle, Washington

Seattle, a city on Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest, is surrounded by water, mountains and evergreen forests, and contains thousands of acres of parkland. Washington State’s largest city, it’s home to a large tech industry, with Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks headquartered in its metropolitan area. The futuristic Space Needle, a 1962 World’s Fair legacy, is its most iconic landmark.

When Boeing successfully introduced the 707 commercial jet airliner in the late 1950s, it heralded another burst of municipal optimism. In 1962 Seattle sponsored a full-fledged world’s fair, the futuristic Century 21 Exposition. The fair left the city a permanent legacy in the Seattle Center and it’s complex of performance, sports, and entertainment halls, as well as the Pacific Science Center, the Monorail, and the Space Needle.

Seattle is proud of its arts and cultural institutions, the many live theatres, and the downtown art museum. It is proud of its parks, of its professional and collegiate sports, of Pioneer Square and the Pike Place Market, and, above all, of the beauty of its surroundings. Seattle is also a city of parades, not always respectful of its own brief heritage, not as radical as its legend would have it; a city of homes that has many who are homeless, a city that wants great growth but demands that somehow the setting remain untouched.

Portland, Oregon

A little bit creative, a little bit counter-culture, Portland is a year-round, always-evolving city that’s home to a mindful community dedicated to keeping its city sustainable, innovative and accessible. There are an enviable public transit system, tax-free shopping and enormous in-city parks offering dozens of cultural attractions. Portland gives us music (from indie standards the decemberists and the shins, to hip hop’s latest like Aminé and the last artful, dodgr) eccentric characters to watch (“Portlandia”) and craft brew scene like none other (they even have a distillery row now). The city is packed with so much character you’ll almost forget to explore its great outdoors ( a mistake, as the movies”wild” and “Twilight” demonstrate). Nearby, you’ll find Mount Hood, the Columbia River Gorge and Oregon Coast, as well as the wine country!

Sprawling Washington Park, set right in the city, is a destination in its own right. You’ll find Hoyt Arboretum, a glorious, forested place full of flora from all around the world; the International Rose Test Garden, the oldest ones in the U.S, and the Portland Japanese Graden, which includes five varieties of gardens. For kids, there is the Oregon Zoo and the Children’s Museum. Bike or Skate over the park’s hills, or hike Wildwood Trail all the way to Pittock Mansion, a turn-of-the-century French Chateau.

Portland’s arts and culture institutions are highly-regarded. Hear a performance at the Oregon Symphony or the Portland Opera. Watch dancers leap across the stage at the Oregon Ballet Theater. Portland Center Stage is one of the best professional regional theatres in the U.S.A putting on major productions throughout the year.

Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital city of the state of California, located at the crossing of the Sacramento River and the American River, it is affectionately known as the “River City”. Sacramento has a rich and vibrant history which goes back to 1839 when John Sutter arrived on the shore near the confluence of the American and Sacramento River.

Sacramento has a prolific amount of museums, From the California State Railroad Museum to the Crocker Art Museum, there are dozens of free and admission-paid museums in the Sacramento region. The Crocker, a local downtown art museum, is the longest-running art museum in the western United States.

The Sacramento Jazz Festival was held for more than 40 years (ending in 2017) and took place every Memorial Day weekend. Multiple cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds came together in Old Sacramento to enjoy some incredible local talent from all genres of music.

San Francisco, California

San Francisco was founded on June 29, 1776, when colonists from Spain established Presidio of San Francisco at the Golden Gate and Mission San Francisco de Asís a few miles away, all named for St. Francis of Assisi.  San Francisco’s status as the West Coast’s largest city peaked between 1870 and 1900, when around 25% of California’s population resided in the city proper. After three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later.

In World War II, San Francisco was a major port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. It then became the birthplace of the United Nations in 1945 After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, significant immigration, liberalizing attitudes, along with the rise of the “hippie” culture, the Sexual Revolution, the Peace Movement growing from opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War, and other factors led to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement.

A popular tourist destination, San Francisco is known for its cool summers, fog, steep rolling hills, eclectic mix of architecture, and landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, the former Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, Fisherman’s Wharf, and its Chinatown district. San Francisco is also the headquarters of five major banking institutions and various other companies such as Levi Strauss & Co., Gap Inc., Fitbit and Craigslist.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas was settled in 1905 and officially incorporated in 1911. At the close of the 20th century, it was the most populated American city founded within that century. Population growth has accelerated since the 1960s, and between 1990 and 2000 the population nearly doubled, increasing by 85.2%. Rapid growth has continued into the 21st century.

Officially the City of Las Vegas and often known simply as Vegas, is the 28th-most populated city in the United States, the most populated city in the state of Nevada. The city anchors the Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area and is the largest city within the greater Mojave Desert. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. The Las Vegas Valley as a whole serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural centre for Nevada.

The city’s tolerance for numerous forms of adult entertainment earned it the title of “Sin City”, and has made Las Vegas a popular setting for literature, films, television programs, and music videos.

