I was wondering what the PCH was like. Is it a normal two-lane highway with no stoplights? Or is it like Main Street for Coastal California with various stoplights along the way? Are there parts of it where you really have to slow down because it’s so windy? How much of it could you travel in an hour? Thanks.
It is a very windy road with many beautiful views. Problem is that if you are driving you’d better not look at too many of them. There are not any stop lights and one of the big stops is at Big Sur, which means that there aren’t many stops at all. One of the best trips I’ve ever taken, except that I was the driver.
Actually there are many, many stop lights on PCH. I seemed to hit every one last night. Parts of the road are two lanes winding along the coast. Parts of it are four lanes and are “like Main Street”. It depends on which part of it you’re on.
Got a map?
It depends on where you are.
Ain’t that the way of most roads of interest?
Hearst Castle is part of it.
Both kniz and Johnny L.A. are right. Down here in the Los Angeles area, PCH goes from a three-lane street like most others (down here in the South Bay), to a two-lane semi-highway with occassional stoplights (near Santa Monica), to a full-blown five-lane highway (up towards Santa Barbara). As you go further up PCH towards San Francisco, you get away from the cities and it becomes a really twisty, one-lane road, with relatively little traffic, gorgeous views, and five-hundred-foot drops if you get distracted by the view. 
I haven’t taken PCH down to Mexico nor further past San Francisco, but I suspect that the afformentioned description will cover most of what you see – various forms of regular urban pavement in the big cities, coupled with amazing scenery in the remote parts.
If you go for a ride (and I definitely recommend it), do take kniz’s advice and get someone else to drive. Or else you’ll end up like my first time, alternating between rubbernecking at the scenery and suddenly swerving your car to avoid running off a cliff or hitting a rock wall…
Actually, the Pacific Coast Highway is US 101, which isn’t really on the coast very much, in southern California at least. To follow the coast in California you need to take California Highway 1 from Las Cruces (just west of Santa Barabara) if you are going north.
BZZZT…thanks for playing! Pacific Coast Highway (or PCH as we locals call it) IS Highway 1. US101 is El Camino Real. They are two distinctly different (albeit parallel) highways, although there are a few places (such as Santa Barbara) where they kinda squeeze into one road.
Carmel by the Sea (aka Carmel) has a few stop lights on CA HWY 1.
An aside: I find it oddly amusing that our state has a major road called El Camino Real (The Royal Road).
I guess it’s a matter of semantics and definition. This site seems to think the Pacific Coast Highway is US 101. El Camino Real on the other hand, is a lot of roads, including sections of US 101.
The Pacific Coast Highway runs from San Diego to Olympia, WA via the Olympic Peninsula. From San Diego to Los Angels it has some nice stretches such as Camp Pendleton, near Oceanside, but is often just a city road. From LA west to Santa Barbara it’s nice, and if you get off onto California 1 and go up to Monterey there are some beautiful stretches. I’ve never been on it north of San Francisco in California, but the Oregon and Washington sections are also full of gorgeous spots along the way.
Highway 1.
Part of the confusion is that there are stretches where 101 and highway 1 run together - the northern section, and down around Santa Barbara, for instance.
In the Bay Area “El Camino Real” refers to a major city street that runs the length of the Peninsula, and is actually California 82. People would get confused if you used the term to mean anything else.
Here in the Bay Area, 1 and 101 are two very different animals indeed. 101 is the major multilane commuter corridor running up the Peninsula. Highway 1 is over on the other side of the hills on the coast, passing through Davenport, Half Moon Bay and so on, north of Santa Cruz. Sections of it between Monterey and Pacifica are divided highway, sections of it are regular two lane road. It gets congested in this stretch on the weekends because it is scenic, the major road for beach and other recreational access, and the route to Santa Cruz and Monterey.
Going north, 1 enters Pacifica, becomes freeway through Daily City and gets off to follow 19th Ave through San Francisco, which takes it across Golden Gate Park and the Presidio to the Golden Gate bridge, joining to 101 again for a short distance. It takes off up the coast again, splitting from 101 within the first couple exits after the bridge.
North of SF, it is again a very twisty two lane scenic highway passing through Stinson Beach and the Point Reyes seashore, following the coast up to Fort Bragg. Somewhat north of Fort Bragg, it swings away from the coast and joins up to 101 again for the rest of the way through California - about 200 miles to the Oregon border. 101 rejoins the coast again at Eureka.
All in all, highway 1 through CA is about 1000 miles, and varies a lot over its length. But large portions of it are scenic highway, and it follows the coast most of the way.
Actually, I’m not sure if CA 1 technically FOLLOWS 101 in the north of the state, or simply ends at Leggett, which my map shows me to be where it joins to 101 above Fort Bragg. Either way, the classic CA to WA “Pacific Coast Highway” people are discussing follows 101 at that point.
