Pacific Coast Highway Route Map

This map follows the classic southbound Pacific Coast Highway drive: California State Route 1 from San Francisco to Dana Point in Orange County, the version Visit California lays out as a 517 mile, four to seven day road trip. Driving south keeps you in the lane closest to the ocean, which is why most itineraries run north to south. Highway 1 itself is longer than this drive, running about 656 miles from Mendocino County to Dana Point, and the name Pacific Coast Highway officially belongs only to the southern stretch between Oxnard and Dana Point, but most people use it for the whole coast road.

The drive falls into three sections. From San Francisco the road runs past Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz and around Monterey Bay to Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea. Then comes Big Sur, roughly 90 miles of cliff road between Carmel and Hearst Castle with Bixby Bridge, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and McWay Falls, and almost no towns or fuel. South of San Simeon and Morro Bay the coast flattens out, Highway 1 shares the road with US 101 for long stretches, and the route runs through Santa Barbara and Ventura before the Malibu coast, Santa Monica and the beach cities down to Dana Point.

Without stops the drive is a long day or more, but it is built to be taken slowly: plan at least four nights so Big Sur gets a full daylight day. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with fewer crowds than summer and less of the June fog that often hides the Big Sur coast. Landslides close parts of Big Sur from time to time; Highway 1 reopened fully on 14 January 2026 after three years of repairs, so check Caltrans QuickMap before you go.

On the map, every stop below is a place people actually pull over for, and each leg is a road leg along Highway 1 or the shared Highway 1 and US 101 corridor.