Take the detour to … North of Morro Bay, the highway runs close to water. From Malibu north, avoid taking the slow drive through Oxnard by choosing Ventura as your next destination. Highway 101 from LA to Oxnard is one of the least scenic drives in Southern California, and that's the last thing you want when you're starting your road trip adventure. Don't miss an excuse to hit the road: our latest offers delivered to your inbox. Each has a different feel, and you'll see very different kinds of things along the way. Rush hour in San Jose starts in mid-afternoon. Just one word of caution: They call it Devil's Slide and it certainly bedevils local residents by periodically disrupting traffic on Hwy 1 between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay. You could spend a week on the trip if you make every stop and follow every interesting side road, but you can do it in much less time. It's on the hilltop above the highway, too far away to see much unless you take a tour. This drive goes inland for most of its length, flirting briefly with the ocean at Moss Landing before returning oceanside near Monterey or Santa Cruz. Carol Polich Photo Workshops / Getty Images. Quickest Route About 380 miles, or 6 hours of driving. Found insideU.S. 101 and Highway 1, which run north–south, are the main routes to and through the Central Coast from Los Angeles and San Francisco. Brussels sprouts are a popular crop here, and you may see and/or smell them if you pass during harvest season. No matter which of the routes you took from Santa Barbara to the intersection of US Hwy 101 and CA Hwy 154, this guide will take you the rest of the way to San Luis Obispo. There are no services between San Miguel and King City, which is about 43 miles away. The drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco up Highway 1 takes about 10 hours, straight through. Follow this route for the ultimate road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. They are the descendants of animals brought to California for William Randolph Hearst's personal zoo near call box number 1-538 just south of San Simeon, but it's easy to know they're around because of the cars parked beside the road and people out photographing them. Los Angeles To San Francisco One Day Tour Along The Pacific Coast Highway. Between Hearst Castle and Piedras Blancas, bucolic grazing land can make you want to spend your next life as a bovine. Highlights. If you've never driven the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), you're in for the road trip of a lifetime. And the highway department did such a good job of cleaning up the mud that you’d scarcely know that it ever flowed across the highway. Your Guide to Every Stop on California's Highway One, How to See Elephant Seals at Año Nuevo State Park, 54 Places for a Weekend Getaway in California, The 12 Best Destinations on California's Central Coast, Goin' Down to Big Sur? Where are the best viewpoints from San Francisco to LA? Found inside – Page 9San Francisco to San Diego .. Sacramento to Oregon Line via MarysvilleSacramento to Los Angeles ( Valley Route ) Stockton to Santa Cruz via Oakland . It's a busy and mostly uninteresting route, with lots of stop lights and heavy traffic. The scenic PCH stretches along the Pacific Ocean for much of the route between San Francisco and Los Angeles, so you can look forward to hours of gorgeous landscapes, remarkable coast-line vistas and plenty of places to stop and explore. Take a walk through this quaint seaside town's historic center and the Scenic Bluff Path to get a few photos of the beautiful waterfront. Distance: 48 milesDriving Time: 1 hour 10 minutes. Day 3: San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara. While the highway stretches from Dana Point in Southern California to Legget in Northern California, this guide will carry you along Highway 1 between the major cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. On Sunday afternoons and the last day of long weekends, traffic jams often develop at the intersection of Highway 156 West in Prunedale. I am travelling to Los Angeles in January 2014 with a few friends! Instead, go north from Santa Monica through Malibu toward Oxnard. Continue south on the PCH to Santa Barbara. Depending on the time of year, you may find farm stands open selling seasonal produce. Needing something more than liquid sustenance? How do I check the air quality in Los Angeles? Another option is WeatherBug, which assigns an air quality number based on a scale from excellent to poor. Found inside – Page 39922Interstate Hwy 80 between San Francisco and Sacramento ; 6. Interstate Hwy 580 between San Francisco and its junction with Interstate Hwy 205 , thence via ... Follow California State Route 1 South along the coast until you reach Santa Monica, and don't hesitate to stop in Malibu or Topanga State Park for a breather along the way. Retiring to a seaside cabin near San Francisco, Jack Duluoz looks for tranquility, but finds only horror and despair. Only specific portions of the 655-mile-long road are designated as the Pacific Coast Highway. Along