California · Big Sur Highway 1 Dream Section

A 440 km loop from Bixby Creek Bridge

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Why this ride

Cliffs, bridges and one of the world’s great coastal rides. 440 km from Carmel Valley Village to Carmel Valley Village, about 7 h 36 of riding. On the way it passes Big Sur village, Pfeiffer coast, Ragged Point and back through Pfeiffer coast. Back roads rather than main roads, where the map allows.

Roadbook

1. Bixby Creek Bridge start

   Everybody photographs this bridge, and there is a reason. Bixby Creek Bridge is a concrete arch that leaps across a deep canyon on California's Big Sur coast, and it has been the signature view of Highway 1 since it opened in 1932. It stands roughly eighty-five metres above the creek, and its single span, pale against dark green hills and a steel-blue ocean, looks almost too neat to be real. It was built partly to replace an older, winding road that dipped inland round the canyon, and in its day it was a feat of engineering in a place where nothing came easily.

   Highway 1 here is one of the great coastal rides, though it asks for attention. The road clings to the cliff, with the Pacific on one side and a steep hillside on the other, and the curves come one after another, many of them blind. There is little in the way of shoulder, and the sea is a long way down. The tarmac is mostly good, but rockfall, mudslides and patchy repairs are part of life on this coast, and winter storms have closed sections of the road for months, so check the state of the highway before setting out. Fog can roll in suddenly, especially in summer, hiding the very views you came for. Early morning or late afternoon gives the best light and the thinnest traffic.

   The best photographs are taken from the pullout on the north side of the bridge, where you can see the arch against the cliffs. Park carefully, since cars and people share a small space and the traffic passes close. Behind the headlands, Big Sur is a place of redwoods, condors and mountain lions, and its remoteness was jealously protected by residents who campaigned for decades against development. Writers and artists including Henry Miller made their home in this region, and the myth of Big Sur as a refuge persists.

   For fuel, do not count on the coast. The reliable stations are in Carmel and Monterey to the north, about twenty kilometres from here, and Big Sur village, further south, has some at premium prices. Top up in Carmel before you start. Bring layers, because the coastal air is cool even on a sunny day, and allow far more time than the map suggests, since you will want to stop at almost every turnout.

2. Big Sur village food food

   Big Sur village is not a village in the usual sense, but a scattering of inns, cafes, galleries and a post office strung out along Highway 1 in the green valley of the Big Sur River. The coast mountains rise steeply behind, covered in redwood, oak and madrone, and the river runs clear over granite boulders beneath the trees. It is a very different feel from the cliffs to the north: sheltered, cool and shaded, with the smell of redwood duff and woodsmoke. The valley has been settled since the 1860s, when the Pfeiffer family took up a homestead here, and the state park that bears their name now covers much of the valley floor.

   The area has long attracted writers and seekers. Henry Miller lived on the coast here from 1944 to 1962, and his writing about the place made it a cult destination, while the Henry Miller Memorial Library, a small bookshop and community centre among the redwoods, keeps his memory alive. The Esalen Institute, a retreat on the cliffs south of the village, was founded in 1962 and helped create the human potential movement. A short drive from the village, a rutted road leads down to Pfeiffer Beach, where purple sand, coloured by manganese garnet, collects at the edge of the surf, and a rock arch lets the waves pour through in the evening.

   For riders, this is the heart of Highway 1's best stretch, the part everyone comes for. North and south of the village, the road snakes along the edge of the cliffs, with long views of the Pacific and sudden plunges into creek canyons, with little shoulder and plenty of slow traffic. Corners are blind and wide, and the surface is mostly good, but rockfall and landslides often close sections of the road, particularly in winter and spring, so check Caltrans before you go. Fog can drift in at any time, bringing damp tarmac and cold air, and the sun can be dazzling when it breaks through. Early mornings on weekdays are the quietest.

   The village has a few fuel stations, but prices are high, and the cafes and restaurants range from simple to pricey, with a long wait on summer weekends. Monterey, about thirty-eight kilometres to the north, is the nearest town with a full range of services, so fill the tank there if you can. Cell coverage is patchy in the canyons, so carry a paper map or download one in advance. A walk among the redwoods in the state park, with the river chuckling beside you, is a good way to rest between the curves.

