Who doesn’t love a road trip? The road stretching before you, the sun glinting off the windshield, and the knowledge that you can stop whenever and wherever you want. Total freedom.
I think one of the epic stretches of road to drive is the Pacific Coast Highway, California Route 1, between Morro Bay and Carmel. It is drop dead gorgeous. The road follows the curves of the coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean and is carved into the rocky hillside as it twists and winds around the mountains. There is only cliff above you and water below.
Laura and I left Morro Bay on a warm sunny morning to drive this route.
Our first real stop of the day was at Limekiln State Park. It’s a tiny, little known park that doesn’t draw the crowds because instead of views of the ocean it takes you into a hillside canyon where towering redwoods surround you.
As we entered the woods our eyes had to adjust to the dimness, only bits of sun filtered down through the tall trees. We zipped up our jackets to protect from the cool air as we followed the creek bed, twisting left and right until we reached the park’s namesake, several old lime kilns from the late 1800′s. Now instead of fires smoldering beneath them and smoke exiting their tops, there are ferns and trees slowly taking back the space.
The trail follows the creek bed.
The woods working to reclaim the lime kiln.
We back tracked and headed off down a side trail to see the waterfall that feeds the creek. Although California is in a serve drought and we’ve seen evidence of it everywhere, the brown hills and dry and dusty dirt, but not here. The creek was swollen.
As we headed for the falls we had to cross over a plank bridge. No big deal. Then another crossing, this time balancing on a large log. Still not too bad. But the last two crossings were on smaller logs that the creek had pushed together. The water flowed across the tops of these temporary bridges. It was not stable. I made Laura go first and wait for me half way across in case I needed help. Ok, maybe I took her hand to steady me. I didn’t want wet feet!
The first and easy river crossing across the plank bridge.
The falls made the balancing act worth it. The water came spilling over in a split, double cascade, crashing down on the rocks below. By now the cold of the woods had taken hold and our noses were running as we headed back to the car.
After four river crossings we made it to the waterfall.
When we exited the lush oasis, the dry heat of the sun felt warm on our faces as we continued driving north looking for a good pull out for lunch. And we found the perfect one. We sat on a large boulder 100 feet above the ocean, looking up and down the coast.
As soon as we got settled and started breaking out our picnic lunch Laura let out an excited yelp. There were whales blowing offshore. Sure enough as I scanned the water I saw water spraying into the air. Then a rise of the whale’s backside and a flip of it’s tail as it disappeared under water again. We lingered over lunch and watched the constant stream of whales swimming by.
Back in the car we made our way to the famous McWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. It was a madhouse. There were cars lining both sides of the road, both before and after the trailhead for a good quarter mile. It was the Christmas holiday weekend, and that coupled with the great weather made this place look like Disneyland. But it’s an iconic landmark on this stretch of coast and so an obligatory stop.
McWay Falls crashing down onto the beach.
We stopped again at Bixby Bridge, another famous landmark on this section of coast. Honestly I’m not sure why it’s so revered, because I think the Big Creek Bridge, with it’s double arches, is the more impressive bridge in the area.
Bixby Bridge.
Big Creek Bridge and the PCH carved into the hillside.
By now we were running short on time since we had made so many leisurely stops during the day. We really wanted to make it to Point Lobos State Reserve with daylight to spare because we have such fond memories of this park. But disappointingly by the time we arrived we only had 45 minutes before sunset.
We walked out to the water and enjoyed the sunset as the rocky shore glowed red in the low light. Little did we know that the best was still to come. All of a sudden Laura shouted, “shark”. Actually it wasn’t a shark, but dolphins. We saw a few swimming and jumping just offshore. And just when we thought they were gone came the final treat, a pod of 20 dolphins slowly worked their way left and then right, left and then right again. They were slowly circling a school of fish. They kept jumping as a pod. It was a beautiful end to an amazing day.
Point Lobos at sunset, just before we spotted the dolphins.
We finished our road trip in Carmel nine hours after pulling out of Morro Bay, not the three that Google Maps quoted. This stretch of coastline is one of the most amazing and scenic drives. Add it to your list of must sees!
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