State Route 1 (SR 1) is a major north–south
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
that runs along most of the
Pacific coastline of the U.S. state of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. At , it is the longest state route in California, and the
second-longest in the US after
Montana Highway 200
Montana Highway 200 (MT 200) in the U.S. state of Montana is a route running east–west covering the entire state of Montana. From the starting point at ID 200, near Heron, the highway runs east to ND 200 near Fairview. It is part of a c ...
. SR 1 has several portions designated as either Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), Cabrillo Highway, Shoreline Highway, or Coast Highway. Its southern terminus is at
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
(I-5) near
Dana Point
Dana Point () is a city located in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 33,107 at the 2020 census. It has one of the few harbors along the Orange County coast, and with ready access via State Route 1, it is a po ...
in
Orange County
Orange County most commonly refers to:
*Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Orange County may also refer to:
U.S. counties
*Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando
*Orange County, Indiana
*Orange County, New ...
and its northern terminus is at
U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
(US 101) near
Leggett in
Mendocino County
Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza) is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United Sta ...
. SR 1 also at times runs
concurrently with US 101, most notably through a stretch in
Ventura and
Santa Barbara counties, and across the
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...
.
The highway is designated as an
All-American Road
A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...
. In addition to providing a scenic route to numerous attractions along the coast, the route also serves as a major thoroughfare in the
Greater Los Angeles Area
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
, the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
, and several other coastal urban areas.
SR 1 was built piecemeal in various stages, with the first section opening in the
Big Sur
Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ha ...
region in the 1930s. However, portions of the route had several names and numbers over the years as more segments opened. It was not until the
1964 state highway renumbering that the entire route was officially designated as SR 1. Although SR 1 is a popular route for its scenic beauty, frequent landslides and erosion along the coast have caused several segments to be either closed for lengthy periods for repairs, or re-routed inland.
Route description
SR 1 is part of the
California Freeway and Expressway System
The California Freeway and Expressway System is a system of existing or planned freeways and expressways in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses both State highways and federal highways in California. It is defined by Article 2 (commenci ...
,
and through the Los Angeles metro area, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco metro area is part of the
National Highway System,
a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
.
The
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...
has also relinquished state control of segments within
Dana Point
Dana Point () is a city located in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 33,107 at the 2020 census. It has one of the few harbors along the Orange County coast, and with ready access via State Route 1, it is a po ...
,
Newport Beach
Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...
,
Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
, and
Oxnard
Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...
; those segments are now maintained by those respective municipalities.
The
Big Sur
Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ha ...
section from San Luis Obispo to
Carmel
Carmel may refer to:
* Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea
* Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea
* Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order
Carmel may also ...
is an official
National Scenic Byway
A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...
.
SR 1 is eligible to be included in the
State Scenic Highway System;
however, only a few stretches between
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
have officially been designated as a scenic highway,
meaning that there are substantial sections of highway passing through a "memorable landscape" with no "visual intrusions", where the potential designation has gained popular favor with the community.
The entire route is designated as a
Blue Star Memorial Highway
Blue Star Memorial Highways are highways in the United States that are marked to pay tribute to the U.S. armed forces. The National Council of State Garden Clubs, now known as National Garden Clubs, Inc., started the program in 1945 after World W ...
to recognize those in the United States armed forces; this designation is sponsored by the California Garden Clubs, but the organization has not erected such markers along SR 1 yet. In 1959, the legislature officially designated the segment in Southern California between
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
(I-5) in
Dana Point
Dana Point () is a city located in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 33,107 at the 2020 census. It has one of the few harbors along the Orange County coast, and with ready access via State Route 1, it is a po ...
and
US 101 near
Oxnard
Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...
as the Pacific Coast Highway (commonly referred to as "PCH", without the definite article "the", unlike other
freeway numbers in the Los Angeles area). Between US 101 at the Las Cruces junction ( south of
Buellton
Buellton is a small city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It is located in the Santa Ynez Valley, west of Solvang. The population was 5,161 at the 2020 census, up from 4,828 at the 2010 census.
Located at the junction of U. ...
) and US 101 in
Pismo Beach
Pismo Beach (Chumash: ''Pismuʔ'') is a city in the southern portion of San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast area of California, United States. The estimated population was 8,072 at the 2020 census, up from 7,655 in the 2010 census. It ...
, and between US 101 in
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...
and
Interstate 280 in San Francisco, the legislature also designated SR 1 as the Cabrillo Highway in 1959, after the explorer
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo ( pt, João Rodrigues Cabrilho; c. 1499 – January 3, 1543) was an Iberian maritime explorer best known for investigations of the West Coast of North America, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish Empire. He was the firs ...
who sailed along the coast line. The legislature also designated the route as the Shoreline Highway in 1957 between the Manzanita Junction near
Marin City
Marin City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 2,993, up from 2,666 in 2010. It is located northwest of downtown Sausalito, ...
and
Leggett. Smaller segments of the highway have been assigned several other names by the state and municipal governments.
For the most part, SR 1 runs parallel to the coastline, or close to it, but does turn several miles inland at various locations to avoid several federally controlled or protected areas such as
Vandenberg Space Force Base
Vandenberg Space Force Base , previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from th ...
,
Diablo Canyon Power Plant
The Diablo Canyon Power Plant is a nuclear power plant near Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California. Since the permanent shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in 2013, Diablo Canyon has been the only operational nuclea ...
and
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore is a park preserve located on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, California. As a national seashore, it is maintained by the US National Park Service as an important nature preserve. Some existing agricult ...
. In addition to connecting the coastal cities and communities along its path, the route provides access to beaches, parks, and other attractions along the coast, making it a popular route for tourists. The route annually helps bring several billion dollars to the state's tourism industry. Segments of SR 1 range from urban freeway to simple rural two-lane road. Under the
California Coastal Act
The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is a state agency within the California Natural Resources Agency with quasi-judicial control of land and public access along the state's coastline. Its mission as defined in the California Coastal Act is ...
, those segments of the highway that run through the rural areas of the protected California Coastal Zone may not be widened beyond a scenic two-lane road.
Orange County
![PCH Near Laguna Beach](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/PCH_Near_Laguna_Beach.jpg)
At its southernmost end in
Orange County
Orange County most commonly refers to:
*Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Orange County may also refer to:
U.S. counties
*Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando
*Orange County, Indiana
*Orange County, New ...
, SR 1 terminates at I-5 in
Capistrano Beach
Capistrano Beach, or Capo Beach, is a coastal neighborhood in the city of Dana Point in Orange County, California. It is bordered by San Clemente to the south and Doheny State Beach to the north.
Capistrano Beach is situated along the coast on ...
in
Dana Point
Dana Point () is a city located in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 33,107 at the 2020 census. It has one of the few harbors along the Orange County coast, and with ready access via State Route 1, it is a po ...
. It then travels west into the city center. After leaving Dana Point, Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) becomes simply "Coast Highway" while at the same time continuing northwest along the coast through
Laguna Beach
Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and a ...
(where it meets the southern terminus of
SR 133) and
Crystal Cove State Park
Crystal Cove State Park is a state park of California, United States, encompassing of Pacific coastline, inland chaparral canyons, and the Crystal Cove Historic District of beach houses. The park is located in Newport Beach, and is part of the ...
.
SR 1 then enters
Newport Beach
Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...
and passes through several affluent neighborhoods, including
Newport Coast
Newport Coast is a community south of the main body of the city of Newport Beach, California. It was a separate census-designated place in Orange County, California, United States, until 2001, when it was annexed into Newport Beach. Newport Beach ...
and
Corona Del Mar
Corona del Mar (Spanish for "Crown of the Sea") is a seaside neighborhood in the city of Newport Beach, California. It generally consists of all the land on the seaward face of the San Joaquin Hills south of Avocado Avenue to the city limits, as ...
