Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1

floyd · 18th July 2018, 07:42

Introduction
Before I relocated to California from Bangalore, I was not really aware of the natural beauty of the roads and highways in USA. My best roadtrip so far, had been a drive along the Adriatic coast of Croatia, which I have blogged about here. However, after driving down US Highway-1 to Big Sur, I can safely saw that the Croatia drive is now the 2nd best.

What is 'Big Sur'?
Big Sur is an area along the Pacific Coast of California, south of San Francisco"Big Sur" is a Spanglish concatenation meaning "The Big South". California has a very prominent Spanish connection in it's history. The state (as well as parts of Nevada) was part of a Spanish colony, and was part of Mexico till the mid-nineteenth century. California became part of USA after the 1846 Mexican-American war. Before the independence/liberation/annexation (depending on which side you are on), the Spanish rulers named the country south of Monterey "El Sur Grande", or "The Big country to the South". The name Big Sur stuck after English speaking Americans started settling there.

The Ride
Soon after relocating to the Bay Area, I bought a pre-owned 2016 Ford Focus. We had to go for pre-owned, as both me and my wife were new to the USA, and getting auto loans with no credit history is quite expensive. With full cash payment upfront, we had to settle for "2nd hand". However, in Jan 2018, I had managed to get buy a new 2018 Subaru Forester. We needed two cars anyways, and I wanted a 4-WD SUV. My ride in India was the Toyota Innova, and I have since been used to a high ground clearance/high driving position car. After trying out a 2017 Jeep Compass, we rejected it, even though it was cheaper than the Subaru Forester. The main reason was that the Compass was tiny, and was Front-wheel drive only (not a 4WD). Now I know that the Compass is doing well in India now, but here in the US, it is really small, and not a good value. The Subaru Forester seemed exceptionally good value, as all variants come with All-Wheel-Drive standard. Plus, the advantage of larger cabin space, more visibility, and something intangible that made me nostalgic about my old Innova.

Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1-20180324-067.jpg

Our ride - the 2018 Subaru Forester - nicknamed "Forester-San".

This drive was the first road trip for the new car. Big Sur is actually not too far - just a 2 hour drive from Bay Area - so it was a good warm-up to more travels to come.

The Drive
The drive to Big Sur starts off on the regular freeway that all Bay Area residents use - the US Highway 101. Driving on the 101 is a very boring and underwhelming experience. The 101 is the main artery connecting San Francisco and San Jose, but is just miles of concrete with nothing to please the eyes. However, once you cross San Jose, and get closer to Gilroy (known for it's garlic crop), the scenery becomes more rural. There is also the option of driving to Big Sur through the Santa Cruz road, which is more scenic, but may carry heavy traffic on weekends. In either route, as you reach Monterrey, the road joins US Highway-1, and runs along the beautiful Pacific coast. Further south down Highway-1, it becomes a driver's dream with the blue Pacific ocean on the right and the Santa Lucia mountain ranges on the left.

Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1-20180128-023.jpg

The smaller and less-famous of the two bridges along the way. Rocky Creek Bridge.

As you drive along the coast, you cross a few large bridges, the most famous, and most photographed of these is the "Bixby Creek Bridge".

Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1-20180128-036.jpg

Bixby Creek Bridge.

There are several vista points along the way, were you can pull over, park your car, and take photographs. There are also many trails leading to hidden coves in the Pacific.

Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1-20180128-005.jpg

One of the vista points.

A few miles from the Bixby Bridge is the "Point Sur" Lighthouse. There are organized tours for this historic lighthouse, but they all start at 10AM on weekends. The two times we drove to Big Sur, we missed this, but plan to do this in the future. The highway near this lighthouse is an amazing place to photograph sunsets.

Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1-20180128-092.jpg

Point Sur Lighthouse sunset.

Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1-20180128-098.jpg

Still near Point Sur... The Forester soaks in the sun.

Further south from Point Sur, National park territory begins. The most famous National park here is the Julia Pfeiffer Burns park. As with all US National parks, there are many trails that one can explore. One of the trails that we explored was the Partington Cove trail. This leads one through a small tunnel in the mountains, and emerges out onto a rocky beach.

Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1-20180324-029.jpg

Partington Cove.

The second, and more famous, trail that we explored was the McWay Falls. This is a really short hike, but it leads to a picturesque waterfall on the beach. This location is quite famous, and was even featured in Dr. Dre's "I need a Doctor" music video.

Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1-20180128-067.jpg

McWay Falls. You cant see the waterfall very well in this picture, but it is in the mid-center of the picture frame.

Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1-20180128-081.jpg

Another view of McWay Falls.

On our second visit to Big Sur, we stayed overnight at a small (but expensive) hotel called Lucia Lodge. The rooms are located on the side of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1-20180324-094.jpg

View from Lucia Lodge

Chillin' time.

The next morning when we were getting ready to leave, I saw that the morning sun and dew made a perfect photo-op for Forester-San.

Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1-20180325-001.jpg

Parting shot before leaving Big Sur.

ampere · 19th July 2018, 09:48

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

Short and Nice!

CornerCarver · 21st July 2018, 06:16

Nice pictures and Forester-San looks awesome with the vista in the background. Pacific Coast Highway is always a pleasure to drive with enchanting views to accompany. Hoping for more mile munching and write-ups from your side.

Hayek · 21st July 2018, 09:32

Nice. Reminds me of my drive down Route 1 back in 2013. We stayed for 2 days at a fabulous house in Big Sur back then. Did you also do the 17 mile drive. It was great as well. Was told that parts of Route 1 are closed due to a landslide right now, is that correct?

FlyingSpur · 23rd July 2018, 11:02

Thanks for sharing! I've done the route a few times, most memorable being the last hurrah in my '06 350Z convertible a few days before I sold it. It remains in my memory as one of my all time favorite driving experiences. Top down, perfect mix of sun and cool breeze, VQ35DE and a short throw stick shift to give gears 2 and 3 a real run... can't wait to do it again in another legendary motor.

floyd · 3rd August 2018, 07:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hayek

Was told that parts of Route 1 are closed due to a landslide right now, is that correct?

Yes, in Jan this year, it was closed a few miles beyond Lucia Lodge. I think they may have repaired it by now.

