Historic Route 1
Historic Route 1
I live in Southern California and was planning a small weekend trip up to Big Sur. I'm going to take Historic Route 1 the whole way up. Any stops or suggestions along the way???
5th Gear
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,001
Likes: 0
From: New York, NY
this is a great trip. i've driven up from LA all the way to SF and also down from Carmel to LA. i love it. one of my favorite drives.
I have yet to do it in a Mini though, but am hoping to do it this year.
most important thing... check to see if there are any closings along Highway 1. there are times of the year when this road gets damage and they have to close whole sections of it. I know once I drove about an hour south from Carmel and then had to turn around (but I did know the road was closed before I started out). One place to check is here:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/sr1
but I'm sure there is a better place if you search a little.
a few suggestions:
1) san luis obispo. great little town north of santa barbara... up in the hills a bit. I haven't been able to spend much time there, but i did stay over night. I know there are some nice restaurants and a cool cinema. there are some NAMers who know more about SLO than I do.
2) san simeon (hearst castle) about 45 min. north of san luis obispo. access is via Hwy 1... right along the coast. beautiful section because the road is low to the coast. at hearst castle, you park at the visitor's center and take a bus up to the castle, which sits high up on the hill. from below... it looks like a little magic kingdom sitting up there. the tours can be slightly cheesy, but the house is fantastic to see, especially if you're interested in the 1920s, Hearst (the man the myth), cinema (Chaplin used to go there), Citizen Kane (based on Hearst), etc. there are several tours and some times of the year it is smart to have tickets ahead of time, but probably not an issue in Oct./Nov.
3) just north of San Simeon, there is a beach area where you can see elephant seals. Don't know if Oct. is off-season or not, but you can check here:
http://www.beachcalifornia.com/piedras.html
4) Big Sur area is beautiful. Be sure to see the Bixby Bridge:
http://www.byways.org/browse/byways/2301/places/11760/
and there are lots of places to stop in this area to look at views. bring a camera for some great shots of your Mini.
5) Carmel is pretty nice. It can be a bit touristy, cheesy, too, but if you aren't going for the art/shopping it can be a nice place to stay for a night or two. Gets foggy in the mornings, then usually burns off. Good restaurants, quaint atmosphere, nice little beachfront at the bottom of the hill. I've stayed at this place several times:
http://www.coachmansinn.com/
If you go during the week (and not a holiday week) they usually have a vacancy and the rooms go for a bit cheaper since they are trying to fill them.
6) and last there's the 17-mile drive around Pebble Beach
http://www.beachcalifornia.com/17mile.html
Personally, I think Monterey/Cannery Row is way too touristy, although the Aquarium there is interesting.
If you need to get back south quickly and don't want to take Highway 1 back, you can zip back on 5 inland... it is flat but kind of cool in its own way, although I'm sure if you drove it a lot, it would get boring.
Have a happy trip motoring on Highway 1.
I have yet to do it in a Mini though, but am hoping to do it this year.
most important thing... check to see if there are any closings along Highway 1. there are times of the year when this road gets damage and they have to close whole sections of it. I know once I drove about an hour south from Carmel and then had to turn around (but I did know the road was closed before I started out). One place to check is here:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/sr1
but I'm sure there is a better place if you search a little.
a few suggestions:
1) san luis obispo. great little town north of santa barbara... up in the hills a bit. I haven't been able to spend much time there, but i did stay over night. I know there are some nice restaurants and a cool cinema. there are some NAMers who know more about SLO than I do.
2) san simeon (hearst castle) about 45 min. north of san luis obispo. access is via Hwy 1... right along the coast. beautiful section because the road is low to the coast. at hearst castle, you park at the visitor's center and take a bus up to the castle, which sits high up on the hill. from below... it looks like a little magic kingdom sitting up there. the tours can be slightly cheesy, but the house is fantastic to see, especially if you're interested in the 1920s, Hearst (the man the myth), cinema (Chaplin used to go there), Citizen Kane (based on Hearst), etc. there are several tours and some times of the year it is smart to have tickets ahead of time, but probably not an issue in Oct./Nov.
3) just north of San Simeon, there is a beach area where you can see elephant seals. Don't know if Oct. is off-season or not, but you can check here:
http://www.beachcalifornia.com/piedras.html
4) Big Sur area is beautiful. Be sure to see the Bixby Bridge:
http://www.byways.org/browse/byways/2301/places/11760/
and there are lots of places to stop in this area to look at views. bring a camera for some great shots of your Mini.
5) Carmel is pretty nice. It can be a bit touristy, cheesy, too, but if you aren't going for the art/shopping it can be a nice place to stay for a night or two. Gets foggy in the mornings, then usually burns off. Good restaurants, quaint atmosphere, nice little beachfront at the bottom of the hill. I've stayed at this place several times:
http://www.coachmansinn.com/
If you go during the week (and not a holiday week) they usually have a vacancy and the rooms go for a bit cheaper since they are trying to fill them.