, spans the entrance to the
Upper Newport Bay
The Upper Newport Bay (known locally as "The Back Bay") is a large coastal wetland (an estuary) in Newport Beach, Southern California and a major stopover for birds on the Pacific Flyway. Dozens of species, including endangered ones, can be ob ...
, which marks the boundary between East Coast Highway and West Coast Highway, and crosses
California State Route 55
State Route 55 (SR 55) is an 18-mile (30-km) long north–south state highway that passes through suburban Orange County in the U.S. state of California. The portion of the route built to freeway standards is known as the Costa Mesa Fre ...
near its southern terminus. Upon crossing the
Santa Ana River
The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, before cutting through ...
mouth and entering
Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 during the 2020 census, maki ...
, SR 1 regains the Pacific Coast Highway designation. It passes
Huntington State Beach
Huntington State Beach is a protected beach in Southern California, located in the Huntington Beach, California, City of Huntington Beach in Orange County, California, Orange County. It extends from Newport Beach (Santa Ana River) north to Ca ...
and the southern terminus of
California State Route 39
State Route 39 (SR 39) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that travels through Orange and Los Angeles counties. Its southern terminus is at Pacific Coast Highway ( SR 1), in Huntington Beach. SR 39's northern terminus is at ...
before reaching
Bolsa Chica State Beach
Bolsa Chica State Beach is a public ocean beach in Orange County, California, United States. It is located north of Huntington Beach and south of the community of Sunset Beach. The beach extends from Warner Avenue in Sunset Beach south to Seapo ...
and the
Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve
Bolsa Chica State Ecological Reserve is a natural reserve and public land in Orange County, governed by the state of California, and immediately adjacent to the city of Huntington Beach, California. The reserve is designated by the California De ...
. PCH then continues along the coast into
Seal Beach
Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 census.
Seal Beach is located in the westernmost corner of Orange County. To the northwest ...
, the final city on its journey in Orange County.
Los Angeles and Ventura counties
![The Pacific Coast Towers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/The_Pacific_Coast_Towers.jpg)
PCH enters
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
and the city of
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
after crossing the
San Gabriel River. SR 1 then continues northwest through the city to its junction with
Lakewood Boulevard Lakewood may refer to:
Places Australia
* Lakewood, Western Australia, an abandoned town in Western Australia
Canada
* Lakewood, Edmonton, Alberta
* Lakewood Suburban Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Philippines
* Lakewood, Zamboanga del ...
(State Route 19) and Los Coyotes Diagonal at the
Los Alamitos Circle
The Los Alamitos Traffic Circle, informally known as the Long Beach Traffic Circle (or just the ''Traffic Circle'', as there is only one other high volume traffic circle in Southern California), is a roundabout at the intersection of Lakewood Bou ...
, more than from the coast. From the traffic circle, it continues inland west through Long Beach, including approximately one mile adjacent to the southern boundary of
Signal Hill. PCH is marked as such in Long Beach, but originally bore the name of Hathaway Avenue east of the traffic circle and State Street west of there. PCH then passes through the
Los Angeles districts of
Wilmington and
Harbor City
Harbor City is a highly diverse neighborhood in the Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, with a population upward of 36,000 people. Originally part of the Rancho San Pedro Spanish land grant, the Harbor City was brought into Los Angeles as ...
. While bypassing the immediate coastline of
Palos Verdes
The Palos Verdes Peninsula (''Palos Verdes'', Spanish for "Green Sticks") is a landform and a geographic sub-region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, within southwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. Located in the Sou ...
, SR 1 continues to head west into the cities of
Lomita
Lomita (Spanish for "Little hill") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 20,921 at the 2020 census, up from 20,256 at the 2010 census.
History
The Spanish Empire had expanded into this area when the ...
and
Torrance along the route of the former Redondo-Wilmington Boulevard.
PCH then turns north through
Redondo Beach and
Hermosa Beach
Hermosa Beach (''Hermosa'', Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 U.S. Census. The city is located in the South Bay region of th ...
. Upon entering
Manhattan Beach, it becomes
Sepulveda Boulevard
Sepulveda Boulevard is a major street and transportation corridor in the City of Los Angeles and several other cities in western Los Angeles County, California. The street parallels Interstate 405 for much of its route. Portions of Sepulveda Bou ...
and turns back into PCH designation through
El Segundo. At Imperial Highway, it regains the name Sepulveda Boulevard as it descends and passes under two runways of
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
(LAX) via the
Sepulveda Boulevard Tunnel.
![Ca-1 between Santa Monica and LAX](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Ca-1_between_Santa_Monica_and_LAX.JPG)
After leaving LAX, SR 1 splits from Sepulveda and turns northwest, becoming
Lincoln Boulevard and passing through the Los Angeles neighborhoods of
Westchester
Westchester most commonly refers to Westchester County, New York, immediately north of New York City.
__NOTOC__
It may also refer to: Geography Canada
*Westchester Station, Nova Scotia, Canada
United States
*Town of Westchester, the original seat ...
,
Playa Vista
Playa Vista is a neighborhood in the Westside area of Los Angeles, California. The area was the headquarters of Hughes Aircraft Company from 1941 to 1985 and the site of the construction of the Hughes H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose" aircraft. The are ...
, and
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, as well as the unincorporated community of
Marina Del Rey
Marina del Rey (Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, with an eponymous harbor that is a major boating and water recreation destination of the greater Los Angeles area. The p ...
. This portion of SR 1 suffers heavy congestion at most times due to the shortage of alternate north-south arterial roads west of
Interstate 405. It then enters the city of
Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
, where SR 1 turns southwest, merging onto the westernmost segment of the
Santa Monica Freeway
Interstate 10 (I-10) is a transcontinental Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from Santa Monica, California to Jacksonville, Florida. The segment of I-10 in California runs east from Santa Monica through Los Angeles, San Bernar ...
. Passing through the
McClure Tunnel
The McClure Tunnel is a tunnel in Santa Monica, California, that connects Pacific Coast Highway (California State Route 1, State Route 1) to its junction with the western terminus of the Santa Monica Freeway (Interstate 10 in California, In ...
(which also serves as the national western terminus of
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...
), SR 1 emerges along the beachfront in Santa Monica as PCH again and continues along the coast, separated from Downtown Santa Monica by the palisades north of
Santa Monica Pier
The Santa Monica Pier is a large double-jointed pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, United States. It contains a small amusement park, concession stands, and areas for views and fishing.
Attractions Pacific Park
Th ...
; this portion is also known locally as Palisades Beach Road and formerly as Roosevelt Highway. Upon leaving Santa Monica, PCH continues to follow the coast, curving west through the
Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles before becoming the main thoroughfare of the city of
Malibu while traversing the entire of that city.
![Mugu Rock on California Route 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Mugu_Rock_on_California_Route_1.jpg)
SR 1 crosses the county line and continues through the
Ventura County
Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura.
Ventura County comprises the Oxnar ...
portion of the Malibu coast through
Leo Carrillo State Park
Leo Carrillo State Park is a state park in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Situated along the Malibu coast, the park is a component of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. With of beach, the parkland stretches into the ...
and
Point Mugu State Park
Point Mugu State Park is a state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in Southern California. The rugged, nearly impassible shoreline of the western Santa Monica Mountains gives way to tidal lagoons and coastal sand ...