the way, youâll find roadside stops for Hearst Castle and the Elephant Seal Rookery. If your schedule allows a stop, you can explore more of Big Sur. Take U.S. Highway 101 north to San Luis Obispo, then California Highway 1 north about 39 miles. Day 4: Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. Highway 101 is a very pleasant drive - it's freeway, not actually highway so no stoplights ;-) You'd see a variety of scenery along the way and its... Bixby Bridge is a must-see vista. There are no tolls on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway except for the Golden Gate Bridge. The dark-colored patches in the water are the canopy of an underwater kelp forest. Enjoy local wines and a fresh seafood dinner while basking in the beauty of the Pacific. Order here. You can avoid this by reserving your tour online. You can also try a different route while coming back by adding multiple destinations. Gasoline and food are not available between Big Sur and Carmel, but it's only a short drive. This guide starts your trip in Santa Monica, but you have to get there from wherever you are and the earlier you get going, the less traffic you'll have to endure. Follow Geary, turn left on 25th Avenue and right when you reach Lincoln Blvd. The best kind of road trip features great scenery, and the road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles on Highway 1 (also known as the Pacific Coast Highway) certainly fits the bill — it boasts fantastic coastal views, wine country, quaint towns, and much more.  Take your pick from one of the many hiking trails, which range from easy to difficult. If the road is closed, I-280 and CA Hwy 92 form the detour between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay. I will show you the sights along Highway 1 and tell you what to see and where to stop. The Golden Gate Bridge was first proposed in 1916 by James Wilkins, a former engineering student. This is the direct route to San Jose International Airport and also to San Francisco International. The landscape is different than it is further south, with the road running close to the water, its sides lined with red ice plant and yellow-blooming fennel.. Snag a patio dining spot at The Oyster Loft for a breathtaking sunset. Here's How to Get There, California's Central Coast: The Complete Guide, An Epic Road Trip: LA to San Francisco on Highway 101, How to Spend a Day or a Weekend at Hearst Castle, San Simeon Camping: Near Hearst Castle and Morro Bay, The 10 Best Hikes Along the California Coastline, Ideas for an Awesome Northern California Getaway You'll Love, The Best Time to Visit California’s Central Coast, Hearst Castle and Central California Coast: Read This Before You Look for Hotels, How to Plan the Perfect Big Sur Camping Trip. Found inside – Page 1Chow down on an authentic Mission burrito, lunch on fish tacos by the beach, or watch the sunset from a rooftop bar in Los Angeles Flexible Itineraries: Drive the entire two-week route from San Francisco to Yosemite, Las Vegas, the Grand ... Take U.S. Highway 101 south to California Highway 46, and then west on 46 to California Highway 1 north for about 13 miles. But, most people using the 101 stop more often and for a little longer. To be more realistic, allow at least 4 hours from San Luis Obispo if you choose to travel on Hwy 1. From Santa Barbara, Los Angeles is only two hours away. The toll is only collected in one direction for vehicles headed southbound into San Francisco. Found inside – Page 18It's fast and to be covered. convenient, but frequently dreary; the stretch from LA to San Francisco is particularly numbing. Highway 1 (CA 1) is the ... Other great views include Mendocino Bay Viewpoint, McWay Waterfall, and Greyhound Rock Beach. Pfeiffer Beach is a great picnic spot by the water. Total travel time is approximately 4.5 hours. There are so many great things to see and do along the Oregon coast, so pace yourself well. Follow the water's edge and you'll end up at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where Del Monte Avenue will take you back to Highway 1. This route is a great way to go in daylight, especially on a sunny day. Here’s a map of the drive from San Francisco to LA. Found insideGetting There & Around Santa Cruz is 75 miles south of San Francisco via coastal Hwy 1 or Hwy 17, a nailbitingly narrow, winding mountain road. Though you could spend a long, leisure weekend in Carmel-by-the-Sea, plan to make this visit relatively quick so you'll have plenty of daylight for later stops. Consider booking a tour with the Santa Barbara Adventure Company for your chance to view dolphins and sea lions in their natural habitat. Take a drive down the 17- mile drive that goes along Pebble Beach and offers dramatic coastal views, pristine beaches, and a glimpse at a number of mansions along the way. Side road traffic may cross your path, and cars may pull into traffic from side roads and driveways. Driving from San Francisco to Mendocino is one of the longer drives you can do on Pacific Coast Highway. Head for California State Route 1 South, better known as the Pacific Coast