# Highway 1 between Big Sur and San Simeon reopened **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 15, 2026, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725 "2026-01-15T22:45:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2026, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725/1 "2026-01-15T22:45:58Z")
Monterey County Now article: [Highway 1 reopens fully in Big Sur, to cheers and honking horns](https://www.montereycountynow.com/blogs/opinion_blog/highway-1-reopens-fully-in-big-sur-to-cheers-and-honking-horns/article_d7c03344-abd3-4e58-ad0f-7a1d2d476521.html). It’s been a long time coming (3 years) Considering the severity of Pacific storms lately who knows how long it will last? Road trip-wise I think I actually prefer the Oregon coast, but there’s no denying the lure of driving on the edge of the continent south of Big Sur. It can be an extremely fun drive if you luck out and don’t get stuck behind timid sightseers or an RV. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2026, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725/2 "2026-01-15T22:51:27Z")
Just plan on sightseeing because there will always be someone in front of you who is. Oh, and don’t miss out on the novelty of $10-a-gallon gas. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2026, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725/3 "2026-01-15T22:51:32Z")
I drove from San Francisco to LA the summer of 2022 not long before it closed. It was a white knuckle drive! ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2026, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725/4 "2026-01-15T22:57:22Z")
I try to do an annual bicycle trip along there down to SLO - last time was in fall 2022 - looking forward to seeing it again! But yeah, who knows how long it will remain open - hopefully thru the summer season to give the businesses along there a boost! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725/5 "2026-01-16T18:42:41Z")
Why was it closed? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725/6 "2026-01-16T19:09:28Z")
Hwy 1 has a long history of being closed by landslides. The two most recent were [Paul’s Slide](https://i0.wp.com/bigsurkate.blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Pauls2-1.png) (January 2023) and the [Regent Slide](https://i0.wp.com/bigsurkate.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_2125.jpeg) (February 2024) ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725/7 "2026-01-17T04:25:25Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > It was a white knuckle drive! Oh come on! It’s just a winding two-lane road with lots of blind curves hundreds of feet up a cliff beside the ocean. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725/8 "2026-01-18T21:30:05Z")
I’ve driven it perhaps twice, when I was young. I’ll never see it again because I have unfortunately recently developed a phobia for driving along the edge of steep cliffs. It’s a bummer because so much of the California coast is like this, and I live in California. We’ll be vacationing in Carmel in a week, and I’m unable to tolerate going any further south than Point Lobos. Sucks. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725/9 "2026-01-18T22:15:58Z")
Seems it would be less scary driving north as you would be on the cliff side rather than the shore side. Brian ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725/10 "2026-01-18T23:28:20Z")
South is much more challenging. When my wife and I drove the Ring Road around Iceland the summer of 2024, we chose to go clockwise for the advantage of being on the land side of the road. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725/11 "2026-01-19T00:06:45Z")
Driving north to south may be scarier/more challenging, but it has one big plus: it’s _ **much** _ easier to pull off and get back on the road at viewpoints. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725/12 "2026-01-19T16:54:13Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > Seems it would be less scary driving north as you would be on the cliff side rather than the shore side. Was my strategy when I did it some years back. ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725/13 "2026-01-20T03:50:33Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Driving north to south may be scarier/more challenging, but it has one big plus: it’s _ **much** _ easier to pull off and get back on the road at viewpoints. It also gives you better views of waves crashing over big rocks. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2026, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725/14 "2026-02-17T17:03:55Z")
Well, that didn’t last long… [Caltrans closes portion of Highway 1 ‘until further notice’ after rockslides](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/caltrans-closes-portion-highway-1-rockslides-21357420.php) > The rockslides are impacting the roadway between Ragged Point Inn in San Luis Obispo County and a point 1 mile south of Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn in Monterey County. There is no estimated time for reopening. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2026, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highway-1-between-big-sur-and-san-simeon-reopened/1026725/15 "2026-02-17T17:08:47Z")
It’s not unusual for this road to close during storms. The question will be the severity of what caused this closure - some rocks and mud on the road and it will be cleared after the storm is over. But if the road is buried again, well that will be another story. The mild winter in this area so far has been encouraging, but all it takes is a big storm smacking the coast and we’ll be in for another long closure. ☹