. After passing through a notch in the promontory that marks
Point Mugu
Point Mugu (, Chumash: ''Muwu'') is a cape or promontory within Point Mugu State Park on the Pacific Coast in Ventura County, near the city of Port Hueneme and the city of Oxnard. The name is believed to be derived from the Chumash Indian term ...
, the western end of the
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...
, and the beginning of the
Oxnard Plain
The Oxnard Plain is a large coastal plain in southwest Ventura County, California, United States surrounded by the mountains of the Transverse ranges. The cities of Oxnard, Camarillo, Port Hueneme and much of Ventura as well as the unincorpora ...
. The road cut left a very large rock formation at the tip of the point that is called the Mugu Rock. At that point, PCH leaves the coast and heads north, and then northwest as a freeway along the northeastern boundary of
Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu for several miles to an interchange at Rice Avenue, Pleasant Valley Road, and Oxnard Boulevard in
Oxnard
Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...
.
The reconstructed interchange at Rice Avenue and Pleasant Valley Road channels traffic north on the surface street, Rice Avenue, towards the interchange with US 101. The historic route along Oxnard Boulevard was relinquished in 2014. Truck traffic to and from the
Port of Hueneme
The Port of Hueneme in the city of Port Hueneme, California, United States, is the only deep water harbor between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area. Located in Ventura County on the Santa Barbara Channel, the port complex not only se ...
also uses this designated route at the Rice Avenue/Hueneme Road connector to connect with Route 101 at the Rice Avenue Interchange.
After traveling through
Ventura, SR 1 separates from US 101 to travel the
historic beach route along the Rincon coast that was originally opened up by the construction of the
Railroad Coastal Route from
Emma Wood State Beach
Emma Wood State Beach is a California State Beach in Ventura, California. It is located on the Santa Barbara Channel on the west side of the Ventura River estuary and south of the railroad tracks of the Coast Line and the US Highway 101 freewa ...
to the Mobil Pier Undercrossing near
Sea Cliff
Seacliff or Sea Cliff or Sea Cliffe may refer to:
;Places
''Australia''
*Seacliff, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide
*Seacliff Park, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide
*Sea Cliff Bridge, in Illawarra, New South Wales
''New Zealand''
*Seacli ...
, where it rejoins US 101 about south of the
Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria.
Santa Barba ...
line near
La Conchita
La Conchita (; Spanish for "The Little Shell") is a small unincorporated community in western Ventura County, California, on U.S. Route 101 just southeast of the Santa Barbara county line. The ZIP Code is 93001, and the community is inside ar ...
.
Central Coast
The US 101/SR 1 concurrency (although actual signage mentioning SR 1 through this segment is nonexistent) from the Mobil Pier Undercrossing runs for , passing through the City of
Santa Barbara and its neighboring communities along the coast of Santa Barbara County. The route then turns away from the coast at
Gaviota, avoiding
Point Conception
Point Conception (Chumash: ''Humqaq'') is a headland along the Gaviota Coast in southwestern Santa Barbara County, California. It is the point where the Santa Barbara Channel meets the Pacific Ocean, and as the corner between the mostly north-s ...
, and heads due north through
Gaviota State Park
Gaviota State Park is a state park of California, United States. It is located in southern Santa Barbara County, California, about west of the city of Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara. One of three state parks along the Gaviota Coast, ...
and the
Gaviota Tunnel
The Gaviota Tunnel (officially known as the Gaviota Gorge Tunnel) is a tunnel on U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 completed in 1953 in the center of Gaviota State Park, northwest of Santa Barbara, California on the Gaviota Coa ...
. In
Las Cruces, SR 1, now named Cabrillo Highway, splits again from US 101 and heads northwest to the city of
Lompoc
Lompoc ( ; Chumash: ''Lum Poc'') is a city in Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast, Lompoc has a population of 43,834 as of July 2021.
Lompoc has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Chumash people, who called ...
. It is briefly joined with
SR 246 along Lompoc's east-west Ocean Avenue, before turning north as H Street to Harris Grade Road, where it then regains the Cabrillo Highway name.
After reaching the main entrance to
Vandenberg Space Force Base
Vandenberg Space Force Base , previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from th ...
, SR 1 turns northeast, away from the immediate coastline of the base, to join
SR 135. Route 135 then splits from Route 1 south of
Orcutt
Orcutt is an unincorporated town and census-designated place located in the Santa Maria Valley in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Orcutt is named for William Warren Orcutt, the manager of the Geological, Land and Engineering Dep ...
, and the Cabrillo Highway turns northwest back towards the coast to
Guadalupe. It enters
San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo.
Junípero Serra founded the Mission ...
, avoiding the immediate coastline of the protected
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes is the largest remaining dune system south of San Francisco and the second largest in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses an stretch of coastline on the Central Coast of California and extends from southern San L ...
, before passing through
Grover Beach
Grover Beach is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 13,156 at the 2010 census, up from 13,067 in 2000. Grover Beach is the location of the Pacific Crossing cable Landing station. This is where trans-pa ...
and subsequently joining US 101 for the third time at
Pismo Beach
Pismo Beach (Chumash: ''Pismuʔ'') is a city in the southern portion of San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast area of California, United States. The estimated population was 8,072 at the 2020 census, up from 7,655 in the 2010 census. It ...
. The US 101/SR 1 concurrency then avoids the immediate coastline of
Avila Beach
Avila Beach (Spanish: ''Ávila'') is an unincorporated community in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, located on San Luis Obispo Bay about 160 miles (257 km) northwest of Los Angeles, and about south of San Francisco. The ...
and
Diablo Canyon Power Plant
The Diablo Canyon Power Plant is a nuclear power plant near Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California. Since the permanent shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in 2013, Diablo Canyon has been the only operational nuclea ...
, and instead heads straight inland to
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...
.
SR 1 splits from US 101 at Santa Rosa Street in San Luis Obispo and then resumes as a four lane road as the Cabrillo Highway. It rejoins the coast in
Morro Bay
Morro Bay (''Morro'', Spanish for "Hill") is a seaside city in San Luis Obispo County, California. Located on the Central Coast of California, the city population was 10,757 as of the 2020 census, up from 10,234 at the 2010 census. The town ...
, running through that city as a freeway, where it crosses
Morro Creek Morro Creek is a coastal stream in San Luis Obispo County, in the central region of the U.S. state of California. The watercourse flows from the Santa Lucia Mountains to discharge into the Pacific Ocean, at its mouth on Estero Bay, near the city o ...
at the site of a prehistoric
Chumash Chumash may refer to:
*Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism
*Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California
*Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California
See also
* Chumash traditional ...
settlement dating to the
Millingstone Horizon
Millingstone Horizon is an archaeological period of Native American dominance denoting a period in California, United States involving extensive use of manos and other grinding technology. The interval is a subset of the Archaic Period; specif ...
. From there, SR 1 proceeds north to
Cayucos
Cayucos (Spanish for "Canoe") is an unincorporated coastal town in San Luis Obispo County, California, along California State Route 1 between Cambria to the north and Morro Bay to the south. The population was 2,505 at the 2020 census, down fro ...
until it again becomes a winding, two lane road with occasional passing lanes. It then continues along the coast through
Cambria
Cambria is a name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name for the country, . The term was not in use during the Roman period (when Wales had not come into existence as a distinct entity). It emerged later, in the medieval period, a ...
and
San Simeon
San Simeon (Spanish: ''San Simeón'', meaning "St. Simon") is a village and Census-designated place on the Pacific coast of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Its position along State Route 1 is about halfway between Los Angeles ...
, and past the elephant seal colony at
Piedras Blancas Light Station
Piedras Blancas Light Station is located at Point Piedras Blancas, about west by northwest of San Simeon, California. It was added to the California Coastal National Monument in 2017.
