California State Route 1, fondly known as CA-1, remained an elusive road trip during our 6-year stay in California. Always taking I5, the shorter and quicker route to Southern California, our compass always pointed towards the west. It was time we respected our compass and its itches! 😉 And so... we embarked upon our journey to explore what National Geographic labels it to be one of the 50 best road tips around the world. Check!
One thing dawned on us while planning the trip: we wont be able to cover the entire highway in 5 days. It would be injustice to us as well as the highway! ;) . It commanded more respect. Since we live in Newark, CA, we would explore Highway1 starting from San Gregorio, in San Francisco Bay Area, all the way up to Venice Beach, near Los Angeles.
It was July 3rd, 2018.
The road trip started off with fantastic curvy roads of Highway-84. At the San Gregorio junction, we turned right, and... we were on CA-1 South. And our first glimpse of the ocean:
Unfortunately, there were overcast conditions so the water looked gray. But every time I come to an ocean, its grandeur and vastness, never fails to humble me. The sound of waves crashing amongst themselves, the smell of salinity of its waters and the sight of water, having no end in sight, makes me go through a sensory overdose, catalyzing my departure from "that" other parallel universe (in other words... the daily boring routing!).
Our happiness was short lived though. From an ocean of water, we ended up experiencing another kind of ocean... An ocean of cars. The drive from San Gregorio to Santa Cruz was just as mesmerizing as I described above. From Santa Cruz, CA-1 turns inland (but just for a while...) where we were stuck in traffic for an hour. The traffic was crawling, but our spirits were racing!
Then comes the gem of CA-1 route: the coastal CA-1 from Monterey to Lucia, which is further down south than Big Sur. The skies were still gray, the water was still gray, but the ocean seemed much more dynamic. The coastline is rugged so water crashing the rocks gave dramatic effect to the landscape. You will encounter numerous pullouts along this route, so take a chill pill, seep in the vistas and relax. Plan your trip such that you do not need to rush this patch of the route.
There are multiple state beaches along this route. So they would have restrooms. If not, you can take a break at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. They have picnic tables, restrooms, potable water and a very short trail to some really breathtaking scenic vistas. I would highly recommend you taking a stop here.
Our first stop: San Simeon State Park. Yeah, it was time for some fun camping! My wife and I were traveling in our Hyundai Elantra. And yet, it was PACKED! The trunk was full of camping supplies: tent, sleeping pads and bags, two camping chairs, foldable propane-powered stove, campfire supplies, cooking supplies and food! The back seats were stuffed with our luggage! 😅
It was a fantastic campground and the campsite. We were allotted site 37 of Simeon State Creek Campground. The site was completely shaded with trees so we could enjoy the campsite till late morning as well as early evening. Afternoons... we were anyways out, exploring the place. They had coin-operated showers and flush toilets. A big plus... it was right next to the beach.
We began our next day by exploring the town of Cambria. Its a very cozy, beautiful and sleepy town just off the coast. We had our brunch at West End Bar n Grill. They served very delicious Pesto Linguini and extra light and crispy Onion Rings. And of course, how can we leave the town without buying our souvenir? 😀
Next stop: Hearst Castle. In our humble opinion, neither my wife nor I were impressed by the castle. Dont get us wrong: the location of the castle is indeed breathtaking; but the castle itself... not so much! In any case, it is quite expensive if you want to explore the entire castle! There are three different guided tours (yup!) catering to different sections of the castle and each tour is $25/person. The castle's indoor swimming pool is really beautiful though. Brownie points for those who can spot zebras!
The beach was calling us so we headed out to Moonstone Beach. This was a super-beautiful beach with no sand but only moonstones! This gave a very "glassy" feeling to the beach. The authorities have created a very beautiful boardwalk to enjoy the beach via a leisurely walk.
We were back at the campsite early evening to enjoy our meals with a campfire and slow soft music. And my wife does talk a lot! 😊
After packing our stuff, we headed to Cambria again for a quick bite and ended up going to Lily's Coffeehouse. Fresh scrambled eggs, county potatoes and some coffee later, we headed further south on CA-1.
This patch was another highlight. There are also multiple beaches, pullouts and public beaches en route. There's a little hidden beach in Estero Bluffs State Park which I would highly recommend.
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| Estero Bluffs State Park |
Not only is it secluded, but also beautiful. Go on a weekday and you will have all the beach to yourself. There's a very short flat trail which will lead you to the beach.
Morro Bay, the home of Morro Rock, is also home to same ultra-serene beaches. The beach is really long and devoid of sea weeds. This made the beach extra special. If you are looking for a quite spot for a sunbath or reading a book, you are sure to find one here. There a state park called Morro Bay state park if you would like to explore. We did not go there, but looking at its location, I believe it will have great hiking trails overlooking the Morro Rock and some beaches as well.
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| Morro Rock |
Solvang: the quintessential Dutch town of California. Windmills, clock towers, hexagonal spires dot the landscape of its downtown. It indeed calls out the romantic in you! Strolling in the streets was truly invigorating.
Looking at a Danish bakery called Mortensen's, we went in to try its Danish. There was nothing "Danish" about it! If you have time, dont miss their souvenir shops and bookstores!
Santa Barbara was our next hop. The coastal route between Solvang and Santa Barbara was truly exceptional. Here the ocean was quiet. No rocks. Just water, till your eyes can see.
We reached Santa Barbara by dinner and gulped down some great Indian food at Tamira. The town would be explored the next day. Another beautiful downtown. There's UCSB just round the corner and so the town is alive and vibrant owning to its students. We saw FIFA world cup match between Brazil and Belgium in Santa Barbara Public Market which was awesome. We were kind of supporting neither teams by supporting both! 😆 The Public Market concept is very cool which we have not seen in many cities. It has multiple food "stalls" in a enclosed market setting. The crowd was hip, atmosphere was electric, food choices were eclectic and the mood inviting! Noodles and Ice cream was on our menu!
And came the last leg of our trip. Santa Barbara to Venice. The coastal highway still maintained its beauty but was marred by traffic and people. In our opinion, these beaches were absolutely great for water sports, picnics, meet-ups, happy hours, etc. They were a thumbs down for solitude and peace. If you want a quiet place to relax on a beach, these should not be on your list. SB to Venice should have taken us couple of hours, but it took almost 4 hrs.
After reaching Venice beach, we move inland towards Beverly Hills to have dinner with our dear friends Garima and Rajan. Next day, we took I5 to come back home.
A unique thing about this trip was that we did not really see any "famous" beaches. We did not do Santa Monica pier, we did not visit any beaches in Malibu, nor did we explore Venice Beach... in spite of doing a coastal road trip. That we have reserved for later!
Btw... National Geographic didn't get this wrong! 😉
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