Why this ride
From Morro Bay it runs 552 km to Morro Bay; allow about 7 h 07 of riding. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Pacific Coast Highway (CA-1) · part 2
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 552 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 07
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Morro Bay
Morro Bay announces itself with a rock. Morro Rock, a smooth, rounded volcanic plug 175 metres high, stands at the mouth of the harbour, guarding the entrance like a stone sentinel. It is the westernmost of a chain of ancient volcanic peaks called the Nine Sisters that march inland toward San Luis Obispo, and Spanish explorers used it as a landmark from the sixteenth century, naming it El Morro, the crown. Peregrine falcons nest on its face, so climbing is banned, but you can walk the sand spit to its base, and the beach is a pleasant place to watch surfers and sea otters.
Read the complete Morro Bay write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Waypoint 3 is where the day begins. Next is Waypoint 4.
2. Near Malibu
Twenty-one miles of the Pacific Coast Highway pass through Malibu, and most of them are within sight of the sea. The road squeezes between the steep brown slopes of the Santa Monica Mountains and a narrow ribbon of sand, a mix of beach houses, small plazas, surf breaks and sudden gaps with a view over the water. The town itself has about thirteen thousand people, a city of film stars and surfers, and a strong feeling of being at the edge of something. It was once a ranch owned by the Rindge family, who held off development for decades, and the land was divided only in the 1920s, after the state forced a public road through it.
Read the complete Malibu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Waypoint 4 comes up about 275 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Waypoint 3.
3. back through Waypoint 3
Morro Rock is a volcanic plug, the hard core of a long-extinct volcano, and it rises out of the water at the mouth of Morro Bay like a great grey bell, about 175 metres high. It is the last of a chain of nine such peaks that run inland toward San Luis Obispo, the Nine Sisters, and its slopes are a protected nesting place for peregrine falcons, which means that climbing is forbidden. Rock and town share a name, and the waterfront is dominated by the three tall stacks of the old power station beside it.
Read the complete Waypoint 3 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 552 km.