History and management
The first-order Fresnel lens at Pie ...
. SR 1 provides access to
Hearst Castle
Hearst Castle, known formally as La Cuesta Encantada (Spanish for "The Enchanted Hill"), is a historic estate in San Simeon, located on the Central Coast of California. Conceived by William Randolph Hearst, the publishing tycoon, and his archit ...
in San Simeon in Northern San Luis Obispo County.
Big Sur
![Bixby Creek Bridge, California, USA - May 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Bixby_Creek_Bridge%2C_California%2C_USA_-_May_2013.jpg)
SR 1 then enters the
Big Sur
Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ha ...
region, crossing
San Carpóforo Creek just south of the
Monterey County
Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas.
Montere ...
line. For about from San Carpóforo Creek to
Malpaso Creek
Malpaso Creek is a small, coastal stream south of Carmel in Monterey County, California, United States. It is generally regarded as the northern border of Big Sur in central coastal California. A low grade bituminous coal deposit was found in upp ...
, the road winds and hugs the cliffs of Big Sur, passing various coastal parks in the area, with no connection to the other side of the
Santa Lucia Mountains
The Santa Lucia Mountains (sæntə luˈsiːə) or Santa Lucia Range is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than from t ...
except for
Nacimiento-Fergusson Road
Nacimiento-Fergusson Road is the only road across the Santa Lucia Range on the Central Coast of California, connecting California State Route 1 and the Big Sur coast to U.S. Route 101 and the Salinas Valley. The road is well-paved and maintai ...
. The road briefly leaves the coast for a few miles, passing through a redwood forest in the Big Sur River valley. The Big Sur segment of the highway, built between 1919 and 1937, also crosses a number of now historic bridges, including the scenic
Bixby Creek Bridge
Bixby Creek Bridge, also known as Bixby Canyon Bridge, on the Big Sur coast of California, is one of the most photographed bridges in California due to its aesthetic design, "graceful architecture and magnificent setting". It is a reinforced c ...
, a reinforced concrete arch with a span that passes over the Bixby Creek gorge, the
Rocky Creek Bridge,
and the
Big Creek Bridge.
Monterey Bay Area
After crossing the Carmel River, SR 1 turns inland and runs along the eastern boundary of
Carmel
Carmel may refer to:
* Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea
* Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea
* Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order
Carmel may also ...
and the western boundary of
Carmel Valley before becoming a freeway in
Monterey
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...
. After bypassing the immediate coastline of
Pebble Beach
Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf course ...
and the rest of the
Monterey Peninsula
The Monterey Peninsula anchors the northern portion on the Central Coast of California and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and the resort and community of Pebble Beach.
History Monterey
Monterey was founded in 17 ...
, the freeway heads north along the coast of
Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by a ...
through
Sand City,
Seaside, and
Marina
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
. At the interchange with
SR 156 near
Castroville, SR 1 continues north as a two-lane rural road to
Moss Landing
Moss Landing, formerly Moss, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. It is located north-northeast of Monterey, at an elevation of . It is on the shore of Monterey Bay, at the ...
.
SR 1 becomes a freeway once again just before entering into
Santa Cruz County. This four-lane freeway continues up the Monterey Bay coast through
Watsonville
Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, located in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 according to the 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and Democratic, Watsonville is a self- ...
to its interchange with
SR 17 in
Santa Cruz. (This
trumpet interchange
In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using ...
is locally known as The Fishhook due to its tight loop ramps that resemble a fishhook when viewed from above). After a short expressway section, it skirts downtown Santa Cruz as four-lane Mission Street, regaining the Cabrillo Highway designation (local/historic name is "Coast Road") after it leaves the city and continues north-west as a two-lane road (with occasional four-lane sections) up the coast through
Davenport
Davenport may refer to:
Places Australia
*Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality
* Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia
**Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta
**District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...
.
San Francisco Bay Area
![Hfb-scene](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Hfb-scene.jpg)
Entering
San Mateo County
San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Daly ...
, SR 1 follows the west coast of the
San Francisco Peninsula
The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Mountain View, south of Palo A ...
, passing by the marine mammal colonies at
Año Nuevo State Park
Año Nuevo State Park is a state park of California, United States, encompassing Año Nuevo Island and Año Nuevo Point, which are known for their pinniped rookeries. Located in San Mateo County, the low, rocky, windswept point juts out into t ...
, and the historic
Pigeon Point Lighthouse
Pigeon Point Light Station or Pigeon Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse built in 1871 to guide ships on the Pacific coast of California. It is the tallest lighthouse (tied with Point Arena Light) on the West Coast of the United States. It is sti ...
, before reaching
Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, United States, approximately south of San Francisco. Its population was 11,795 as of the 2020 census. Immediately at the north of Half Moon Bay is Pillar Point Harbor and the un ...
. Between Half Moon Bay and
Pacifica, the highway bypasses a treacherous stretch known as
Devil's Slide via the
Tom Lantos Tunnels
The Tom Lantos Tunnels are two tunnels located within the coastal promontory of Montara Mountain, on the San Francisco Peninsula in California, United States, created to allow rerouting California State Route 1, State Route 1 to avoid a portion of ...
.
![California State Route 1 in Marin County](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/California_State_Route_1_in_Marin_County.jpg)
SR 1 then becomes a freeway once again at Sharp Park in Pacifica before turning inland to join
Interstate 280 in
Daly City
Daly City () is the second most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with population of 104,901 according to the 2020 census. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its ...
. Just short of reaching the City and County of
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, SR 1 splits from Interstate 280, where the road becomes
Junipero Serra Boulevard
Junipero Serra Boulevard is a major boulevard in and south of San Francisco named after Franciscan friar Junipero Serra. Within the city, it forms part of the route of State Route 1, the shortest connection between Interstate 280 and the Golden ...
. Shortly thereafter, the highway makes a slight left, becoming the six-lane wide
19th Avenue; the
San Francisco Municipal Railway
The San Francisco Municipal Railway (SF Muni or Muni), is the public transit system for the City and County of San Francisco. It operates a system of bus routes (including trolleybuses), the Muni Metro light rail system, three historic cable ...
's
M Ocean View
The M Ocean View is a Muni Metro light rail line in San Francisco. It originated as one of San Francisco's streetcar lines in the early 20th century.
Route description
The line runs from Embarcadero station in the Financial District to Geneva ...
streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
line runs in the median from this point until a junction to a rail only right-of-way near Rossmoor Drive. SR 1 then turns into
Park Presidio Boulevard
Park Presidio Boulevard is a road and park in San Francisco, California which connects Golden Gate Park to the Presidio of San Francisco. It carries California State Route 1 along its entire route.
Running from Crossover Drive near the John F. ...
after it passes through the city's
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the development ...
. Then after entering the
Presidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part o ...
, it goes through the
MacArthur Tunnel
The MacArthur Tunnel, formally known as the General Douglas MacArthur Tunnel, is a highway tunnel in San Francisco, California.
It is located within the Presidio of San Francisco, now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
The tunnel ...
before joining US 101 for a fourth time on the approach to the
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...
known as Doyle Drive.
After crossing the bridge and entering
Marin County
Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...
, SR 1 then splits from US 101 again near
Marin City
Marin City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 2,993, up from 2,666 in 2010. It is located northwest of downtown Sausalito, ...
