California Highway 1 Scenic Drive
Enjoy some of America's finest scenery on the Pacific Coast Highway
Jul 16, 2007
California Highway 1 – the famous Pacific Coast Highway – may not be the fastest way between San Francisco and Los Angeles, but this 485-mile road is one of the great scenic drives in the country. A minimum of two days will allow for some sightseeing and plenty of stops to admire the beautiful views.
Many of the cities and places along this stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway are worth a longer stay. Here are the highlights of the southern part of the Pacific Coast Highway drive between Hearst Castle and Los Angeles.
Cambria: With many good restaurants, bars and bed-and-breakfast inns, Cambria makes a good base for visiting Hearst Castle, 8 miles to the north. It is home to a colony of artists and craftspeople. While the gift shops along the highway are rather touristy, there are several good galleries and shops along Main Street in the older part of town.
Many fine Arts and Crafts-style houses, dating from the early 20th century, can be seen in the town's East Village. On Hillcrest Drive, look for Nit Wit Ridge, a house built out of recycled junk materials.
There are great views of the sea – and sometimes sea otters, whales and other marine life – from Leffingwell Landing. With pretty pebbles and jade scattered along its shoreline, Cambria is a great spot for beachcombing.
Ten miles south there are sandy beaches and a long pier at the old fishing village of Cayucos.
Morro Bay: A huge volcanic rock rising out of the water offshore is the landmark of this pleasant fishing port. One of nine extinct volcanoes along this part of the Pacific Coast Highway coast, it was named Morro Rock by early explorers who thought its dome shape resembled the Moorish turbans and domes of southern Spain.
The rock is now a wildlife reserve protecting the peregrine falcons that nest here. Many other birds and plants thrive in the tall white sand dunes along the beach at the base of the rock. The natural history museum at Morro Bay State Park has wildlife exhibits and an observation deck.
In town there are galleries, seafood restaurants and an aquarium along the waterfront, as well as whale-watching trips and cruises around the bay.
San Luis Obispo: Highway 1 meets Highway 101 at San Luis Obispo, which is slightly inland and about halfway between San Francisco and LA on the Pacific Coast Highway drive. A market town for the surrounding farming and ranching community, it is also home to California Polytechnic University.
The main attraction is the historic San Luis Obispo Mission de Tolosa, founded by the Franciscans in 1772. The distinctive red roof tiles so characteristic of Spanish mission architecture were first used here.
The town is full of fine architecture, from Victorian homes and commercial buildings to a doctor's office designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Most famous, however, is the quirky Madonna Inn, its many themed rooms filled with kitschy decor.
Pismo Beach: Return to the coast at this energetic resort town. The Pismo clams that made it famous at the turn of the 20th century are now sadly depleted, but the town still holds an annual clam festival in the fall.
The beach runs south for 8 miles, backed by large sand dunes. While some sections are given over to dune buggies and off-road vehicles, other dunes are nature reserves sheltering plants and wildlife, as well as Native American shell mounds.
Lompoc: Highway 1 runs south through inland agricultural valleys of rolling countryside, skirting Vandenberg Airforce Base. Lompoc is the center of one of the world's largest flower seed-producing regions. It's an especially beautiful drive from late spring through summer, when the flower fields are a rainbow of colors.
In town, pick up a map of the 19-mile Flower Drive through the valley, which identifies the many flower fields. Northeast of town is the reconstructed La Purísima Concepción Mission.
Santa Barbara: With its whitewashed buildings, red-tiled roofs and palm trees, Santa Barbara is one of the most attractive cities in the country. Most of its lovely architecture dates from after 1925, when the city was devastated by a massive earthquake and rebuilt in the Spanish-Mediterranean-style.
Among its wealth of attractions are the County Courthouse, the restored Presidio (fort) buildings dating from 1782, and the Santa Barbara Mission, known as the Queen of the Missions. The Museum of Art has a superb collection of regional art, and more treasures are held in the Historical Museum.
From here, the 72-mile drive along the Pacific Coast Highway through Ventura and Oxnard brings you to another beautiful stretch of coast at Malibu, and on into Los Angeles.
To follow the central section of the Pacific Coast Highway drive between Carmel and San Simeon, click here.
To follow the northern section of the Pacific Coast Highway between San Francisco and Monterey, click here.
For further information visit the Pacific Coast Highway Travel website.
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