Ok, here's the situation:

I am traveling down the California coast over Columbus Day weekend w/ a few friends. I will be flying into Oakland on the Thursday evening and flying out of Long Beach on Monday night.

Here's the problem: I am the only driver and I'm rather afraid of heights.

Here are my questions:

1) How long is the "bad" part (in terms of heights)? From where does it start and where does it end?

2) I am willing to drive that section south to north and I am willing to go a few hours out of the way, if need be. Is there a way for me to detour off Rt. 1 for the bad section, hit route 1 further south, and Rt. 1 back north to see that section?

I know this sounds crazy. Worse comes to worse, I'll just drive the whole thing north to south, but wondering if there is a way out.

Thanks!

Not all of the Big Sur coast is "bad". Going north to south, however, there is not guard rail, and I think having the hill on you side going north would be reassuring. You can drive 101 down to
46, cross the mountain and then drive hwy 1 north through Cambria and Big Sur. You'll have to double back at Carmel to get on 101 again but there are a couple good wineries there including Chateau Julien, Smith and Hook and Jekel.Truthfully, I don't think Big Sur is that scary, but I've don't it several times. Much of it around the actual town of Big Sur is inland with not ocean views at all. There are a lot of turn offs for you to catch your breath and allow others to look at the view.Total driving distance is probably 3 hours even though it's only 90 miles---traffic moves very slow. You could simply reverse your entire trip----just don't try driving Big Sur in the fog---you won't see anything and it will lead to more anxiety.

Josh, I hate heights also, and didn't find Big Sur all that scary, mainly because of the slow pace and frequent turn-offs Kam describes. All in all, the curvy roads bothered me more than the heights in Northern California - kind of tiring driving, but very scenic.

Josh- I see from your later post that you couldn't find this. It was down about #55 on the posts. You need to search down a ways for your posts...unless they get lots of replies, they drop down quickly.

TTT for Josh