Which is more picturesque - Rt 1 going North from San Franciso or Rt 1 going South?
Will be doing a one day trip while on vacation in April.

we went south and took near carmel the 17 mile drive which, imo, is one of the most spectacular parts of coast near s.f., wildlife included.

have a drink or lunch at pebble beach.

Along the same topic, has anyone heard of road conditions on Rt1? Have recent storms caused any damage/delays?
Thanks

How long of a day trip??? and what day of the week???

If it's an all day trip on a weekend, the best would be to take Hwy 101 then 156 to Carmel (2 1/2 hr drive). Poke around Carmel for a couple of hours, then head south along the "famous" CA # 1 - the Cabrillo Highway down the coast. Stop at Pt Lobos (1 hr walk around). Continue south till you get to the Village of Big Sur (45 min drive). Then maybe go an hour south to get more views of the ocean. Turn the car around & return to Carmel. I think the best vistas are in this (north) direction. Stop for dinner in Carmel, or head back to SF. If you are going to be here in May, June, or July (late sunset), I would have an early dinner at Nepenthe in Big Sur & drive back to SF from there (3 hrs). We've done this numerous times - gettint back to SF in the evening. Just remember, June, July, & August will be foggy along the coast more often than.

If you want to do this on a work day, you have the rush hour traffic to contend with. You will have to leave VERY early (like 6:00) to beat the traffic, or later in the morning like 9:30 to miss the commute traffic. Returning, you should leave Carmel by 2:30 to beat the commute traffic, or later after 6:00 to miss it.

If you don't want a full day, either north up to Jenner is fine, and south along the Sam Mateo Coast is scenic also. I just made two posts describing these latter two drives. Click on my name & see "San Francisco - scenic coast drive from SFO to the City" (or something like that), and also "North of San Francisco - coast & wine country".

If I had to pick either the short north or south drive, I would choose the north drive, if you have not gone over the GG bridge yet. I think the best coastal scenes are on the San Mateo coast, south of Half Moon Bay, however.

Stu Dudley

Hi f64club

I have done both and both have their merits. If you are on a true day trip out of SF and back to SF one day in April. I say go north.

Have Fun
GP

Okay, I've said this before but here goes again:

As someone who owns a big chunk of land at Big Sur and lives in Gualala, it is my feeling that the drive north on Highway 1 is by far the most scenic.

I was just down south last month and paid a lot of attention as this question comes up frequently on Fodor's. The rolling green hills and ranch land, redwood groves and spectacular ocean views, combined with the lack of population, just make the northern route a much prettier and more picturesque drive.

For a one day trip I would take route 1 to Point Reyes National Seashore and visit that area (go to the lighthouse, walk on McClure Beach and maybe see some elk on the way to the parking lot, visit the headwuarters area and take the earthquake walk). This and a stop in Point Reyes Station will take all day; make the stop before going to the National Seashore and pick up picnic items for lunch.