Highway or PCH. Collects more than three hundred recipes as well as a technique primer and how-to information on subjects as wide-ranging as rust removal, throwing a cocktail party, and knife skills. Traveling between Ventura and Santa Barbara on Highway 101, you might see some scorched hillsides and blackened trees, but if you’re driving on a clear day, you’re likely to be too busy staring at the ocean and the Channel Islands offshore to notice. If you're a purist who wants to drive on Hwy101 - and only 101 - that's the thing to do. Mendocino is 169 miles north of San Francisco on Highway 1, a 5 hour one way drive. This way of getting to San Francisco from San Jose might best be described as the urban route. This stretch of PCH1 passes through the beautiful Big Sur region which is the #1 attraction along the route, plus the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco are very easy to fly in or out. Fortunately, average lows rarely dip below 46 degrees. While the miles itself are not overly long, the drive is on a lot of windy roads that will take a while to complete. Order here. How long to spend there: A few hours to a few days. Highway 101 veers northward a little west of Santa Barbara, away from the ocean and over the Gaviota Pass. When traveling along the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to Los Angeles, you'll have your pick of majestic viewpoints worthy of stopping the car. Santa Barbara is quite different than SLO – it is more classy and dignified compared to San Luis Obispo’s hip vibe. Here you go, these were our favorite pit-stops on Pacific Coast Highway road trip in California. However, the stops outlined on this LA to San Francisco drive go primarily along Highway 1 and you should expect to spend at least 3 to 4 days to see all the highlights of the PCH. You'll find more details and side trips in online guides to Malibu on Highway One. This map was created by a user. If you're already starting in San Francisco below the bridge, then you can skip the toll altogether. Shortly after you pass the Rengstorff Avenue exit, look on the right to get a glimpse of multi-colored bicycles and red outdoor umbrellas at the Google campus. North of that is some of California's best horse country, with picture-perfect farms and white wooden fences. The next less boring route is via US Route 101, which takes 6 hours 15 minutes of straight driving time and is 420 miles. Your Guide to Every Stop on California's Highway One, How to Get From San Francisco to Lake Tahoe, Los Angeles to San Francisco on the Pacific Coast Highway, Goin' Down to Big Sur? Your next major destination is San Luis Obispo. In addition to the beach and a narrated trolley tour of the city, your family can explore the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens, Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, Old Mission Santa Barbara, and Casa del Herrero. North of Santa Barbara, you'll get your last glimpses of the Pacific Ocean before the road turns inland for a long stretch. The city is also popular with those looking for a weekend getaway from Los Angeles. William Randolph Hearst's monumental home at San Simeon is one of California's most popular tourist destinations. If it's after dark when you can't see the scenery, it's not a good choice. The highlight is certainly the crossing over the Golden Gate Bridge, over which Highway 1 also leads. How long to stay there: A few hours to a day. If you insist on extending your stay, the Monterey Peninsula boasts some of the best golf courses in the country such as Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course. Widely regarded as one of the most spectacular of all train routes, the Coast Starlight links the greatest cities on the West Coast. Distance from San Francisco to Los Angeles: approximately 500 miles Over the course of its construction, 10 different prime contractors and subcontractors had a hand in realizing the city's vision. Be prepared for the open road by visiting our checklist of road trip essentials. The Lucia store also offers a few food items (mile 23). Found inside – Page 37Syracuse access route - From Syracuse north Interchange # 36 via 1-81 ( d ) to Syracuse . ... November 20 , 1970 to Date San Francisco , Calif . — Los ... Be prepared for the open road by visiting our checklist of road trip essentials. It's my favorite way to travel through this area on a sunny day. You'll also find restrooms at the Washburn Day Use Area between San Simeon State Park and Cambria. During peak traffic hours, it may be faster. The pavement plunges into the forest south of the town of Big Sur. With world-renowned restaurants, top-notch entertainment and a bevy of whoâs who living in the region, Los Angeles is the perfect place to spend a couple of days after your road trip to take in a unique way of life. Day 2: Carmel to San Luis Obispo. Built in the 1930s, the mostly two-lane, Pacific Coast Highway is one of the most popular road trips in the U.S. as it runs from San Diego to San Francisco, via Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Solvang, Morro Bay, Big Sur, and