, where it leaves the city and, as the Shoreline Highway, returns to a winding, two lane road as it passes over the
Marin Hills
The Marin Hills are a series of steep high ridges and peaks in southern Marin County. They are a part of the long Pacific Coast Ranges mountain system. The centerpoint of these hills is the 2,571 foot (784 m) Mount Tamalpais near Mill Valley. The ...
to rejoin the coast at
Muir Beach
Muir Beach is a census designated place (CDP), unincorporated community, and beach on the Pacific Ocean. The community is located northwest of San Francisco in western Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. Unlike many ...
. After passing
Stinson Beach
Stinson Beach is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, on the west coast of the United States. Stinson Beach is located east-southeast of Bolinas, at an elevation of . The population of the St ...
and the
Bolinas Lagoon
Bolinas Lagoon is a tidal estuary, approximately in area, located in the West Marin region of Marin County, California, United States, adjacent to the town of Bolinas. It is a part of the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. In 1974, ...
, SR 1 avoids the immediate coastline of
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore is a park preserve located on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, California. As a national seashore, it is maintained by the US National Park Service as an important nature preserve. Some existing agricult ...
and the rest of the
Point Reyes Peninsula
Point Reyes (, meaning "Point of the Kings") is a prominent cape and popular Northern California tourist destination on the Pacific coast. Located in Marin County, it is approximately west-northwest of San Francisco. The term is often applied ...
, and instead heads towards, and then along, the eastern shore of
Tomales Bay
Tomales Bay is a long, narrow inlet of the Pacific Ocean in Marin County in northern California in the United States. It is approximately long and averages nearly wide, effectively separating the Point Reyes Peninsula from the mainland of Mar ...
.
Leaving Tomales Bay, SR 1 heads further inland to intersect with Valley Ford Road just north of the
Sonoma County
Sonoma County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa. It is to the n ...
border. It then rejoins the coast in
Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay ( es, Bahía Bodega) is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Ros ...
, where its name changes to Coast Highway past the
Sonoma Coast State Beach
Sonoma Coast State Park is a State of California property in Sonoma County consisting of public access use on lands adjoining the Pacific Ocean. This extent of beach runs from a coastal point about north of Jenner and continues for approximatel ...
es. After bridging the
Russian River at
Jenner, SR 1 continues to wind along the rugged coast to
Fort Ross
Fort Ross (Russian: Форт-Росс, Kashaya ''mé·ṭiʔni''), originally Fortress Ross ( pre-reformed Russian: Крѣпость Россъ, tr. ''Krepostʹ Ross''), is a former Russian establishment on the west coast of North America in ...
,
Salt Point State Park
Salt Point State Park is a state park in Sonoma County, California, United States. The park covers on the coast of Northern California, with of hiking trails and over of a rough rocky coastline including Salt Point which protrudes into the Pa ...
s, and the planned community of
Sea Ranch.
Mendocino County
![Russian Gulch Beach](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Russian_Gulch_Beach.jpg)
SR 1 then crosses the
Gualala River
The Gualala River is a river on the northern coast of California. Most of the river is in Sonoma County, but a portion is in Mendocino County. The headwaters of the river (measuring via its South Fork)U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography ...
and enters
Mendocino County
Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza) is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United Sta ...
. The highway enters the city of
Point Arena
Point Arena, formerly known as Punta Arena (Spanish language, Spanish for "Sandy Point") is a small coastal city in Mendocino County, California, Mendocino County, California, United States. Point Arena is located west of Hopland, California, H ...
, in which it becomes Main Street, before following School Street to the northwest and then becoming Shoreline Highway once again. It bridges the
Garcia River
The Garcia River is a river on the northern coast of California, in southern Mendocino County. The river's watershed covers and its mainstem is long. The watershed receives of precipitation per year near the coast and inland. The watershed's ...
and then, near
Elk
The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
, the
Navarro River
, name_native_lang =
, name_other =
, name_etymology =
, image = Navarro_River.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Navarro River near its mouth.
, map =
, map_size ...
, where it meets
SR 128.
At the town of
Albion
Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...
, the
Albion River
The Albion River is an river in Mendocino County, California. The river drains about on the Mendocino Coast and empties into the Pacific Ocean near the town of Albion, California, where California State Route 1 crosses it on the Albion River Br ...
is spanned by the
Albion River Bridge
The Albion River Bridge is a wooden deck truss bridge crossing the Albion River in Mendocino County, California. It is the only remaining wooden bridge on California State Route 1;. dramatic views of the bridge are visible from the nearby town o ...
, the only remaining wooden trestle bridge on the highway. SR 1 then passes through
Little River
Little River may refer to several places:
Australia Streams New South Wales
*Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River
*Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Hawk ...
and
Van Damme State Park
Van Damme State Park is a public beach consisting of about of land in Mendocino County, California, near the town of Little River on State Route 1. It was named for Charles F. Van Damme (1881–1934), who was born in the area and purchased the ...
, crosses
Big River and passes through
Mendocino Headlands State Park
Mendocino Headlands State Park is a California State Park in Mendocino, California
Mendocino ( Spanish for "of Mendoza") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, United States. Mendocin ...
and the Victorian community of
Mendocino. Continuing north, SR 1 crosses
Russian Gulch State Park
Russian Gulch State Park is a California State Park in coastal Mendocino County, California, north of Mendocino, California, Mendocino and south of Fort Bragg, California, Fort Bragg.
Park features
The park features of rocky ocean shores; it ...
on the
Frederick W. Panhorst Bridge, and passes through the town of
Caspar
Caspar is a masculine given name. It may refer to:
People
* Caspar (magus), a name traditionally given to one of the Three Magi in the Bible who brought the baby Jesus gifts
*Caspar Austa (born 1982), Estonian cyclist
*Caspar Badrutt (1848–1904) ...
. It passes through a
roundabout
A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...
just south of the intersection with the western terminus of
SR 20, where it widens to two lanes, then bridges the
Noyo River
The Noyo River (Pomo: ''Chemli-bida'') is a river on the north coast of California in Mendocino County. The river's headwaters are in the steep Mendocino Range, but downstream the river flows through gently sloping marine terraces before draini ...
at
Noyo, becomes Main Street of
Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...
, and crosses the
California Western Railroad
The California Western Railroad , AKA Mendocino Railway popularly called the Skunk Train, is a rail freight and heritage railroad transport railway in Mendocino County, California, United States, running from the railroad's headquarters in the ...
.
North of Fort Bragg as a two-lane highway again, SR 1 passes
MacKerricher State Park
MacKerricher State Park is a state park in California in the United States. It is located north of Fort Bragg in Mendocino County. It covers of coastline and contains several types of coastal habitat, including beaches, dunes, headlands, coves, ...
and the towns of
Cleone and
Inglenook
An inglenook or chimney corner is a recess that adjoins a fireplace. The word comes from "ingle", an old Scots word for a domestic fire (derived from the Gaelic ''aingeal''), and "nook".
The inglenook originated as a partially enclosed heart ...
before crossing
Ten Mile River. After passing
Westport-Union Landing State Beach
Westport-Union Landing State Beach is located in Mendocino County in Northern California. Covering over of rugged and scenic coastline, this beach consists of 46 campsites with ocean and mountain views. This scenic opportunity gives new photogra ...
, the road goes through a series of redwood-forested switchbacks before reaching
Rockport. North of Rockport, the highway turns away from the
Lost Coast
The Lost Coast is a mostly natural and undeveloped area of the California North Coast in Humboldt and Mendocino Counties, which includes the King Range. It was named the "Lost Coast" after the area experienced depopulation in the 1930s. In add ...
to avoid steep and unstable highlands created by
Mendocino Triple Junction
The Mendocino Triple Junction (MTJ) is the point where the Gorda plate, the North American plate, and the Pacific plate meet, in the Pacific Ocean near Cape Mendocino in northern California. This triple junction is the location of a change in the ...
uplift. The highway follows Cottaneva Creek inland through redwood-forested mountainous terrain before terminating at US 101 just outside
Leggett.
