Big Sur Coast Highway is a section of California State Route 1 through the Big Sur region of California that is widely considered to be one of the most scenic driving routes in the United States, if not the world. It is both a National Scenic Byway and a California Scenic Highway, and was described by Australian painter Francis McComas as the "greatest meeting of land and water in the world". The winding, narrow road, often cut into the face of towering seaside cliffs, is a "symbolic image" of Big Sur. Condé Nast Traveler named State Route 1 through Big Sur one of the top ten world-famous streets, comparable to Broadway in New York City and the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The road itself is a destination for visitors.
The Big Sur portion of Highway 1 is generally considered to include the segment adjoining the unincorporated region of Big Sur between Malpaso Creek near Carmel Highlands in the north and San Carpóforo Creek near San Simeon in the south.
Prior to its completion, the California coast south of Carmel and north of San Simeon was one of the most remote regions in the state, rivaling at the time nearly any other region in the United States for its difficult access. In 1920, the trip from Carmel to the Pfeiffer Ranch in the Big Sur valley on the Old Coast Road in a light spring wagon pulled by two horses could be completed in about 11 hours, while a lumber wagon pulled by four horses could make the same trip in 13 hours. The rough road ended in present-day Posts and could be impassible in winter. No road existed beyond Posts, only a horseback trail connecting the homesteads to the south.
The highway was first proposed by Dr. John L. D. Roberts, a physician who was summoned on April 21, 1894, to treat survivors of the wreck of the S.S. Los Angeles (originally USRC Wayanda), which had run aground near the Point Sur Light Station about south of Carmel-by-the-Sea. It took him hours on his two-wheeled, horse-drawn cart, a very fast trip for the day. The initial survey for the highway was completed in 1918, and its construction began in 1921. The project ceased for two years in 1926 when funding ran out, and after 18 years of construction, the Carmel–San Simeon Highway was completed in 1937. The route was incorporated into the state highway system and re-designated as Highway 1 in 1939.
The highway has been closed frequently by landslides, including a 3 year closure from 2023 to 2026. It reopened fully .
History
Governor Juan Alvarado granted Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito, including the land from Carmel to near Palo Colorado Canyon, to José Castro in about 1848. Castro documented a trail from Monterey to Palo Colorado Canyon used by Native Americans when he filed a map of his purchase in 1853. When the region was first settled by European immigrants in 1853, it was the United States' "last frontier".
After California gained statehood, the trail from Carmel to Mill Creek (present-day Bixby Canyon) was declared a public road by the county in 1855. But the California coast south of Carmel and north of San Simeon remained one of the most remote regions in the state, rivaling at the time nearly any other region in the United States for its difficult access. It remained largely an untouched wilderness until early in the twentieth century.
Yankee businessman Charles Henry Bixby bought several hundred acres south of Mill Creek and harvested lumber, tanbark, and lime. Without a road, he resorted to using a landing chute and hoist to transfer the goods to steamers anchored offshore.
Bixby tried to persuade the county to build a road to Bixby Creek, but they refused, replying that "no one would want to live there". In 1870, Bixby and his father hired men to improve the track and constructed the first wagon road including 23 bridges from the Carmel Mission to Bixby Creek.
Further south, the Rancho El Sur grant extended from the mouth of Little Sur River inland about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) over the coastal mountains and south along the coast past the mouth of the Big Sur River to Cooper's Point. It was largely a cattle operation. There was a brief industrial boom in the late 19th century, but the early decades of the twentieth century passed with few changes, and Big Sur remained a nearly inaccessible wilderness.
In 1886, Bixby partnered with William W. Post and they improved and realigned what became known as the Old Coast Road south to Post's ranch near Sycamore Canyon. At Bixby Creek Canyon, the road was necessarily built inland to circumvent the deep canyon. The road from Bixby Canyon climbed steep Cerro Hill and crossed the Little Sur River where its two forks diverted. The road entered the Cooper Ranch (formerly Rancho El Sur) and continued south about south to the Pfeiffer Ranch. In 1920, the trip from Carmel in a light spring wagon pulled by two horses could be completed in about 11 hours. A lumber wagon pulled by four horses could make the trip in 13 hours.Wall, Rosalind Sharpe. A Wild Coast and Lonely: Big Sur Pioneers 1989, Wide World Publishing; San Carlos, California; pages 126–130 Bixby obtained a patent on April 10, 1889, for south of Mill Creek.
In 1891, visitor C. A. Canfield wrote about how a trip on the mail wagon from Monterey to Posts took most of a day, where he remained the night. The next day he rode horseback over the South Coast Road with Thomas B. Slate. They reached Slates Hot Springs at about 5pm.Canfield, C.A.Old Coast Country Monterey Cypress December 5, 1891. page 5 The single-lane road was closed in winter when it became impassable. Due to the steep and narrow road, even during the summer Coast residents would receive supplies via boat from Monterey or San Francisco. Due to the limited access, settlement was primarily concentrated near the Big Sur River and present-day Lucia, and individual settlements along a stretch of coast between the two. The northern and southern regions of the coast were isolated from one another.
