Drives California
Big Sur, Highway 1
CA-1, Carmel to San Simeon · Central Coast, California
Highway 1 along the Big Sur coast, from Carmel to San Simeon: narrow, cliff-hung and slow, with the Santa Lucia Mountains on one side and the Pacific straight down on the other. Few drives anywhere are as famous, and fewer live up to it.
- Distance
- 89 mi
- Drive time
- 2 hr 30 min
- Climbing
- 7,400 ft
- Highest point
- ≈ 1,000 ft
Carve is the scenic-drive planner for cars: turn-by-turn on iPhone and Android, with CarPlay and Android Auto, and offline with no signal. No app yet? The link shows the route and where to get Carve.
The drive
South of Carmel the highway crosses Bixby Creek on the 1932 concrete arch everyone photographs, passes the Point Sur Lighthouse, and drops into the redwoods around Big Sur village before climbing back onto the cliffs. The heart of it, from Malpaso Creek to San Carpóforo Creek, runs 71 miles with tight curves, blind turns and few places to pass.
It's a road the mountains keep taking back: landslides have closed it more than 55 times. As of October 2026 it's open end to end, with work zones along the way.
Stops along the way
- Bixby Creek Bridge Built in 1932. The pullout on the northwest side is the classic view.
- Point Sur Lighthouse In Point Sur State Historic Park, on its rock just off the coast; you'll see it from the road.
- Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park Redwoods along the Big Sur River. Day use is $10 per vehicle.
- Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park Home of McWay Falls, an 80-foot waterfall onto a beach you can see but not reach.
- Piedras Blancas elephant seals Vista points just north of San Simeon look down on the elephant seal colony on the beach.
When to go
Big Sur is open year-round when the road is. Summer often brings dense fog, and peak-season and holiday traffic heading north can back up for about 20 miles from Big Sur village toward Carmel. Winter storms bring the slides that close it. In October 2026 there's one-way traffic control at several work zones, and full overnight closures near Point Sur from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., October 12 to 15.
Good to know
- There are only six gas stations along Highway 1 in Big Sur, and fuel at Gorda is among the most expensive in the country. Fill up in Carmel or Cambria.
- The road is narrow and winding with few passing lanes: use the turnouts to let faster traffic by.
- Expect long stretches with no cell signal. Download the route before you leave Carmel.
- State parks along the way charge $10 per vehicle for day use.
More drives
- Skyline Boulevard CA-35, Highway 92 to Saratoga Gap · 26 mi · Twisty
- Tioga Pass Tioga Road and CA-120, Crane Flat to Lee Vining · 59 mi · Sweeping
- Overseas Highway US-1, Key Largo to Key West · 107 mi · Leisurely
Free to plan and drive with a signal. Carve Apex downloads the whole route for driving with none.
Sources: Caltrans District 5 news, Caltrans road conditions, Wikipedia: Big Sur, California State Parks. Distance, time, elevation and intensity are from Carve's route. Checked 2026-10-06.