Description
On days 14 and 15, of our 31 day road trip adventure, we traveled Highway 1 from Santa Cruz, California to Morro Bay. We drove 196 miles down the coast on this magnificent highway. Highway 1 is also known as the Cabrillo Highway.
We traveled on Highway 17 from San Jose, until we arrived in Santa Cruz at about 10:45am, where we started our journey down Highway 1.
From Santa Cruz we traveled Highway 1 around Monterey Bay, through Del Monte, to Monterey. We drove through Monterey and Pacific Grove, viewing the historic buildings and sites and driving along the Monterey Beach. We then drove through the Lovers Point Beach and Park and visited the Point Pinos Lighthouse, before continuing our drive down Sunset Drive, before entering onto the 17-Mile Drive. We continued down the 17-mile drive through Pebble Beach and Carmel, driving by and through numerous beautiful Oceanside golf courses.
In Carmel, we viewed the Carmel Beach as well as the many restaurants, boutiques and specialty shops that line the streets and walks of this village with quite a bit of Spanish heritage. We then continued our drive south on Highway 1, driving to the Point Lobos State Reserve, where we viewed the lighthouse and also viewed the sea lions, seals, and otters that make Point Lobos their home. After our stop at Point Lobos, we continued south on Highway 1 through the Carmel Highlands and the Andrew Molera State Park. We continued our drive through the Julia Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, where we stopped to view some of Big Sur’s spectacular coastline. Here, the Big Sur River, giant redwoods, and rugged coastline mountains, provide such an astonishing scenic view. After our visit at the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, we continued south along the California Sea Otter Game Refuge, the Los Padres National Forest, and Lopez Rock, before stopping at San Simeon, and touring the Hearst Castle.
After our visit to the Hearst Castle, we made a stop at the San Simeon State Park, which has a beautiful view of its 2 mile coastline. We then continued south to the town of Cambria, where we spent the night. After spending the night in Cambria, we continued south on Highway 101, to Morro Bay, before we headed inland on Highway 41, to reach our destination of Los Angeles.
The scenery and astonishing views of the shoreline, cliffs, ocean, wildlife, mountains, and bridges were magnificent. This highway is a photographer’s dream. Driving through fog in the wooded forests one minute and then driving through bright sunshine along the shores the next minute, the views are amazing. Traffic can be heavy and slow moving in spots, but overall, the drive was exciting.
One of the best stops along this route was at Big Sur. The peaceful and relaxing scenic views are something that will always be remembered. With astonishing views of steep sea cliffs, shorelines, trees, and forests, this highway provides some of the most romantic settings on earth.