San Francisco to LA on Highway 1

Overview

This is the drive down the coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles on Highway 1. It is not a day trip. Plan two to three days each way, or fold it into a longer loop. A car is required, and cell service drops out for long stretches through Big Sur, so download offline maps before you go.

Some cool things to check out along the route.

1. Pacifica Taco Bell

The world’s most beautiful Taco Bell, a Taco Bell Cantina on Linda Mar Beach about 20 minutes south of the city. It has a walk-up window for people coming off the sand, a patio over the beach, and a small bar menu. Renovated in 2025.

2. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

California’s oldest amusement park, right on the sand. The 1924 Giant Dipper coaster and 1911 Looff carousel still run. The Boardwalk has appeared in more than 24 films, including The Lost Boys (1987), Sudden Impact, and Us. A few minutes west on West Cliff Drive, the small Santa Cruz Surfing Museum sits at Lighthouse Point above the surf breaks.

3. Carmel-by-the-Sea

A walkable coastal town of galleries and cottages. Clint Eastwood was mayor from 1986 to 1988. With extra time, the 17-Mile Drive runs from Carmel through Pebble Beach past the coastline and golf courses. It is a private toll road with a per-car fee.

4. Monterey Bay Aquarium

On Cannery Row in Monterey, known for its kelp forest tank, sea otters, and open-ocean exhibit. It is a nonprofit, and admission supports its animal care and ocean conservation work. Buy tickets ahead on the aquarium’s official website, which is the only legitimate seller. Kayak tours launch from the bay nearby and are good for spotting otters, sea lions, and seabirds.

5. Big Sur River Inn

A roadside inn and restaurant on the Big Sur River. Adirondack chairs sit in the creek itself, and there is a deck, a general store, and a burrito and pizza bar. A good place to stop among the redwoods for a snack or a drink and to sit by the water.

6. McWay Falls

An 80-foot waterfall in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park that drops onto the beach in McWay Cove. The Overlook Trail is closed for repairs into 2026, so the falls are currently viewable from a small pullout on the side of Highway 1. There is no beach access. Day use runs 8am to sunset, with a park entrance fee.

7. Salmon Creek Falls

In southern Big Sur, about 3 miles north of Ragged Point. Parking is a small dirt pullout at a horseshoe bend in Highway 1, with room for roughly 10 cars. A quarter-mile walk leads to a 120-foot waterfall, with boulders to scramble at its base. Watch for poison oak.

8. Madonna Inn

A 1958 hotel in San Luis Obispo with themed rooms and a pink dining room. A good bathroom-and-stretch stop. The downstairs men’s room has a rock-waterfall urinal that has become an attraction, and people line up to look.

9. Solvang

A Danish town founded in 1911 in the Santa Ynez Valley, about 45 minutes north of Santa Barbara. Half-timbered buildings, windmills, and Danish bakeries (try the æbleskiver). Wine tasting rooms fill the town and the valley around it.

Tips for the coast drive

Gas: Fill up in Santa Cruz or Gilroy, and no later than Monterey. Through Big Sur there are only one or two stations (Gorda and Ragged Point) before San Luis Obispo, and prices there run very high.

Road status: Highway 1 reopened fully through Big Sur in January 2026, but winter storms can still close sections. Check Caltrans road conditions (quickmap.dot.ca.gov) before you go.

Service: Cell coverage is spotty through Big Sur. Download offline maps.