18th July 2018, 07:42	#1
floyd BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 182 Thanked: 90 Times	Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1 Introduction Before I relocated to California from Bangalore, I was not really aware of the natural beauty of the roads and highways in USA. My best roadtrip so far, had been a drive along the Adriatic coast of Croatia, which I have blogged about here. However, after driving down US Highway-1 to Big Sur, I can safely saw that the Croatia drive is now the 2nd best. What is 'Big Sur'? Big Sur is an area along the Pacific Coast of California, south of San Francisco"Big Sur" is a Spanglish concatenation meaning "The Big South". California has a very prominent Spanish connection in it's history. The state (as well as parts of Nevada) was part of a Spanish colony, and was part of Mexico till the mid-nineteenth century. California became part of USA after the 1846 Mexican-American war. Before the independence/liberation/annexation (depending on which side you are on), the Spanish rulers named the country south of Monterey "El Sur Grande", or "The Big country to the South". The name Big Sur stuck after English speaking Americans started settling there. The Ride Soon after relocating to the Bay Area, I bought a pre-owned 2016 Ford Focus. We had to go for pre-owned, as both me and my wife were new to the USA, and getting auto loans with no credit history is quite expensive. With full cash payment upfront, we had to settle for "2nd hand". However, in Jan 2018, I had managed to get buy a new 2018 Subaru Forester. We needed two cars anyways, and I wanted a 4-WD SUV. My ride in India was the Toyota Innova, and I have since been used to a high ground clearance/high driving position car. After trying out a 2017 Jeep Compass, we rejected it, even though it was cheaper than the Subaru Forester. The main reason was that the Compass was tiny, and was Front-wheel drive only (not a 4WD). Now I know that the Compass is doing well in India now, but here in the US, it is really small, and not a good value. The Subaru Forester seemed exceptionally good value, as all variants come with All-Wheel-Drive standard. Plus, the advantage of larger cabin space, more visibility, and something intangible that made me nostalgic about my old Innova. Our ride - the 2018 Subaru Forester - nicknamed "Forester-San". This drive was the first road trip for the new car. Big Sur is actually not too far - just a 2 hour drive from Bay Area - so it was a good warm-up to more travels to come. The Drive The drive to Big Sur starts off on the regular freeway that all Bay Area residents use - the US Highway 101. Driving on the 101 is a very boring and underwhelming experience. The 101 is the main artery connecting San Francisco and San Jose, but is just miles of concrete with nothing to please the eyes. However, once you cross San Jose, and get closer to Gilroy (known for it's garlic crop), the scenery becomes more rural. There is also the option of driving to Big Sur through the Santa Cruz road, which is more scenic, but may carry heavy traffic on weekends. In either route, as you reach Monterrey, the road joins US Highway-1, and runs along the beautiful Pacific coast. Further south down Highway-1, it becomes a driver's dream with the blue Pacific ocean on the right and the Santa Lucia mountain ranges on the left. The smaller and less-famous of the two bridges along the way. Rocky Creek Bridge. As you drive along the coast, you cross a few large bridges, the most famous, and most photographed of these is the "Bixby Creek Bridge". Bixby Creek Bridge. There are several vista points along the way, were you can pull over, park your car, and take photographs. There are also many trails leading to hidden coves in the Pacific. One of the vista points. A few miles from the Bixby Bridge is the "Point Sur" Lighthouse. There are organized tours for this historic lighthouse, but they all start at 10AM on weekends. The two times we drove to Big Sur, we missed this, but plan to do this in the future. The highway near this lighthouse is an amazing place to photograph sunsets. Point Sur Lighthouse sunset. Still near Point Sur... The Forester soaks in the sun. Further south from Point Sur, National park territory begins. The most famous National park here is the Julia Pfeiffer Burns park. As with all US National parks, there are many trails that one can explore. One of the trails that we explored was the Partington Cove trail. This leads one through a small tunnel in the mountains, and emerges out onto a rocky beach. Partington Cove. The second, and more famous, trail that we explored was the McWay Falls. This is a really short hike, but it leads to a picturesque waterfall on the beach. This location is quite famous, and was even featured in Dr. Dre's "I need a Doctor" music video. McWay Falls. You cant see the waterfall very well in this picture, but it is in the mid-center of the picture frame. Another view of McWay Falls. On our second visit to Big Sur, we stayed overnight at a small (but expensive) hotel called Lucia Lodge. The rooms are located on the side of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. View from Lucia Lodge Chillin' time. The next morning when we were getting ready to leave, I saw that the morning sun and dew made a perfect photo-op for Forester-San. Parting shot before leaving Big Sur. Last edited by ampere : 19th July 2018 at 10:43. Reason: Edited to remove mention of alchohol. Refer Rule-11
	(13) Thanks

19th July 2018, 09:48	#2
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 18,236 Thanked: 13,463 Times View My Garage	re: Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1 Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing! Short and Nice!
	() Thanks

21st July 2018, 06:16	#3
CornerCarver BHPian Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: HYD/KSA Posts: 43 Thanked: 66 Times	Re: Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1 Nice pictures and Forester-San looks awesome with the vista in the background. Pacific Coast Highway is always a pleasure to drive with enchanting views to accompany. Hoping for more mile munching and write-ups from your side.
	() Thanks

21st July 2018, 09:32	#4
Hayek Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,991 Thanked: 16,238 Times	Re: Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1 Nice. Reminds me of my drive down Route 1 back in 2013. We stayed for 2 days at a fabulous house in Big Sur back then. Did you also do the 17 mile drive. It was great as well. Was told that parts of Route 1 are closed due to a landslide right now, is that correct? Last edited by Hayek : 21st July 2018 at 09:33.
	() Thanks

23rd July 2018, 11:02	#5
FlyingSpur Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 3,934 Thanked: 1,426 Times View My Garage	Re: Driving along Big Sur, US Highway 1 Thanks for sharing! I've done the route a few times, most memorable being the last hurrah in my '06 350Z convertible a few days before I sold it. It remains in my memory as one of my all time favorite driving experiences. Top down, perfect mix of sun and cool breeze, VQ35DE and a short throw stick shift to give gears 2 and 3 a real run... can't wait to do it again in another legendary motor.
	() Thanks