Having driven the entire length of 101 I can tell you that if you want consistent understanding of what you are talking about you should never refer to it by anything other than the number. It has about 55 million names as you travel its length. I never heard the phrase Pacific Coast Highway until I moved to California; I don’t think anybody calls it that in Washington.
So far as I know, US 1 ends at Leggett, it never splits off again. For most of its length between Astoria and San Diego, 101 is now generally at least four-lanes, if not divided (I remember when much of the Oregon portion was two-lane). Once you are in Washington coast, it tends to be generally two-lane highway (or at least it was in 1993 when I last drove it) and once you hit Puget Sound and start heading back south to Olympia it is two lanes (one each way).
Through most of Los Angeles County, Pacific Coast Highway (or PCH in Southern California) is a fairly busy street.
Once it gets into Santa Monica, it’s Lincoln Blvd. Once it gets to LAX, PCH becomes Sepulveda Blvd. When it hits Hermosa Beach, the street is called Pacific Coast Highway again.
And it continues as a surface street through Orange County too.
If you’re in Long Beach, you should try to see if you can make it through the Los Alamitos Traffic Circle and find Pacific Coast Highway on the way out.
It’s one of the few roundabouts in Southern California and it’s a great place to get rear-ended.
Just to back up yabob, PCH and US 101 are different. I think that they may be the same road for a while around Oxnard, but here in the L.A. area PCH runs as described by BobT
FWIW I went out for a motorcycle ride one day. I figured the bike knew where it was going, and by the end of the day I was in San Rafael. Very cute of it taking me on such a journey. Anyway, I took the 10 out to Santa Monica where it runs into PCH. Around Oxnard I found myself on the 101. For the trip back I made sure I took PCH (US 1). I had to cut across a bit of a distance to get to the 101 when I finally tired of people who wouldn’t go faster than 45 on PCH. That was around San Simeon somewhere.
As has been said, take PCH if you’re not driving; otherwise the gawkers will kill you. Take 101 if you’re in more of a hurry.
California State Route 1 (“SR 1”) goes from San Juan Capistrano (Orange County) to Leggett (Mendocino County). (California Streets and Highways Code section 301.)
SR 1 from San Juan Capistrano to El Rio (Ventura County) is Pacific Coast Highway (“PCH”). (California Streets and Highways Code section 635©.)
SR 1 from Las Cruces (Santa Barbara County) to San Francisco (San Francisco County) is Cabrillo Highway. (California Streets and Highways Code section 635(a).)
“El Camino Real” or “Royal Highway” was the original trail blazed by Juan Portola from San Diego to Monterrey on behalf of Spain. His mission was to establish Presidios (forts) to Protect the California coastline. El Camino Real was later extended north of San Francisco. The California missions were placed alongside El Camino Real, to be protected by the Presidios. Many of the missions were founded by Father Junipero Serra to settle the land for Spain, in part by converting the natives to the Spanish way of life.
Today, US 101 (from Hollywood to Sonoma) and I-5 (from Hollywood to San Diego) track much of what was El Camino Real, but not exactly. El Camino Real is also comprised of routes embracing portions of Routes 280, 82, 238, 101, 5, 72, 12, 37, 121, 87, 162, 185, 92, and 123 and connecting city streets and county roads thereto, and extending in a continuous route from Sonoma southerly to the international border. (California Streets and Highways Code section 635(b).)
US 101 used to run from Oregon to San Diego, but it now stops in Hollywood because I-5 became the major corridor from LA to San Diego. You can still find signs for “Old Highway 101” in North San Diego County (Solano Beach).
As a humble Aussie who has visited the U.S. West Coast numerous times, all I know guys is this - you have some absolutely fantastic roads to be sure. And the “Coast Highway” as I used to refer to it is spectacularly beautiful without doubt.
As a young lad on one of my first visits, I was tremendously disappointed to learn that there was no such thing as the “Ventura Highway” - I dearly wanted to play the famous song whilst driving along the mythical stretch of road, but it’s OK. I’ve since formulated an even more wondrous dream - and here it is…
It seems the best “AC COBRA” replicas in the world are made down here in the Land of Oz - they are Ford factory approved and they use the most wonderful state of the art componentry - including Ford’s SVO built 4.6 “Grand Prix” V8 or a highly tweaked “Boss 429” and all the latest gearboxes and brakes and suspension etc.
I would love nothing more than to take one of those monster “AC COBRAS” (in right hand drive just to confuse you locals a little bit more!) and do the run from LA to Seattle. No rush, just a hundred miles a day. I mean to say, in THAT car I could burn off anything in the world, so what point is there to prove?