Santa Cruz.This rugged road is over 650 miles (~1000 kilometers) long, which, to put that distance into context, is about the length of the United Kingdom. How long to spend there: 3 hours to a day. Follow signs for U.S. Highway 101 South, and take the highway for about 40 miles. The guide is broken down into five sections: Continue on 101 to San Luis Obispo. Besides all the oceanside ambiance, you'll find a thriving arts community and a walkable downtown. From San Francisco. State Route 1 runs from Leggett (which is north of San Francisco in Mendocino County) south to San Juan Capistrano (which is between LA and San Diego), where the highway merges into Interstate 5. Reality: From Carmel to San Simeon / Cambria, highway 1 = single lane each way, at … Leave San Francisco going west on Geary Blvd to the Cliff House. Pacific Coast Highway Route About 460 miles, or 9 hours without a break. Eleven men died during construction, including 10 in one day when a section of scaffolding fell through its safety net. Most of the time, traveling northbound on Hwy 1 will be easy. Near the town of Marina, hang gliders float over the ocean. Lunch is a must in this area, and itâs tough to find a place better suited than Big Sur Bakery. Both are worth the stop if youâre doing well on time. Offers detailed descriptions of drives through California and the Southwest, with a flexible format allowing one to switch routes during a journey, and including information on where to eat and sleep, the best local radio stations, hundreds ... The total distance from Los Angeles to San Francisco on 101 is about 420 miles. Highlights. The total distance from Los Angeles to San Francisco on 101 is about 420 miles. A faster but less scenic way to get to the same area is to stay on Hwy 1 north through Pacifica until it merges with I-280 north, then stay on I-280 to get to the city. The artichokes are the big, silvery-spiky-leafed plants, bearing their produce atop tall stems. You'll stop for photographs, slow down to negotiate curves, and slow again to enjoy the views. A grand west coast train adventure, en route daily between Los Angeles and Seattle, the Coast Starlight train passes through Santa Barbara, the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento and Portland. You can drive to Long Beach in about 30 minutes via I-710 or I-110, although it's smart to plan for extra time since traffic and construction can cause delays. Hop back into your convertible and drive to buzzing waterfront spots such as Santa Monica and Long Beach, or spend a fun day at Disneyland in Anaheim. The trip will cover around 230 miles and can be done in a day with minimal stops, though we recommend stopping frequently and enjoying the ride. Distance: 48 milesDriving Time: 50 minutes. In the summer, you will have more than 14 hours of daylight, but in December, it's only about 9.5 hours. The drive north from San Luis Obispo through Paso Robles passes through agricultural and wine-growing areas, dotted with small towns. Individual kelp fronds grow more than 100 feet (31 meters) long and as fast as 2 feet (0.75 meters) in a single day. This coast-hugging route is one of the most scenic in all of California. In late afternoon commute hours, northbound traffic on Interstate 280 can get slow. The only one day tour from San Francisco to Los Angeles! Construction started on January 5, 1933, and wasn't completed until the bridge opened for traffic on May 28, 1937. Signs usually mark the end of "freeway" sections, but there are other clues. If you have time to stay an extra night, Pismo Beach is a great launching spot for a kayak or canoe tour of the coastline. Found inside – Page 37Syracuse access route - From Syracuse north Interchange # 36 via 1–81 ( d ) to Syracuse . ... November 20 , 1970 to Date San Francisco , Calif.- Los Angeles ... Turn left immediately after that and you can get onto the bridge from there. Cell reception is limited along the Pacific Coast Highway, although you'll eventually encounter spots with fair service. Take a tour of the city's best historical sites, including Mission Santa Barbara, Stearns Wharf and the Moreton Bay Fig Tree. I love the Malibu coast drive, zipping along the edge of North America through one of California's most famous towns and then between mountains and ocean. This is the route to use if you are towing a big trailer, to avoid the curves and steep grades on California Highway 154. Northbound traffic can come to a standstill north of Santa Barbara on Friday evenings and at the beginning of long weekends. Latin America & Caribbean Car Rental Locations, Scenic Drives by Pursuits with Enterpriseâ¢, Weekend Adventures by Pursuits with Enterpriseâ¢, Drive from San Francisco to LA Along The PCH, Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA. If it has on and off-ramps, it's a freeway. For services and fast food, use exit # 231B (Hwy 46) - or the next state rest stop is just 14 miles north. However Highway 1 doesn't start until San Luis Obispo around 200 miles north of Los Angeles. As a bonus, it's also slightly shorter. The Pacific Coast Highway and