History
SR 1 has become famous worldwide,
[ but the highway was signed as several other routes prior to 1964. When the road was first envisioned in the World War I era, California highways were referred to by either a highway name or a route number. The route numbers were used by state highway planners and the Legislature from 1915 until 1964, but were never posted on highways, referred to by the auto clubs or public, nor used on maps. The SR 1 designation was first assigned in 1939. Various portions of SR 1 have been posted and referred to by various names and numbers over the years. State construction of what became SR 1 started after the state's third highway ]bond issue
In finance, a bond is a type of security under which the issuer (debtor) owes the holder (creditor) a debt, and is obliged – depending on the terms – to repay the principal (i.e. amount borrowed) of the bond at the maturity date as well as i ...
passed before 1910.
Segments initially constructed
Eager for a direct coastal route between Ventura and Santa Barbara, civic boosters used locally raised funds to begin building the Rincon Sea Level Road
The Rincon Parkway is a portion of California State Route 1 along the north coast of Ventura County, California. This narrow coastal area north of the city of Ventura and south of the Santa Barbara County line is commonly referred to as The Rin ...
in 1911. The route between the Ventura River
The Ventura River, in western Ventura County in southern California, United States, flows from its headwaters to the Pacific Ocean. The smallest of the three major rivers in Ventura County, it flows through the steeply sloped, narrow Ventura V ...
and Carpinteria
Carpinteria (; es, Carpintería, meaning "Carpentry") is a small seaside city in southeastern Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast of California, it had a population of 13,264 at the 2020 census. Carpinteria is a po ...
had been an unimproved route along small alluvial fan beaches that skirted coastal bluff rock outcroppings at low tide. Construction of the Southern Pacific
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
Coast Line railroad had created a road flanked by riprap
Riprap (in North American English), also known as rip rap, rip-rap, shot rock, rock armour (in British English) or rubble, is human-placed rock or other material used to protect shoreline structures against scour and water, wave, or ice erosion. ...
along this area. In order to make this part of the first coastal route for motorists driving from San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
to Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, they paved the road and built wooden causeways where the route flooded from the ocean waves. Local funding ran out, but the newly formed State Highway Commission took over and completed the road in 1913.
One of the most difficult routes to build was along the Big Sur
Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ha ...
coast. The state first approved building Route 56, or the Carmel-San Simeon Highway, to connect Big Sur to the rest of California in 1919. Federal funds were appropriated and in 1921 voters approved additional state funds. San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County.
Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...
set up three temporary prison camps to provide unskilled convict labor to help with road construction. One was set up by Little Sur River
The Little Sur River is a long river on the Central Coast of California. The river and its main tributary, the South Fork, drain a watershed of about of the Big Sur area, a thinly settled region of the Central California coast where the Sant ...
, one at Kirk Creek and a third was later established in the south at Anderson Creek. Inmates were paid 35 cents per day and had their prison sentences reduced in return. The route necessitated construction of 33 bridges, the largest of which was the Bixby Creek Bridge
Bixby Creek Bridge, also known as Bixby Canyon Bridge, on the Big Sur coast of California, is one of the most photographed bridges in California due to its aesthetic design, "graceful architecture and magnificent setting". It is a reinforced c ...
. Six more concrete arch bridges were built between Point Sur and Carmel.
After 18 years of construction, aided by New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
funds during the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, the paved two-lane road was completed and opened on June 17, 1937. The road was initially called the Carmel-San Simeon Highway (Route 56), but was better known as the Roosevelt Highway, honoring the current President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
. A 1921 law extended Route 56 south over the county road to Cambria
Cambria is a name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name for the country, . The term was not in use during the Roman period (when Wales had not come into existence as a distinct entity). It emerged later, in the medieval period, a ...
.
Route 60, from Oxnard
Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...
via the coast to San Juan Capistrano
San Juan Capistrano (Spanish for "St. John of Capistrano") is a city in Orange County, California, located along the Orange Coast. The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census.
San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when St. ...
, was extended from Oxnard to El Rio (midway to Ventura, now the site of the Oxnard Boulevard interchange with US 101), in 1925. At Point Mugu
Point Mugu (, Chumash: ''Muwu'') is a cape or promontory within Point Mugu State Park on the Pacific Coast in Ventura County, near the city of Port Hueneme and the city of Oxnard. The name is believed to be derived from the Chumash Indian term ...
, a path for the highway was cut through the mountains using surplus World War I explosives, thus creating Mugu Rock. The 1921 legislation, in theory, made Route 60 a continuous coastal loop, with both ends at what became US 101 in Oxnard and at Capistrano Beach (since 1964 the southern terminus of SR 1 at Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
in Orange County). Route 56 was extended further south from Cambria to connect to present-day US 101 in San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...
in 1931.
The route from San Simeon
San Simeon (Spanish: ''San Simeón'', meaning "St. Simon") is a village and Census-designated place on the Pacific coast of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Its position along State Route 1 is about halfway between Los Angeles ...
to Carmel
Carmel may refer to:
* Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea
* Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea
* Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order
Carmel may also ...
(connecting with existing county highway
A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can ...
s at each end) was one of two sections designated as SR 1. It and Route 60 were intended as links in a continuous coastal roadway from Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
to Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
A large expansion of the state highway system in 1933 resulted in Route 56 being extended in both directions. To the south, a second section was added, beginning at Pismo Beach
Pismo Beach (Chumash: ''Pismuʔ'') is a city in the southern portion of San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast area of California, United States. The estimated population was 8,072 at the 2020 census, up from 7,655 in the 2010 census. It ...
on US 101 (Route 2) and heading south through Guadalupe and Lompoc
Lompoc ( ; Chumash: ''Lum Poc'') is a city in Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast, Lompoc has a population of 43,834 as of July 2021.
Lompoc has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Chumash people, who called ...
to rejoin US 101 at a junction called Los Cruces (sic), just north of Gaviota Pass. (A short piece near Orcutt
Orcutt is an unincorporated town and census-designated place located in the Santa Maria Valley in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Orcutt is named for William Warren Orcutt, the manager of the Geological, Land and Engineering Dep ...
and Los Alamos had been part of Route 2, which originally followed present SR 135 from Los Alamos to Santa Maria.) To the north, Route 56 was continued along the coast from Carmel through Santa Cruz to San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
. Several discontinuous pieces were added north of San Francisco, one from Route 1 (US 101) north of the Golden Gate
The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by th ...
to the county line near Valley Ford
Valley Ford is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in western Sonoma County, California, United States. It is located on State Route 1 north of San Francisco. Like all of Sonoma County, Valley Ford is included in both ...
, another from the Russian River near Jenner (where the new Route 104 ended) to Westport, and a third from Ferndale to Route 1 near Fernbridge. Except for the gaps in Route 56 north of San Francisco, these additions completed the coastal highway, with other sections formed by Routes 1, 2, and 71.
The section of SR 1 from Santa Monica to Oxnard, via Malibu, went out to contract in 1925 as "Coast Boulevard", but was designated "Theodore Roosevelt Highway" when it was dedicated in 1929. Before the completion of its present alignment in 1937, a narrow, winding, steep road known as Pedro Mountain Road
Pedro Mountain Road describes a series of historical road crossings of Pedro Mountain, a promontory ridge located between Montara Mountain and the coastal cliffs of Devil's Slide in San Mateo County, California. This Pedro Mountain headland block ...
connected Montara with Pacifica. That highway was completed in 1914 and provided competition to the Ocean Shore Railroad
The Ocean Shore Railroad was a railroad built between San Francisco and Tunitas Glen, and Swanton and Santa Cruz that operated along the Pacific coastline from 1905 until 1921. The route was originally conceived to be a continuous line betwee ...
