Plus, you will experience one of California’s most famous landmarks: the Golden Gate Bridge. While you can do the drive in a day, make it a multi-day road trip to explore the coast in greater depth. While the scenery is reminiscent of Big Sur, you will find several small towns to explore en route. California Highway 1 Between San Francisco and Fort Braggĭriving Time: About 4 hours and 45 minutesĬalifornia Highway 1 is spectacular north of San Francisco as well. While Big Sur is beautiful year-round, know that summer brings coastal fog in the mornings, fall is wildfire season in California, and winter sometimes sees rain storms and mud slides that can close Highway One in the region.Ĭheck to make sure there are no closures before you head out. McWay Falls, Bixby Creek Bridge, and Ragged Point are must-stop photo stops.

You certainly won’t tire of the views, and there are lots of things to do in Big Sur.īig Sur offers several state parks for hiking, a historic light station you can tour, many beautiful waterfalls, and Pfeiffer Beach, with its beautiful purple sand. While you can drive the Big Sur Coast in a day (or even a few hours if that’s all you have), you can also do a two-day Big Sur road trip and soak in the beauty of the region at leisure. Big Sur Coast between Carmel and San Simeonĭon’t have the time for the entire PCH? Drive the 90 miles of highway along the Big Sur Coast, between Carmel-by-the-Sea and San Simeon, to enjoy some of the most spectacular coastal scenery on the planet. Summer, with wildflowers blooming everywhere, is another great time to drive this route. While this drive is super scenic any time of the year, it is especially spectacular in the fall, when aspens, cottonwoods, and willows don their autumnal colors of yellow, orange, and red. Small detours bring you to Bodie State Historic Park, where you can see the remnants of a Gold Rush boom-and-bust town, to Devils Postpile National Monument, which preserves the stunning natural formation of basalt columns and the majestic Rainbow Falls, and to the Alabama Hills, the location for many Western movies. There’s so much to do that you will want to allow a few days for the drive if you can. The section between South Lake Tahoe and Lone Pine runs alongside the Sierra Nevada, and features magnificent mountain vistas and alpine lakes.Ĭonway Summit along Highway 395 in CaliforniaĪlong this route, you can admire the unique Mono Lake tufa towers, take in the views from Conway Summit, soak in a natural hot spring, and go hiking, mountain climbing, rock climbing, or boating or fishing at one of many lakes. Running north-south along the eastern part of California, Highway 395 is just as spectacular a drive as the PCH. Allow plenty of time: you will want to stop often and linger longer than you thought you would! Highway 395 between Lake Tahoe and Lone Pine Historic lighthouses, wildlife and marine life, and even a castle on a hill make this drive fascinating. Generally driven on a road trip spanning several days, the PCH features spectacular coastal scenery that ranges from rugged cliffs and windswept beaches in the north to super tall palms and wide sandy beaches in the south.Īlong the route, stop to explore any number of charming California coastal towns, from Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea to tiny Cambria and Cayucos and laid back San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay.įurther south, the beach towns of Southern California beckon, from Malibu to Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach. The Pacific Coast Highway is one of the best scenic drives in California!

17 mile drive stops