Racing, Coastline, and History: Our Trip to Monterey and Laguna Seca

Last summer my son and I flew into San Luis Obispo for one main reason: to catch IndyCar at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. It was a short trip built around racing, but it turned into a mix of coastal drives, local history, and a solid break from the Phoenix heat.

Getting There / First Impressions

San Luis Obispo’s airport is about as easy as it gets — small, quick, and convenient. We were off the plane and on the road within minutes. The coastal fog hung low over the hills, a welcome change from the 110° desert air we’d left behind. It set the tone: slower pace, cooler temps, and an entirely different landscape.

Exploring the Area

Before race weekend, we explored the Monterey coast. Carmel lived up to its reputation with narrow streets, old Spanish-style buildings, and a wide beach that draws people in every evening. From there we drove south on Highway 1, where the Santa Lucia Mountains drop straight into the Pacific. Every turnout felt like a photo worth taking.

We followed the Pacific Coast Highway as far as the closure point where a massive landslide has blocked the road for years. Landslides have shaped and reshaped this highway for decades, a reminder that California’s beauty also comes with instability. Along the way, we passed stretches of rugged coastline dotted with Torrey pines clinging to the sandstone bluffs. Waves hammered the rock shelves below, giving you a sense of how raw and unforgiving this coast can be.

In Monterey itself, we walked the old harbor. Today it’s heavy on tourists, but its past is tied to sardine fishing and canneries that lined the waterfront in the early 1900s. The industry collapsed in the 1950s from overfishing, leaving behind empty buildings later made famous by John Steinbeck in Cannery Row. The working boats are mostly gone, replaced by sailboats and whale-watching tours, but you can still feel traces of the old fishing town behind the restaurants and gift shops.

The Anchor Activity

Race weekend at Laguna Seca was the centerpiece. The track sits in the dry hills between Salinas and Monterey, a 2.2-mile circuit with more than 300 feet of elevation change. Watching it in person, you realize just how demanding the layout is. The Radical Cup and Porsche Sprint races filled the schedule, but the IndyCars were the draw.

The Corkscrew — a blind, downhill, left-right that drops five stories in a matter of seconds — was as wild to watch as it looks on TV.

Cars appeared, dove out of sight, and snapped back into view, testing both drivers and machines. The crowd was large but manageable, and the open pit areas made it easy to get close to the cars and teams.

For my son, standing a few feet from an IndyCar while crews worked was about as good as it gets.

Wrap Up / Takeaway

By the time we flew home, we had logged miles of coastline, walked through Monterey’s history, and spent long days trackside. The trip was simple: an easy flight, a foggy coast drive, a dose of California history, and the sound of IndyCars echoing through the hills. Worth every bit of it.