, which operated between San Francisco and Tunitas Creek from 1907 to 1920. SR 1 also used to run along the coast between Pacifica and Daly City, but this segment was damaged and rendered unusable after a 5.3 magnitude earthquake on March 22, 1957. A small stub remains near Thornton Beach.
Route 56 along Big Sur was incorporated into the state highway system and re-designated as SR 1 in 1939. The section of road along the Big Sur Coast was declared the first State Scenic Highway in 1965, and in 1966 the first lady, Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
, led the official designation ceremony at Bixby Creek Bridge
Bixby Creek Bridge, also known as Bixby Canyon Bridge, on the Big Sur coast of California, is one of the most photographed bridges in California due to its aesthetic design, "graceful architecture and magnificent setting". It is a reinforced c ...
. The route was designated as an All American Road by the US Government.
Signs first posted
SR 1 signs first went up after California decided to number its highways, in 1934. The section for Humboldt, Mendocino, Sonoma, Marin
Marin (French) or Marín (Spanish "sailor") may refer to:
People
* Marin (name), including a list of persons with the given name or surname
* MaRin, in-game name of professional South Korean ''League of Legends'' player Jang Gyeong-hwan (born 19 ...
, San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...
, San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...
and Santa Barbara counties was posted as SR 1, that section of the road known Route 56 (Las Cruces to Fernbridge). For Ventura, Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
counties, Route 60 (San Juan Capistrano to the Oxnard area) became SR 3, and a few SR 3 signs were actually posted. The SR 3 signs were replaced by US 101 Alt. shields by 1936, as the road was built out; this change also allowed the extension of US 66 to end at another U.S. Route, in Santa Monica.
The gaps of non-state highway along the northern coast were finally filled in by the Legislature in 1951, though the State Department of Public Works was not required to maintain the newly added portions immediately. A connection from near Rockport to Legislative Route 1 (signed US 101) at Leggett was also added to the Legislative Route 56 definition, as the existing county road north from Rockport to Ferndale had not yet been paved
Pavement may refer to:
* Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering
* Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways
** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface
* Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway alo ...
.
The state Legislature in 1963 tossed out the old conflicting Legislative Route Numbers ( 1964 renumbering), got rid of some famous old U.S. routes, and renumbered many state highways. It abolished US 101A in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties and renumbered it as SR 1. The Rockport to Leggett connection then became State Route 208. The cover of "California Highways" magazine in fall 1964 shows state engineers posting the new shield at Point Mugu. The same year, the Legislature by state law named SR 1 "Pacific Coast Highway" in Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura counties, "Cabrillo Highway" from Santa Barbara north to San Francisco, and "Shoreline Highway" from Marin County to its northern terminus. Many cities, however, did not change the name of city streets that are part of SR 1, such as Lincoln and Sepulveda boulevards in Los Angeles, Santa Monica and El Segundo; and Junipero Serra and Park Presidio boulevards in San Francisco. Several other cities and communities like Newport Beach and Bodega Bay merely named their respective city streets as "Coast Highway".
Modern alignments
The freeway portion of SR 1 from Highway 68 in Monterey to Munras Avenue opened in 1956–1960. The segment from Munras Avenue to the northern border of Sand City and Seaside opened in 1968, and bypasses the original highway alignment of Munras Avenue and Fremont Street in Monterey, and Fremont Boulevard through Seaside. North of Seaside, the freeway was built over the original SR 1 alignment through Fort Ord
Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay of the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, m ...
in 1973. North of Fort Ord, SR 1 now veers to the left of the original alignment and bypasses Marina to the west. This segment including the interchange with SR 156 and the short, 2-lane Castroville Bypass opened in 1976. Originally SR 1 followed the SR 156 alignment to the SR 183 intersection in Castroville, then turned northwest, following the present-day SR 183 through Castroville before rejoining its existing alignment at the northern terminus of the Castroville Bypass.
Plans to upgrade SR 1 to a freeway from its southern terminus all the way to Oxnard, including building an offshore causeway from the Santa Monica Pier
The Santa Monica Pier is a large double-jointed pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, United States. It contains a small amusement park, concession stands, and areas for views and fishing.
Attractions Pacific Park
Th ...
to Topanga Canyon Boulevard
State Route 27, commonly known by its street name Topanga Canyon Boulevard (), is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from the Pacific Coast Highway ( California State Route 1) at Topanga State Beach near Pacific Palisades ...
south of Malibu, were ultimately killed by 1971 due to local opposition. In 1980, another section was added northwest of Ventura near Emma Wood State Beach
Emma Wood State Beach is a California State Beach in Ventura, California. It is located on the Santa Barbara Channel on the west side of the Ventura River estuary and south of the railroad tracks of the Coast Line and the US Highway 101 freewa ...
, when several miles of the old two-lane alignment of U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
were posted as SR 1 where the freeway had bypassed it in about 1960. Then in 1988, the segment from Purisima Road in Lompoc to SR 135 was re-routed from Harris Grade Road to the former County Route S20 so it could directly serve Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to:
* Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name
* USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145), USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in K ...
.
Construction to bridge the gap in the Lost Coast
The Lost Coast is a mostly natural and undeveloped area of the California North Coast in Humboldt and Mendocino Counties, which includes the King Range. It was named the "Lost Coast" after the area experienced depopulation in the 1930s. In add ...
region between Rockport and Ferndale was eventually abandoned. The steepness and related geotechnical challenges of the coastal mountains made this stretch of coastline too costly for highway builders to establish routes through the area. In 1984, SR 1 was then re-routed to replace State Highway 208, connecting Rockport and Leggett, while the segment between Ferndale and Fernbridge was renumbered as State Highway 211. Most of the coastline in the area is now part of Sinkyone Wilderness State Park
Sinkyone Wilderness State Park is a state park in Mendocino County, California. The wilderness area borders the Pacific Ocean to the west and the King Range National Conservation Area to the north. The nearest settlement is the unincorporated ...
and the King Range National Conservation Area
The King Range is a mountain range of the Outer Northern California Coast Ranges System, located entirely within Humboldt County on the North Coast of California.
Geography
Much of the mountain range's area is protected within the King Range Na ...
.
The roadway along Devil's Slide, south of Pacifica, became the site of frequent deadly crashes and roadway-closing landslide
Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
s. Beginning in 1958, Caltrans
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...
supported a plan to construct an inland bypass over Montara Mountain
Montara Mountain, positioned between the unincorporated community of Montara, California, to the southwest and the city of Pacifica, California, to the north, forms the northern spur of the Santa Cruz Mountains, a narrow mountain range running the ...
as an alternate route, but was eventually opposed by community and environmental groups who supported a tunnel instead. After decades of legal disputes, the Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
ordered Caltrans in 1995 to re-evaluate the proposed tunnel. Then on November 5, 1996, San Mateo County voters approved Measure T to change the county's official preference from the bypass to the tunnel. Ground eventually broke in 2005, and the Tom Lantos Tunnels
The Tom Lantos Tunnels are two tunnels located within the coastal promontory of Montara Mountain, on the San Francisco Peninsula in California, United States, created to allow rerouting California State Route 1, State Route 1 to avoid a portion of ...
opened in April 2013.
In 2014, two-way traffic was restored along the original PCH segment from Copper Lantern to Blue Lantern streets in the Dana Point city center after 25 years of one-way operation. During that period, only northbound traffic had flowed along this section of PCH while southbound traffic had been diverted onto the parallel Del Prado Avenue.