In 1900, the country improved the road south to the forks of the Little Sur River. Charles Howland, who drove the mail stage between Monterey and Big Sur, built the Idlewild Hotel in about 1900 on the Old Coast Road where it crossed the Little Sur River. The Pfeiffer family's hospitality was enjoyed by friends and strangers alike for years. They finally began charging guests in 1910, naming it Pfeiffer's Ranch Resort. It and the Idlewild Hotel were the earliest places to stay.
In 1909, an advertisement for the Idlewild Hotel on the Little Sur River stated that the camp would be accessible by auto as soon as the "Cerro Grade", the stretch of road from the coast to the Little Sur River near Cerro Hill, was completed. In 1910, the Monterey Daily Cypress reported that Mr. and Mrs. A.E. Cooper "motored down to Mrs. Martha M. Cooper ranch at Sur, leaving Monterey at 12 midnight and arriving there at 2 a.m."Enjoyed Motor Party to Cooper Ranch at Sur Monterey Daily Express. Monterey, California. November 29, 1910. page 1. But the road was still very rough, and most goods including cheese produced on the Cooper Ranch was still shipped by boat to Monterey.Cheese Made Down the Coast Monterey Daily Express. Monterey, California. June 7, 1911. page 1. The Idlewild competed with the Pfeiffer Resort for guests through about 1920, when the Idlewild was forced out of business by Martha Cooper, who acquired the land. In 1904, residents extended the unpaved road from the Pfeiffer Resort to the Post Ranch, and then it was extended another south to Castro Canyon, near the present-day location of Deetjen's Big Sur Inn.
As late as the 1920s, only two homes in the entire region had electricity, locally generated by water wheels and windmills. Most of the population lived without power until connections to the California electric grid were established in the early 1950s. The region has always been relatively difficult to access and only the sturdiest and most self-sufficient settlers stayed.
In July 1937, the California Highways and Public Works department described the journey, "There was a narrow, winding, steep road from Carmel south ... approximately 35 miles to the Big Sur River. From that point south to San Simeon, it could only be traveled by horseback or on foot." The southern portion, which was for many years merely a foot and horse trail, became known as the "Coast Ridge Road". It used to begin near the Old Post Ranch. It is currently only accessible on foot from near the Ventana Inn. It passes through private land and connects with the Nacimiento-Fergusson Road. It follows the crest of the coastal ridge south about to within a couple of miles of Cone Peak. Both the Old Coast Road and the Coast Ridge Road are often unusable during and after winter storms.
The southern region of Monterey County coast was isolated from the few settlements in the north by the steep terrain. The southern homesteaders were more closely tied to the people in the interior San Antonio Valley including the Jolon and Lockwood areas than to coastal communities to the north. Those who lived in the vicinity of the Big Sur River were connected with Monterey to the north.
A horse trail connected Jolon through present-day Fort Hunter Liggett to Wagon Caves, and from there over the Santa Lucia range, from which two trails split to the coast or to the Los Burros Mining District.
The horse trail across the mountains was widened and improved into a road beginning in 1931, and completed in 1937. The road was constructed by crews composed of men from the Civilian Conservation Corp, U.S. Forest Service, and state and county relief agencies.Blakley, E.R. “Jim” and Karen Barnette Historical Overview of the Los Padres National Forest July 1985
Highway proposed
On April 21, 1894, Dr. John L. D. Roberts, a physician and land speculator who had founded Seaside, California and resided on the Monterey Peninsula, was summoned to assist treating survivors of the wreck of the S.S. Los Angeles (originally USRC Wayanda), which had run aground near the Point Sur Light Station about south of Carmel-by-the-Sea. The ride on his two-wheeled, horse-drawn cart took him hours, a very fast trip for the day.
In 1897, he walked the entire stretch of rocky coast from Monterey to San Luis Obispo in five days and mapped out a course of the future road. He photographed the land and became the first surveyor of the route. He became convinced of the need for a road along the coast to San Simeon, which he believed could be built for $50,000 (). In 1915, he presented the results of his survey and photographic work to a joint session of the California legislature. Roberts initially promoted the coastal highway to allow access to a region of spectacular beauty, but failed to obtain funding.
Funding
California was booming during the 1920s, driven by rapidly expanding aviation, oil, and agricultural business. The number of state residents doubled between 1910 and 1930. This stimulated the rapid expansion of the state's road network. State Senator Elmer S. Rigdon from Cambria, at the southern end of the Big Sur region, embraced the necessity of building the road. He was a member of the California Senate Committee on Roads and Highways and promoted the military necessity of defending California's coast which persuaded the legislature to approve the project. In 1919, the legislature approved building Route 56, or the Carmel – San Simeon Highway, to connect Big Sur to the rest of California. A $1.5 million bond issue was approved by voters, but construction was delayed by World War I. Federal funds were appropriated and in 1921 voters approved additional state funds. Additional funds were made available from the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933. California received $15 million for state highway work.
Construction