The question is this? What is the ideal time of the year to do such a thing?
Regards to my Californian friends!
The term “Pacific Coast Highway” is unknown in San Diego nowadays. There is something called “Pacific Highway” which runs north out of town, but I don’t think it connects to PCH, which officially ends in San Juan Capistrano. U.S. 101 officially ends in East Los Angeles where the Hollywood Freeway merges into the Santa Ana Freeway (Interstate 5) which goes all the way to the Mexican border. El Camino Real only roughly follows the 101, entering L.A. county from the east through the San Gabriel Valley, nowhere near PCH. Although recently I’ve noticed signs on the 5 in northern San Diego county designating it as “Historic Route 101”, so who knows how it was set up in days gone by.
First off, Boo Boo Foo, don’t skip San Diego! It’s called “America’s Finest City” for a reason.
I can’t speak for the weather in Seattle, but if you start in May, you have a good chance of overcast weather and/or rain in California. There should be nice weather in CA from June through September, but Seattle might be getting cool and/or wet by that time.
Your best bets are June, July, and August.
Good luck!
THE definitive section (yes, I a a big SF bias) is from Pacifica to Big Sur (past that, and you’re in SoCal, and who needs that )
Figure 30 MPH. YES. REALLY. Be patient, enjoy the views, find another godess or two along the way.
p.s. - we don’t believe in warning signs OR guard rails - you wanna drive off a cliff, smile blissfully on the way down…
To answer the OP…
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There is no PCH in San Diego County. There are surface streets along the beach that run just like any other city with stop lights and all. I recommend a drive through Coronado, then to Downtown. Then find your way to the end of Point Loma and the Cabrillo National Monument for a great view! Then find Sunset Cliffs and stop for a minute. Then, go through Ocean Beach to Mission Beach and Pacific Beach via Mission Boulevard. You might want to take a side trip up Moount Soledad for a great view. Then, take La Jolla Drive through Bird Rock and La Jolla. When you hit Del Mar or Solano Beach, take I-5 up to San Juan Capistrano (south Orange County).
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In Orange County, PCH is pretty much a straight shot along the beach area with some stop lights. The limit is probably about 40 MPH.
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In LA County, PCH runs through Long Beach about 2 or 3 miles inland. You can’t see the coast from PCH in Long Beach. You can pick up a hooker on PCH from about Redondo through downtown around Cherry Street. PCH then makes some turns and is difficult to follow through surface streets until you hit Santa Monica. I recommend a detour from PCH once you get past Long Beach. Take the road that goes from San Pedro around the Palos Verdes Peninsula to Redondo Beach and then Santa Monica. There, you can pick up PCH again where it braches off and becomes a true coastal highway once again, taking you through Malibu. This can be a trafficy area.
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In Ventura County, PCH curves around a bit, but maintaining a speed of 45 or 50 MPH shouldn’t be a problem. Magu Rock is a nice place to stop and stretch. PCH then becaomes a veritable freeway round about Oxnard, where it merges with US 101. Once you hit Ventura, you can exit US 101 and follow SR 1 along the beach for several miles. It’s a straight shot with few lights. The speed on this stretch is probably about 45 MPH. It then merges with US 101 again.
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In Santa Barbara County, SR 1 braches off. From what I call it’s not a difficult ride. Maybe some curves here and there. 45 PMH.
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I can’t speak for this road from San Luis Obispo County to San Francisco. I believe it winds around Moro Bay, which is a very scenic fishing village near Moro Rock. Some windy parts and some straight parts. In Monterrey, you might hit the 17 mile drive, a windy circuitous road near Pebble Beach. It’s awesome!
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I believe the road goes right through San Francisco as surface streets and takes you over the Golden Gate Bridge (at least I know that to be true for US 101). Again, very scenic!
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Once in Marin County, SR 1 breaks from US 101 and becomes a windy road following a jagged coast through NorCal. Many many curves, maybe some chilling winds. Keep your eyes on the narrow winding road. Speed, probably about 30 MPH. It’s slow, but very scenic! There are some places to pull off for the view, but otherwise, its a very narrow two-lane road. Beware of carsick passengers. Bodega Bay is a nice area to eat or camp.
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Mendocino is a nice sleepy and scenic artsy town. It’s a great place to stop and stretch. Maybe stay in B&B.
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As you go north, SR 1 merges with US 101. This will take you through some of the most wonderous Redwoods up to the Oregon border. See this if you can!
In sum, the entire California coastal drive is awsome, except through LA County. The NorCal road is narrow and very windy going through rocky cliffs. The SoCal road is straighter and faster, but scenic in a different way, along beautiful sun-drenched beaches.