3. Pfeiffer coast sight

   Further south, the Big Sur coast changes its character. The highway leaves the high bare headlands behind and drops into forest, where the Big Sur River winds through groves of coast redwood and the light under the trees is green and dim. This is the Pfeiffer country, named for a pioneer family who homesteaded here in the 1860s, and the state park that bears their name is one of the best places on the coast to leave the bike and walk among the big trees.

   The riding here is slower and more intimate than the cliff-hanging sections to the north. The road dips in and out of canyons, crosses small bridges, and passes a scatter of cafes, lodges and campgrounds under the redwoods, with tourists wandering across it and cyclists in the lane. Speeds are low, and rightly so. Rain and fog make the surface greasy, and the deep shadows of the forest hide patches of damp tarmac long after the sun has dried the rest. Summer can bring a thick marine layer that cools the afternoon, so carry something warm. Traffic is heavy on holiday weekends, and the narrow roads fill with cars in search of parking.

   Pfeiffer Beach is the local treasure, reached by a narrow, steep road, Sycamore Canyon Road, that is not suited to large vehicles. At the end, wind-carved rock arches stand in the surf, and in the right light, shafts of sun pour through the largest opening. Some of the sand has a purple tinge, which comes from manganese garnet washed down from the hills. Further south, in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, a short trail leads to McWay Falls, a slender cascade that drops directly onto the beach, a lovely sight on a clear afternoon. The sea here is cold and dangerous, with strong currents, so keep to the sand.

   There are small services at the Big Sur village area just to the north, with a general store, a couple of restaurants and fuel at a high price, which is worth knowing if the gauge is dropping. The nearest larger towns are in the Monterey area, a good thirty to forty kilometres off, and nothing else is guaranteed. Keep a close eye on the closure notices, and take your time. The coast rewards patience far more than speed.

4. Ragged Point turn

   Ragged Point is the last act of the southern approach to Big Sur, or the first, depending on which way you are going. The mountains of the Santa Lucia range come down to meet the Pacific here in a line of steep, grassy cliffs, and Highway 1 follows them in a ribbon cut into the slope, with a long, long drop on one side and rock on the other. The village itself, a cliff-top cluster of an inn, restaurant and viewpoint, serves as a gateway marking the end of the open coastal flats near San Simeon.

   The riding on both sides is superb. North of the point the road starts its serious climbing and twisting, dipping into canyons and rising to headlands, with wide ocean views, bridges across creeks, and tight turns that need real attention because a wide-turning camper or a stopped tourist taking photos can appear around any bend. To the south the highway eases and runs along open country toward San Simeon, with ranch land and cattle on the hills. The coastline here is wild and has few buildings, which is part of its character.

   A little way south, the elephant seal colony at Piedras Blancas is a surprise even for people who know about it. Thousands of the huge animals haul out on the beach to moult and breed, mostly in winter and spring, and you can watch them from a boardwalk, bellowing, scrapping and sleeping in heaps. Further on, Hearst Castle stands high on the hill above San Simeon, the extravagant creation of a newspaper magnate in the early twentieth century.

   Fuel is the practical point. There is a small station at Ragged Point, but prices tend to be steep, and Cambria, about thirty kilometres south, has more choice. North of here there is very little for a long way, and Big Sur has few stations, all expensive, so fill up before committing.

   Fog is the main variable. Summer mornings often bring a cold grey blanket along the coast, which lifts around noon, and the best light arrives in the late afternoon. Spring brings green hills and wildflowers, while autumn offers clearer air. Winter storms sometimes close the road with slides, so check conditions first.

5. back through Pfeiffer coast stop

   back through Pfeiffer coast sits at 293 km, about halfway.

6. back through Big Sur village food stop

   back through Big Sur village food comes up 367 km in.

7. Bixby Creek Bridge finish

   Bixby Creek Bridge closes the day.

Where this sits

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