Editor’s note: as a lifetime Californian, I’ve been to Big Sur, but I’m ashamed to say I haven’t driven it in well over a decade. Monterey, however, I’ve visited more often, and loved every moment. Here, Sam shares his thoughts on a first trip to these amazing places, and some stunning photos from the experience. For more of Sam Spector’s writing, click here to visit his index page.

For ten years, I lived in Southern California. With so much to do in the Golden State, you truly have to create a list of things you want to accomplish over time. While I was thrilled to have the opportunity to move to Utah, I was sad that I did not get the opportunity to do everything that was on my California bucket list. Word of advice: do not put things off about attractions to visit in your city or state, because you never know just when life might throw you a curveball and then you are leaving without having done so much of what you wanted to do. The number one place that I did not get to was driving to Big Sur on the Pacific Coast, which many consider to be the best drive in the United States.

The Pacific Coast Highway stretches from Alaska all the way down the Pacific coast to Southern Chile (although it isn’t PCH as we know it for most of that, obviously). California’s coastline has many great places that could be entire trips. You have my former home of La Jolla in San Diego, the beaches of Orange County, celebrity mansions in Malibu, relaxed vibes in Santa Barbara, fish tacos at Pismo Beach, and the wonder of Hearst Castle. However, California’s most beautiful coastline is a couple hours south of San Francisco. A great place to jump off visiting Big Sur is the coastal town of Monterey. With a population of 30,000 people, it is a charming town that is on a peninsula alongside its neighbor, Carmel. Both towns have a rich history with Spanish missions dating back to the 1770s. The town was known for its sardine canneries during the early 20th century and became the setting of John Steinbeck’s 1945 novel Cannery Row. Along this part of town, which bears the same name, Cannery Row, you will find numerous seafood restaurants serving local specialties like sand dabs, as well as souvenir shops. Go down to the bay to see the bust of Steinbeck and also a statue dedicated to the canners of a century ago, and visit the cannery warehouse, which now is home to restaurants and shops. It was a particular treat while eating seafood overlooking the bay to watch numerous sea otters swimming on their backs, enjoying the treats of the kelp forest that is there, especially when the otter couples would hold hands and float together. Just north of Cannery Row, Monterey has its own Fisherman’s Wharf, which gives a vibe of a more condensed version of San Francisco’s famous tourist attraction.

Perhaps the most famous spot to visit in Monterey is the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which many argue to be the best aquarium on the Pacific Coast, and easily one of the best in the country. I sadly did not have enough time to visit the aquarium, which has a steep price of entry, but that gives me a reason to go back to Monterey, especially with my kids, to visit the many interactive exhibits, and in particular, to see the famous swirling school of thousands of glistening silver anchovies that is the aquarium’s star feature. While in Monterey, drive down to the ritzy neighborhood of Pebble Beach and take the 17-Mile Drive through the gated community. The drive takes between 1 hour if you go leisurely and 3 hours if you want to really take in each of the 17 official stops along the way. Some of my favorite stops included the Lone Cypress, the Ghost Trees, and the lookout points where you will often see seals basking on the beaches or rocks. Another component of this drive that I loved was that it was the first place on the West Coast that I had seen Spanish moss growing on the trees. While this charming plant is associated with the trees of the more humid American South, it was a delightful surprise to see it throughout Pebble Beach. The golf courses at Pebble Beach are spectacular and home to a famous PGA Tour event, and they provide for the best views in the area. While visitors do have to pay $12.25 per car to enter the 17-Mile Drive, it is well worth the cost of admission and also prevents it from being overly touristic.

However, the key drive in the area is the one down to Big Sur. Sadly, you cannot drive the entire PCH down the coast on Highway 1 right now as work is still being done to clear a massive rockslide that destroyed much of the highway. While this area is often referred to as part of Northern California, in looking at a map, you will notice that is more right in the middle of the Golden State, and this section of the PCH was the first part of the highway to be classified as a scenic highway in California. A couple of words of caution: first, this highway is extremely zig-zaggy and not for those who get motion sickness easily. Secondly, once you get a bit south of Monterey, you will likely lose all cell phone service. However, lack of cell phone service is not a reason to panic! There are many tourists along this route, as well as homes and small towns, restaurants, and hotels, so if you run into an emergency, you will surely be able to find someone to help shortly. Also, the lack of cell phone service for a couple hours was actually kind of nice. One of the great gifts that can come with a scenic drive is being able to connect with a person next to you in the car or, if like me you did this drive solo, being able to listen to some music and connect with your own thoughts.

Throughout the drive there are many areas that you can pull off to do day hikes or admire the scenery with forests to the east and a 180 degree view of the Pacific Ocean to the west, and nothing but coastline north and south. Surrounding much of the area is the Julie Pfeiffer Burns State Park with nearly 3800 acres of land, much of which has California’s mighty redwood trees, some of which are 300 feet tall and over 2000 years old, towering above visitors. While there are some 67 hiking trails in the area, I only had time to do the drive and stop at a few of the highlight spots, one of which is the Bixby Creek Bridge. Spanning 360 feet across, and 280 feet high, this scenic bridge is one of the most photographed in the country. While the bridge itself is spectacular, it is only topped by its surroundings of bright green jagged mountains dramatically rising from the coast and a sandy beach right below.

Roughly 23.6 miles further south of Bixby Creek Bridge is likely the most famous spot along Big Sur, which is McWay Cove and McWay Falls. In the crescent-shaped cove is a beautiful sandy beach, surrounded by rocks and trees. The water in the cove is a bright turquoise blue that looks like a Caribbean beach. While further north, the infamous fog seemed denser, down at McWay Cove, it is typically clearer and sunnier. Yet, the most famous part of McWay Cove, let alone all of Big Sur, is McWay Falls. McWay Falls is an 80 foot tidefall, which is a waterfall that goes directly into the ocean; McWay Falls is one of only three tidefalls in the continental United States, and one of only two in California. The falls are simple, yet stunning, and one could watch them for a long time just being mesmerized by their beauty.

Though those who know me know that I often get most excited about the prospect of using my passport and traveling abroad, for an unbeatable experience of adventure and appreciating the greatest beauty that this earth has to offer, Americans can leave their passports at home and hop in a car and just drive up and down California’s Pacific Coast Highway.

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