As with most major metropolitan areas, the name of the primary city is often used to describe areas beyond official city limits. In the case of Las Vegas, this especially applies to the areas on and near the Las Vegas Strip, which is actually located within the unincorporated communities of Paradise and Winchester.

Los Angeles, California

officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L.A. is the most populous city in California; the second most populous city in the United States, after New York City; and the third most populous city in North America, after Mexico City and New York City. Los Angeles is the cultural, financial, and commercial centre of Southern California. The city is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, the entertainment industry, and its sprawling metropolis.

Los Angeles lies in a basin in Southern California, adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, is the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the United States. With a population of 13.1 million people, the Los Angeles metropolitan area (MSA) is the second-largest metropolitan area in the nation after the New York metropolitan area. The Los Angeles combined statistical area, also known as Greater Los Angeles.

Important landmarks in Los Angeles include the Hollywood Sign, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Capitol Records Building, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Angels Flight, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Dolby Theatre, Griffith Observatory, Getty Center, Getty Villa, Stahl House, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, L.A. Live and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles has many attractions and sights for the whole family!

San Diego, California

San Diego is a city in the U.S. state of California on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 120 miles south of Los Angeles and immediately adjacent to the border with Mexico. San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest in California. It is part of the San Diego–Tijuana conurbation, the second-largest transborder between the U.S. and Mexico and a bordering country after Detroit–Windsor. The city is known for its mild year-round climate, natural deep-water harbour, extensive beaches, long association with the United States Navy, and recent emergence as a healthcare and biotechnology development centre.

San Diego has been called “the birthplace of California”. Historically home to the Kumeyaay people, it was the first site visited by Europeans on what is now the West Coast of the United States. Upon landing in San Diego Bay in 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the area for Spain, forming the basis for the settlement of Alta California 200 years later. In 1821, San Diego became part of the newly declared Mexican Empire, which reformed as the First Mexican Republic two years later. California became part of the United States in 1848 following the Mexican–American War and was admitted to the union as a state in 1850.

Tourism is a major industry owing to the city’s climate, beaches, and tourist attractions such as Balboa Park, Belmont amusement park, San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and SeaWorld San Diego. San Diego’s Spanish and Mexican heritage is reflected in many historic sites across the city, such as Mission San Diego de Alcala and Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. Also, the local craft brewing industry attracts an increasing number of visitors for “beer tours” and the annual San Diego Beer Week in November; San Diego has been called “America’s Craft Beer Capital.”

Local sight-seeing cruises are offered in San Diego Bay and Mission Bay, as well as whale-watching cruises to observe the migration of grey whales, peaking in mid-January. Sportfishing is another popular tourist attraction; San Diego is home to southern California’s biggest sport fishing fleet.

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital and most populous city in Arizona. It is also the fifth most populous city in the United States and the only state capital with a population of more than one million residents. Phoenix is the anchor of the Phoenix metropolitan area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, which in turn is part of the Salt River Valley.

Phoenix was settled in 1867 as an agricultural community near the confluence of the Salt and Gila Rivers and was incorporated as a city in 1881. It became the capital of Arizona Territory in 1889.

The tourist industry is the longest-running of today’s top industries in Phoenix. Starting with promotions back in the 1920s, the industry has grown into one of the top 10 in the city. Due to its climate, Phoenix and its neighbours have consistently ranked among the nation’s top destinations in the number of Five Diamond/Five Star resorts.

Phoenix also serves as a central point to many of the sights around the state of Arizona, such as the Grand Canyon, Lake Havasu (where the London Bridge is located), Meteor Crater, the Painted Desert, the Petrified Forest, Tombstone, Kartchner Caverns, Sedona and Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff.

El Paso, Texas

El Paso stands on the Rio Grande across the Mexico–United States border from Ciudad Juárez, the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua with 1.4 million people. Las Cruces, in the neighbouring U.S. state of New Mexico.

The city is home to three publicly traded companies, and former Western Refining, now Andeavor. as well as home to the Medical Center of the Americas, the only medical research and care provider complex in West Texas and Southern New Mexico, and the University of Texas at El Paso, the city’s primary university. The city hosts the annual Sun Bowl college football post-season game, the second oldest bowl game in the country.

El Paso has a strong federal and military presence. William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Biggs Army Airfield, and Fort Bliss call the city home. Fort Bliss is one of the largest military complexes of the United States Army and the largest training area in the United States. Also headquartered in El Paso are the DEA domestic field division 7, El Paso Intelligence Center, Joint Task Force North, United States Border Patrol El Paso Sector, and the U.S. Border Patrol Special Operations Group (SOG).

There is plenty to see and do in the City of El Paso. Experience walking tours of Downtown to get a taste of our history that spans 400 years, shopping, outdoor concerts at the Chamizal National Memorial, museums of every kind, the Zoo, and nature hikes through our four Texas State Parks. Come be a part of El Paso’s music and dance festivals, sports events, arts and culture. Our close neighbours in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and New Mexico also welcomes and extend their hospitality.