Driving Along the Pacific Coast Highway
Like many others, I’ve always dreamed of driving along Highway 1: the scenic Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). This road follows the West coastline of the United States, from Seattle all the way down to Baja California. During my trip to California, I had planned to start my journey in Los Angeles, and then drive all the way up to San Francisco. I was pretty excited to discover the coastal landscapes this famous road had to offer, and they didn’t disappoint. This blog article will be quite concise, as there aren’t many tips to give. It will focus on the section of the highway that crosses Pfeiffer Big Sur National Park.
Honestly, you just need to basically drive up or down the highway and stop wherever you feel like it. There are so many viewpoints along the road, it’s almost overwhelming. My only piece of advice would be to plan enough time to do it because you will want to stop everywhere. Also, I was worried not to be able to find a gas station. That ended up not being a problem at all, there are tiny gas stations in most villages you will drive by.
1. Villa Creek Viewpoint
This is the first place I stopped at when I arrived in the national park. The parking lot there is big enough to accommodate a many cars (which isn’t the case everywhere) and what I liked is that it gives you a view on the rest of the coastline further North. You can actually see the cliffs and the road from there.
2. McWay Falls
This is probably the place I was most excited about. I’ve seen this waterfall all over the internet and couldn’t wait to go see it for myself. I got so lucky with the weather that day, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky which made the water look so blue! This place is truly magical.
3. Pfeiffer Beach
After seeing McWay Falls, I just wanted to go sit at the beach, so I headed straight to Pfeiffer Beach. To access the beach you’ll need to make a turn on a tiny road at some point. There, you’ll be greated by a security guard telling you that the road to get down to the beach is two miles long, and gets very narrow. There is also a $12 USD fee to visit the beach since it is part of a national park. One thing to note is that if you visit on a windy day, chances are you will be sand blasted so it won’t be really confortable to just sunbathe peacefully.
4. Point Sur Historic Park
My next stop was Point Sur Historic Park and Lighthouse. This place has 3 long stretches of white sand beaches that make up for a fantastic photo. If you want to visit the lighthouse you’ll have to exit the highway once again and drive until you reach the coast. Otherwise, there are a few other stops along the road if you’d like to see the perfectly aligned beaches.
5. Bixby Creek Bridge
Last but not least is Bixby Creek Bridge, which I had also seen a lot in pictures. I didn’t expect it to be that big. It is very impressive to see when you get there: much bigger and higher than I expected. It is spectacular and the fact that there is a beautiful beach just underneath makes it even more stunning. If you’re afraid of heights, don’t get too close to the edge of the cliff.