SR 1 has never been planned to extend south into San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, or north into Crescent City, where I-5 (which replaced the US 101 designation and signage between Los Angeles and San Diego) and US 101 serve as the coastal highways in those areas, respectively.
As a cycling venue
For the 1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...
, the segment of the SR 1 between Oxnard and Santa Monica (then known as the Theodore Roosevelt Highway) hosted part of the road cycling events. Portions of SR 1 have also hosted stages of the Tour of California
The Tour of California (officially sponsored as the Amgen Tour of California) was an annual professional road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race on the UCI World Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that ran from 2006 to 2019. It was the ...
.
Maintenance
Landslides
Frequent landslides
Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...
and erosion along the coast have caused portions of SR 1 to either be closed for long periods of time, or be re-routed entirely. Some of these include:
* A segment along the coast between Pacifica and Daly City in what is now Thornton Beach
Thornton or ''variant'', may refer to:
People
*Thornton (surname), people with the surname ''Thornton''
*Justice Thornton (disambiguation), judges named "Thornton"
*Thornton Wilder, American playwright
Places
Australia
*Thornton, New South Wale ...
was damaged and rendered unusable after a 5.3 magnitude earthquake on March 22, 1957. SR 1 was then eventually re-routed to turn inland to join Interstate 280.
* The Piedras Blancas Realignment Project plans to re-route the road up to further inland to avoid the expected coastal erosion from the Piedras Blancas Light Station
Piedras Blancas Light Station is located at Point Piedras Blancas, about west by northwest of San Simeon, California. It was added to the California Coastal National Monument in 2017.
History and management
The first-order Fresnel lens at Pie ...
to the Arroyo de la Cruz Bridge in San Luis Obispo County.
*Big Rock Mesa landslide in September 1983 in Malibu was one of the worst in state history. A total of 250 homes collapsed, cracked or slid off their foundation with 30 homes being condemned. The state agreed to pay forty million dollars as cutting through the hillside to build Pacific Coast Highway was a contributing cause.
* The Devil's Slide area has been prone to major landslides. One slide in 1995 caused the road to be closed for five months, while another in 2006 led to a four-month closure. The Tom Lantos Tunnels
The Tom Lantos Tunnels are two tunnels located within the coastal promontory of Montara Mountain, on the San Francisco Peninsula in California, United States, created to allow rerouting California State Route 1, State Route 1 to avoid a portion of ...
, named after former U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos
Thomas Peter Lantos (born Tamás Péter Lantos; February 1, 1928 – February 11, 2008) was a Holocaust survivor and American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1981 until his death in 2008. A member of the Democr ...
, opened in 2013 to bypass the area.
* In 2011, major reconstruction was completed between Muir Beach and Stinson Beach, including the addition of a , , but mostly buried, retaining wall. This followed a four-month, $25 million reconstruction that repaired damage from a 2007 landslide.
* A March 2011 landslide in the Big Sur region forced Caltrans to close the highway for several months. A section south of Lucia that is also prone to frequent landslides, known as Pitkins Curve and Rain Rocks, was replaced with a bridge and a covered rock shed.
* During the winter of 2016–2017, the Big Sur region received more than of rain. The road was closed or partially closed due to mudslides and landslides in at least six locations. On February 20, Caltrans declared that the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge just south of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park was damaged beyond repair, closing that segment of SR 1 for eight months, and effectively splitting Big Sur in half. Some businesses, cut off from customers and without access to supplies, were forced to close. For some residents, the only means of getting out was via helicopter. In March, Caltrans demolished the bridge and began construction of the replacement. The rebuilt bridge opened on October 13, 2017 at a cost of $24 million.
* Another major slide at Mud Creek closed a stretch of the highway in May 2017. The huge slide at Mud Creek covered about of road with of dirt and rock. The slide was on a section of the road that was already closed due to smaller slides. The scale of the slide was compared to a very large slide during the winter of 1983–1984 that closed SR 1 for more than a year. A replacement roadway was built over the landslide and opened in July 2018, at a cost of $40 million.
* After heavy rainfall, a section of the highway at mile marker 30, near Rat Creek in Monterey County
Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas.
Montere ...
, collapsed into the ocean in January 2021. It reopened in April 2021.
Future projects
In 2014, Caltrans relinquished the portion of SR 1 in Oxnard along Oxnard Boulevard. The plan is then for PCH between Pleasant Valley Road and US 101 to be re-routed from Oxnard Boulevard onto Rice Avenue. That segment of Rice Avenue includes a railroad grade crossing at 5th Avenue that was the site of the February 2015 Oxnard train derailment, which eventually led to one death and 29 injuries. This was the twelfth accident at the crossing in ten years. An overpass has been planned at that site for almost two decades, but funding has not been available in Ventura County for the estimated $35 million grade separation project.
In 2015, a $20 million project was proposed to add over 150 safety improvements to the stretch of the highway in Malibu. This follows a string of fatal accidents in the area, including one involving Caitlyn Jenner
Caitlyn Marie Jenner (born William Bruce Jenner; October 28, 1949) is an American media personality and retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete.
Jenner played college football for the Graceland Yellowjackets before incurring a kne ...
that claimed another person's life.
The Calera Parkway project proposes to widen the non-freeway segment in Pacifica between the Rockaway Beach and Vallemar districts, but faces opposition by local residents and environmentalists.
Major intersections
In popular culture
In 2002, The Decemberists
The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon. The band consists of Colin Meloy ( lead vocals, guitar, principal songwriter), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion), Nate ...
released a song titled "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade" on their album Castaways and Cutouts
''Castaways and Cutouts'' is the first full-length album by The Decemberists, originally released on May 21, 2002, on Hush Records and reissued on May 6, 2003, on Kill Rock Stars. The album's title is taken from a lyric of the song "California One ...
.
In 2012, The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
released a song titled "Pacific Coast Highway". Described by critics as "introspective", "autumnal", and "hymnlike", the song takes the perspective of an aged person driving down the highway during sunset as he reflects on his advancing years in life, deciding that he is more comfortable living alone.
See also
*
References
External links
Route 1 highway conditions
from Caltrans
Bay Area FasTrak
– includes toll information on the Golden Gate Bridge and the other Bay Area toll facilities
California @ AARoads.com
at California Highways
California's Highway 1
CNN-TravelGuide Pursuits
California's Pacific Coast Highway
from ''National Geographic''
Guide to California's Highway 1
at Travel + Leisure
at ''USA Today''
California's Highway 1, The Wine-Lovers' Route
at ''Wine Enthusiast Magazine''
1958 plans for the conversion of Junipero Serra Boulevard in San Francisco to freeway
1964 plans for the conversion of Park Presidio Boulevard in San Francisco to freeway
Ultimate California Highway 1 road trip
at ''Sunset Magazine''
{{Authority control
001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to:
*1 (number), a number, a numeral
*001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent
*001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986)
*AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...
All-American Roads
Big Sur
001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to:
*1 (number), a number, a numeral
*001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent
*001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986)
*AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...
Monuments and memorials in California
Olympic cycling venues
State Route 001
State Route 001
State Route 001
State Route 001
State Route 001
State Route 001
State Route 001
State Route 001
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001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to:
*1 (number), a number, a numeral
*001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent
*001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986)
*AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...
001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to:
*1 (number), a number, a numeral
*001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent
*001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986)
*AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...
001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to:
*1 (number), a number, a numeral
*001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent
*001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986)
*AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...
U.S. Route 101
Venues of the 1932 Summer Olympics