The bach weekend, handled
1 / 6 · Nathan Moore
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Pacific Coast Highway · Highway 1
The ocean rides shotgun
1 / 6 · Nathan Moore
The ocean rides shotgun
Pacific Coast Highway · Highway 1
roadtrip coast scenic adventurous warm
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See trips like this Talk to a specialistWhy you’ll love it
Big Sur bends, roadside artichokes, and a top that never goes up. A GoSmart specialist plans and books it around your dates and pace.
Why it works
The road tips around a headland and the whole coast opens up, cliffs dropping straight into a churning silver sea, a lone hawk riding the updraft off the edge. You pull into a gravel turnout just to breathe it in, salt on the wind, and let the faster cars go by.
Worth knowing
Drive north to south and you are on the ocean side of the road, with the pullouts and the best views on your side of the traffic. Big Sur is prone to landslide closures, so check the current road status before you commit to a date.
Fill your tank before Big Sur, where gas is scarce and pricey, and do not plan on reliable cell service through the remote stretches. Morning fog is common on the coast and usually burns off by midday.
Give yourself at least three or four days end to end. The temptation is to hurry, but the whole reward here is the stops, the short hikes, and the slow lunches with a view.
About the place
California's Highway 1 threads the coast between San Francisco and Los Angeles, with the cliffs and redwoods of Big Sur as its wild, spectacular heart. It is the classic American coast drive, best taken slowly with plenty of stops.