terrip

We are flying into San Francisco on 5/31/2013 driving to Yosemite to attend a meeting from 6/2-6/6. Then we want to drive to Highway 1 and drive down the coast to San Diego and fly home from there on 6/16. We are thinking of getting on Highway 1 at Half Moon Bay and traveling south. Does this sound feasible or should we pick up Highway 1 in Cambria?

dbdurand

If you were to pick up Hwy. 1 at Cambria, you would miss the most famous section of the road, the Big Sur portion.

http://byways.org/explore/byways/2301/travel.html

sf7307

The most beautiful part of Highway 1 is between Monterey and Cambria, so I'd definitely want to pick it up farther north. You don't have to go all the way up to Half Moon Bay though, you could pick it up by heading west on 152.

november_moon

Hwy 152 will get you to Hwy 1, but Hwy 156 is a little more direct - and probably what sf meant to type anyway Hwy 156 is only about 20 minutes south of Hwy 152, so people are always mixing up the numbers.

If you are coming from Yosemite, come out on Hwy 140 or 41, make your way to Hwy 152 west, then take Hwy 156 the rest of the way to the coast. This will put you in Monterey which makes for a good overnight (or multiple night) stop before heading south through Big Sur. As mentioned above, you could stay on Hwy 152 all the way to the coast, but this will take longer - curvy road over a mountain range and then straight through the town of Watsonville - whereas 156 avoids the mountain range and doesn't really go through towns.

sf7307

156 it is!

terrip

Thank you so much for the information!

MichelleY

Yes, once on Hwy 152, you will go thru the Pacheco Pass. After passing the famous Casa de Fruta, stay to the left and merge on to Hwy. 156.