Detour #81: Pacific Coast Highway, California, USA
Alex Bernstein
There can be few more iconic road trips than a run down through California on the Pacific Coast Highway. The PCH or Highway One is one of the best ocean drives in the world and one to be savoured over several days.
There is a perpetual debate about whether it’s best driven from north to south or south to north, but we say start in the cooler climes of San Francisco and hug the ocean all the way to San Diego.
After you’ve taken in the seriously steep streets of San Francisco immortalised by Steve McQueen in Bullitt and driven over the Golden Gate Bridge a couple of times for the Instagram account then start your trip by heading towards the surfer’s paradise of Santa Cruz. Check out the 1907 boardwalk and the funfair where the Lost Boys was filmed.
Carry on down to Monterey, home to the amazing WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and its fiendish Corkscrew corner, as well as Pebble Beach, the site of one of the world’s most glamorous concours events. Next on the bucket list is Big Sur, the reason so many visitors take to the legendary road. Redwood-covered mountains merge into the most dramatic rugged coastline. Look up and you’re sure to catch sight of vultures, perhaps even a condor. Look out and you’ll be hypnotised by the ocean views.
Watch for elephant seals on your way to Cambria, then pass by Morro Bay with its richly diverse flora and fauna. Stretch your legs in Morro Bay State Park and you’ll be joined by herons, butterflies, hummingbirds and sea otters.
Your next stop is San Luis Obispo, or SLO to the locals. Take a look at the Point San Luis Lighthouse, visit one of 30 nearby wineries and spend the night in one of the crazy themed rooms at the Madonna Inn.
Pass through the mini Denmark that is Solvang and stop for a morning pastry. Then press on to Santa Barbara and its Funk Zone art district. As you head towards Los Angeles you’ll pass through Ventura, and Malibu, where we strongly recommend a pit stop at Duke’s for brunch. Hedonistic Santa Monica (home to Baywatch) is next, before Highway One takes a rather more tedious route through industrial Los Angeles down to the port of Long Beach.
L.A. itself is a whole other story, with its own great drives and pit stops. Stay a while or pass on through to the beach towns of Huntington Beach, swanky Newport Beach and arty Laguna Beach which are next on the itinerary. Just past Dana Point Highway One reaches its end and you’ll find it hard to avoid joining the I5 Freeway for the run to San Diego. If you are determined you can pick up the Old Pacific Highway again, but by now you’re probably hungry for a taco or two and San Diego’s Mexican cuisine will not disappoint.
How long to allow for this American adventure? If you cannonball it you could cover the distance in a day. A week will give you the chance to take in the main sights. A month and you’ll feel like a local. What about a lifetime?
Words Nik Berg Twitter | Instagram
Photography Alex Bernstein Instagram | Website