Highway 101 Road Trip Guide highlights many of the best eateries, sights, stops, hikes, and places to stay along the entirety of the United State’s pacific coast, from San Diego to Port Angeles. The one thing I wouldn't miss In CA is driving the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt State Park. Betsy has been writing about California for nearly more than two decades as TripSavvy's expert on the state. First take a look of those FAQ that covers highway 1 coastal drive. Found insideSan Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego, and other large towns all ... State Highway 1, which hugs the coastfrom south ofLos Angeles to San Francisco ... That assumes that you can resist stopping along one of the world's most beautiful drives. For services and fast food, take exit #189 (4th Street/Five Cities Drive). Found inside – Page 489... Los Angeles, and San Diego Carissa Bluestone, Michael Nalepa, Paul Eisenberg, Jacinta O'Halloran. cast of Monterey via Highway 1, and in Freedom, ... Pick up the Bagel-&-Egg breakfast sandwich from Arlequin Café for an on-the-go treat. If you'd like to get a look at a different California landscape, you can also take the inland route. You may need a good map to figure it out. Photo Credit: Bigstock, Pfeiffer Beach, Big Sur, CA. If you want to get from LA to San Francisco while also seeing some of the best views in California, pack up a car and take a road trip on the Pacific Coast Highway, also known as Highway 1. Sea otters find food in the kelp and wrap themselves in the fronds when they sleep. Follow this route for the ultimate road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The distance between San Francisco to Monterey via Highway 1 is 180 Mi by road. How to tell the difference? Distance from San Francisco to Los Angeles: approximately 500 miles. Turn left onto Sunset Drive, which will become Ocean View Blvd. But are wanting to drive! But don't let that fool you. After you pass the CA Hwy 85 interchange, I-280 is a very scenic highway that has earned the nickname "World's Most Beautiful Freeway." Eventually, the road turns inland and passes the towns of Buellton and Solvang. Get started early. You also don't want to miss Splash Cafe Pismo Beach with its famous clam chowder and fish and chips. Staying on Hwy 1 while traveling southbound from Santa Cruz can be tricky, but is easier if you focus on the fact that you're headed toward Watsonville and Monterey. Having a FasTrak license plate makes paying your toll easier because the amount is deducted from your account. What you gain in time you'll lose in getting to the freeway to begin … The Spoon Trade is a hip American eatery serving seasonal cuisine. Instead of following 19th Street, sitting bored and frustrated in the traffic, try this: Turn right onto Sharp Park Road shortly before you reach Pacifica, going up the hill to connect with CA Hwy 35 north. During these days, you have time to experience the highlights of the coast, and whet your appetite for another future trip! A road trip down California’s Highway 1 from San Francisco to Los Angeles is an absolute must at some point in your life. The two routes converge north of Los Olivos, where CA Hwy 154 intersects 101. Found inside – Page 142Los Angeles, some 900 km away from San Francisco, was the farthest place we visited. The drive to Los Angeles via Highway-1 was very scenic and enjoyable. My answer, as well, is NO. Since you are coming from Australia my hunch is that you are spending some days at Disneyland. If so, may I respectfully... During busy times, tours sell out fast. What others have said. Also the days are short in January so you'll be doing some of this drive in the dark. While UnderDog indicates that doing th... Maybe tell us your plans for your whole trip and we can help you better. In real life Los Angeles to San Francisco easily takes 10 hours via hw1 an... Found insideto and through the Central Coast from Los Angeles and San Francisco. Highly scenic Highway 1 hugs the coast, and U.S. 101 runs inland. To begin with, we will explore the rugged coastline and sandy beaches south of San Francisco and stop for a while in the tiny village of Pescadero. For first-timers, we recommend driving the California Highway 1 or PCH 1 from San Francisco to Los Angeles for multiple reasons. If you want to drive from SF to LA the scenic route, as described here, then you’re looking at around 9 h 19 mins (454 miles) via Highway 1. Distance: 55 milesDriving Time: 55 minutes (in good traffic). First time around, we were only doing this as a daytrip from San Francisco so we turned inland on Jenner. When you reach CA Hwy 35 (Skyline Drive), turn right (south) and stay on Skyline, ignoring the highway signs for Hwy 1. Between there and San Francisco, the highway runs inland. This full-color guide includes vibrant photos and easy-to-use maps to help with trip planning. Combining the two Note that if you set off from either end along the Pacific Coast Highway then there's no easy place to cut across to the freeway and make up time. This part art book, part biography, and part travel guide offers insight into how landscapes and townscapes influenced John Steinbeck's creative process and how, in turn, his legacy has influenced modern California. Found inside1 of counties referred to in Section 187 in which the toll bridge 2 is located . 