6) and last there's the 17-mile drive around Pebble Beach
http://www.beachcalifornia.com/17mile.html
Personally, I think Monterey/Cannery Row is way too touristy, although the Aquarium there is interesting.
If you need to get back south quickly and don't want to take Highway 1 back, you can zip back on 5 inland... it is flat but kind of cool in its own way, although I'm sure if you drove it a lot, it would get boring.
Have a happy trip motoring on Highway 1.
3rd Gear
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 292
Likes: 0
From: Ladera Ranch, Ca
Hey Jtrem! We were up in Monterey for the Historics and participated on the 1st leg of the MTTS.
mini_dreams gave you some great suggestions. Let me add some more...
as you leave LA and head north, why not stop at Port Hueneme and try and see the BMW VDC. Most likely you won't be able to get in, but you can still try.
Santa Barbara is also a nice ,picturesque place to stop and wander around. You can go see the Old Mission in Santa Barbara, and then take a cruise down State Street, then park your MINI at the Beach and have lunch on the pier. There's also another great dive called the Brown Pelican, right on the beach.
Just north of Santa Barbara in Goleta is Moss MINI...they're open Saturdays, you can stop in and grab some MINI goodies.
North of Goleta is Solvang, a quaint Danish town - watch the movie, "sideways". You should also check out Nojoqui Falls. From Solvang, you can take a backroad back to PCH which is really great.
Cambria is also a quaint town, we stayed there on our way up to the Monterey Historics. There's a really good seafood restaurant near the beach called the Sea Chest.
Just past Big Sur, there's Julia Pheiffer Falls.
Have fun motoring on PCH!
mini_dreams gave you some great suggestions. Let me add some more...
as you leave LA and head north, why not stop at Port Hueneme and try and see the BMW VDC. Most likely you won't be able to get in, but you can still try.
Santa Barbara is also a nice ,picturesque place to stop and wander around. You can go see the Old Mission in Santa Barbara, and then take a cruise down State Street, then park your MINI at the Beach and have lunch on the pier. There's also another great dive called the Brown Pelican, right on the beach.
Just north of Santa Barbara in Goleta is Moss MINI...they're open Saturdays, you can stop in and grab some MINI goodies.
North of Goleta is Solvang, a quaint Danish town - watch the movie, "sideways". You should also check out Nojoqui Falls. From Solvang, you can take a backroad back to PCH which is really great.
Cambria is also a quaint town, we stayed there on our way up to the Monterey Historics. There's a really good seafood restaurant near the beach called the Sea Chest.
Just past Big Sur, there's Julia Pheiffer Falls.
Have fun motoring on PCH!
Hey Jtrem! We were up in Monterey for the Historics and participated on the 1st leg of the MTTS.
mini_dreams gave you some great suggestions. Let me add some more...
as you leave LA and head north, why not stop at Port Hueneme and try and see the BMW VDC. Most likely you won't be able to get in, but you can still try.
Santa Barbara is also a nice ,picturesque place to stop and wander around. You can go see the Old Mission in Santa Barbara, and then take a cruise down State Street, then park your MINI at the Beach and have lunch on the pier. There's also another great dive called the Brown Pelican, right on the beach.
Just north of Santa Barbara in Goleta is Moss MINI...they're open Saturdays, you can stop in and grab some MINI goodies.
North of Goleta is Solvang, a quaint Danish town - watch the movie, "sideways". You should also check out Nojoqui Falls. From Solvang, you can take a backroad back to PCH which is really great.
Cambria is also a quaint town, we stayed there on our way up to the Monterey Historics. There's a really good seafood restaurant near the beach called the Sea Chest.
Just past Big Sur, there's Julia Pheiffer Falls.
Have fun motoring on PCH!
mini_dreams gave you some great suggestions. Let me add some more...
as you leave LA and head north, why not stop at Port Hueneme and try and see the BMW VDC. Most likely you won't be able to get in, but you can still try.
Santa Barbara is also a nice ,picturesque place to stop and wander around. You can go see the Old Mission in Santa Barbara, and then take a cruise down State Street, then park your MINI at the Beach and have lunch on the pier. There's also another great dive called the Brown Pelican, right on the beach.
Just north of Santa Barbara in Goleta is Moss MINI...they're open Saturdays, you can stop in and grab some MINI goodies.
North of Goleta is Solvang, a quaint Danish town - watch the movie, "sideways". You should also check out Nojoqui Falls. From Solvang, you can take a backroad back to PCH which is really great.
Cambria is also a quaint town, we stayed there on our way up to the Monterey Historics. There's a really good seafood restaurant near the beach called the Sea Chest.
Just past Big Sur, there's Julia Pheiffer Falls.
Have fun motoring on PCH!
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