Route 1 - Big Sur Coast Highway
Departure: San Simeon, California
Destination: Monterey Bay Aquarium, California
Time to allow: 1 day
Crashing waves, rolling fog, sheer rocky cliffs, and pleasant bends
and curves make a trip down Big Sur Coast Highway an unforgettable
experience. You can complete this itinerary in a day, but high
quality lodging and camping areas are available if you feel like a
day isn't enough to see it all.
Start: San Simeon, CA
Stop 1: Hearst San Simeon State Historical
Monument
Directions from previous place: From San Simeon take Hearst Castle
road to the castle, mile marker 57.8.
Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes
Above the ocean at San Simeon lies the creation of two
extraordinary people, William Randolph Hearst and Julia Morgan.
Their collaboration, which took nearly 30 years to complete,
transformed a hilltop campsite into the world-famous Hearst
Castle.
Stop 2: Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery
Located just off Highway 1, the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery is home to a population of around 8000 elephant seals. From December to April, the beaches fill with the animals during their mating season, and pups can be found learning to swim.
Directions from previous place: Return to the Byway and continue
north. Signs indicate the location of the rookery. Vista points
begin at mile marker 61.3 and continue on to 65.1.
Distance from Previous Site: 7.7 miles / 12.3
km
Travel Time from Previous Site: 10 minutes
Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes
Located just off Highway 1, the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal
Rookery is home to a population of around 8000 elephant seals. From
December to April, the beaches fill with the animals during their
mating season, and pups can be found learning to swim.
Stop 3: Ragged Point Vista
Directions from previous place: Continue along Highway 1, at mile
marker 72.9.
Distance from Previous Site: 7 miles / 11.2 km
A popular destination for large tour bus groups to stop and stretch
their legs, have lunch, and take in the experience of the
California Big Sur Coast. Home to the largest waterfall in Big Sur
and popular for weddings, Ragged Point offers what some call the
best view along the Byway. A hiking trail offers a closer look at
nature.
Towering high above the Pacific on a promontory with 400 foot sheer
cliffs, Ragged Point offers one of the finest ocean vistas in the
world, often called the "Million Dollar View". One of the few
places on this coast with a trail down the face of a cliff, it also
boasts the largest waterfall on the Big Sur coast.
Stop 4: Limekiln State Park
Directions from previous place: Take Byway to mile marker 21.
Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour
This 716-acre park features the beauty of the redwoods, the rugged
coast and the cultural history of limekilns, which are kilns or
furnaces in which limestone and/or shells are burned and reduced to
lime.
Navigation Point: Lucia
Directions from previous place: Continue along the Byway to mile
marker 23.
Stop 5: Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
Directions from previous place: Continue along
byway to mile marker 35.9.
Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park stretches from the Big Sur
coastline into nearby 3,000-foot ridges. The park features redwood,
tan oak, madrone, chaparral, and an 80-foot waterfall that drops
from granite cliffs into the ocean from the Overlook Trail.
Stop 6: Big Sur
Directions from previous place: Big Sur is located right on the
Byway.
Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour
Though recognized as a town on most road maps, Big Sur is really
more of an area than a town. It contains a large camping area,
while many inns, restaurants, and other small shops are found up
and down the corridor.
Stop 7: Point Sur State Historic Park
Directions from previous place: Keep traveling along the Byway,
signs will notify you of the State Park.
Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour
Point Sur Historic State Park features the Point Sur Lighthouse.
Modern technology has now replaced the kerosene lamps of times
past, but the beautiful buildings remain part of the scenery along
the Big Sur Coastline.
Stop 8: Carmel
The city of Carmel is situated in a forested area just off Highway
One. Carmel is about five miles south of Monterey and 26 miles
north of Big Sur.
Stop 9: Point Lobos State Reserve
Directions from previous place: Located a few miles down the
Byway.
Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes
Deriving its name from the offshore rocks at Punta de los Lobos
Marinos, Point of the Sea Wolves, where the sound of the sea lions
carries inland, the reserve has often been called the crown jewel
of the State Park System.
Stop 10: Monterey
Directions from previous place: Continue along Highway 1
Suggested Time at This Site: 2 hours
In its early days, Monterey was the capital of the Spanish
territory of California, while Monterey Bay was an important port.
The city displays its historical importance with beautifully
restored historic buildings and a "Path of History" walking
tour.
End: Monterey Bay Aquarium
Directions from previous place: Located in Monterey
Suggested Time at This Site: 2 hours
The marvels of our ocean planet come to life at the world-acclaimed
Monterey Bay Aquarium. Your visit will carry you into the hidden
world of Monterey Bay-- a place of ever-changing beauty at the
heart of the nation's largest marine sanctuary.
Total Distance Traveled : 14.7 miles / 23.5 km
