Pacific Coast Highway Scenic Drive
Enjoy some of America's best coastal scenery on California Highway 1
Take the coast road between San Francisco and Los Angeles for some of California's finest views: rocky sea cliffs, roaring surf, sandy coves, wildlife and historic towns.
California Highway 1 – better known as the Pacific Coast Highway – is one of America's great scenic drives. For visitors touring California, taking this road between San Francisco and Los Angeles opens up a variety of coastal scenery, from rugged sea cliffs and pounding surf to nature preserves and rural towns a world away from their big-city anchors.
This 485-mile Pacific Coast Highway drive is not the fastest route between these cities. Allow at least two days to include a minimum of sightseeing, more if you plan to linger along the way. Here are some of the highlights on the northern stretch between San Francisco and Monterey.
Beaches: Leaving San Francisco on the Pacific Coast Highway, the urban sprawl of the Bay Area gradually gives way to the freedom of the ocean road. A string of state beaches hugs the coast along Highway 1, beginning at Pacifica and running south to Pillar Point Harbor, a natural harbor and former whaling station.
Wide sandy beaches stretch for four miles along Half Moon Bay, an old agricultural town which hosts an Art and Pumpkin Festival every October. Further south, Pescadero is another quaint farming town with whitewashed churches and buildings.
In between are more sandy beaches backed by rocky bluffs, and idyllic coves with roaring surf, tidepools and lagoons. Sea lions can often be seen offshore from the lighthouse at Pigeon Point.
Santa Cruz: About 75 miles south of San Francisco, on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a laid-back beach resort and a lively university town with its roots in the surrounding agricultural community. A replica of the 1791 Santa Cruz Mission stands on a hilltop overlooking the town.
The highlight is the beach and the wonderfully old-fashioned Beach Boardwalk, with an Art-Deco dance hall, games and rides ranging from the hand-carved carousel to modern thrill rides. The star attraction is the Giant Dipper, a wooden roller coaster built in 1924 and now a designated National Historic Landmark.
The Surfing Museum along West Cliff Drive attests to the popularity of the big waves here. This scenic drive runs to Natural Bridges State Beach, where the sea has carved natural archways in the cliffs. Detour inland to visit Big Basin Redwood State Park, the southernmost grove of coastal redwood trees.
Monterey: California's capital until 1848, this historic town is a popular stop and a good place to break the Pacific Coast Highway journey. Old Monterey still has many adobe homes and historic buildings from its colonial days, from an old whaling station to California's first theater. Many can be visited or seen on walking tours.
On the harbor, Fisherman's Wharf has been converted into a tourist complex of markets, shops and seafood restaurants. Further along the seafront, Cannery Row is another shopping and dining area, redeveloped from the old sardine packing plants that once thrived here and formed the setting for John Steinbeck's novel of the same name.
One of these factories became the foundation for the city's best attraction, the Monterey Bay Aquarium. With around 550 marine species in local habitats, and research and conservation programs, it is one of the largest and finest aquariums in the country.
Some of the most magnificent views and coastal scenery lies along the 17-Mile Drive on the Monterey Peninsula. This toll road runs past pristine beaches, forests of Monterey pine, and the much-photographed Lone Cypress tree on its rocky sea ledge. Sightings of sea otters, sea lions and a host of sea birds are common here.
To continue the Pacific Coast Highway drive between Carmel and San Simeon, click here.
To follow the southern stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway between San Simeon and Los Angeles, click here.
For further information visit the Pacific Coast Highway Travel website.
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