3 Sec . 3. ... 21 On Route 2 , from San Francisco to San Diego . Answer 1 of 21: Hi there! Found inside – Page 551 of counties referred to in Section 187 in which the toll bridge 2 is located . ... On Route 1 , from a point in Marin County opposite San 19 Francisco via ... Re: Traveling from Portland to San Francisco via Highway 1. Big Sur also periodically experiences off-line cell networks, so you likely wonât have coverage during your entire road trip. Day 1: Seattle, WA to Coos Bay, OR. Say bye-bye as it passes out of sight. Despite those sensation news clips, most of US Highway 101 and all of the area’s most popular tourist attractions were untouched. "...A faster and more scenic drive would be ..." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Just to clarify: Highway 85 is accessed from Highway 101 north of the... The road curves there and becomes Geary Blvd., which will take you straight into Union Square and the middle of San Francisco. But please, don’t hurry. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, USA Today 10Best, Michelin Guide, Hemispheres, DuJour, and Jetsetter. The road curves south along Ocean Beach, where the street name becomes Great Highway. RE: The weather January is winter here and rain is possible. If it is raining the "day" you want to make this drive, then you would have to by-pass... What is the weather like in San Francisco? You'll be in Downtown Los Angeles in about 30 minutes. If Goldilocks were talking about California Highway 101, she might start like this, looking at Interstate Highway 5: "This one is too busy, and it's s-o-o boring." Turn left (north) when you reach Hwy 35 (Skyline Drive). Yamato Japanese Restaurant satisfies a sushi craving with fresh rolls and standard Japanese fare in a casual setting. Try to time your drive so you don't have to sit in a traffic jam, or take the side drive through town described on the next page. You can find public restrooms in the parking lot just behind the Little Baja pottery shop, which is just north of Moss Landing. Far more scenic than 101 and sometimes called the world's most beautiful freeway, Interstate 280 parallels the San Andreas Fault, passing through beautiful, wooded hills. Taking Hwy 1 will take at least 2 hours longer than Hwy 101. To reach the midway point from San Francisco to Los Angeles, you would drive for about 3 hours or roughly 191 miles from Los Angeles to the halfway stop. Going north, you'll pass the entrance to California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) and soon drive out of town. Between Monterey and Santa Cruz, the climate is just right for growing artichokes, strawberries, lettuce and more crops of all kinds. Price. Even with a couple of stops along the way, you'll arrive in Santa Barbara within about three hours. Further north, Elkhorn Slough is home to a lively cross-section of coastal birds and mammals. Use the directions above. How long to spend there: A few hours to a day, The road stays in trees for a while north of Big Sur, then emerges from the forest, continuing inland a short distance north of the town of Big Sur before returning to the sea. In San Francisco, Highway One is 19th Street. At night, when you can't see the scenery, you'll be better off to stay on US Hwy 101. The trip begs you to rent a convertible for maximum enjoyment in to get those 360-views of the California landscape. You can have your pick of filling meals in Pismo Beach. Through Santa Barbara County and a bit beyond, the Pacific Coast Highway — also known as Highway 1 — merges with and is known as Highway 101, and skirts the gorgeous coastline to offer views that’ll challenge any driver to keep their eyes on the road. Drive From San Luis Obispo to Hearst Castle, Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument, Stop at Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, What's Between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, Continuing North Without Stopping in San Francisco, historic Spanish mission and William Randolph Hearst's Hacienda, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Pacific Grove, and Monterey. Turn left onto Great Highway, traveling north past Ocean Beach and the Cliff House. You can use your favorite smartphone app, listen to KNX radio at 1070 AM — or call the CalTrans highway conditions hotline at 800-427-ROAD. Last glimpses of the time of year, you probably want to tour some my... One-Time toll payments 'll also want to spend there: a few friends occasionally close for various,... The Carmel Mission, a former engineering student an air quality in Angeles... Where do locals go for dinner in Pismo Beach with its famous clam chowder and fish and chips to! 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And do along the way to avoid los angeles to san francisco via highway 1 of the area ’ s hip vibe 4th Street/Five cities )...