Big Sur, California

Big Sur coast with Bixby Bridge
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_Sur_June_2008.jpg
Author: Calilover


Big Sur is a scenic coastal stretch of California. Along this stretch, the Santa Lucia Mountains faces the Pacific Ocean. It is the highest mountain range immediately before the ocean in the whole contiguous United States, and this abruptness creates some stunning landscapes.

The highest peak along this stretch of coast is Cone Peak, which looms 5,155 ft (1,571 m) above sea level, just three miles from the ocean. By most definition, Big Sur covers a 90-mile (140-km) stretch of the Californian coast, from the town of Carmel in the north, to San Simeon in the south.

Big Sur vista
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_Sur_color_explosion.jpg
Author: Eric Chan


The Big Sur coastline is served by California State Route 1, otherwise known as Highway 1. The construction of this highway in 1937 brought development to the otherwise remote area. It also drew creative people in search of natural beauty and solitude, among them Henry Miller, Emile Norman and Hunter S. Thompson.

One of the highlights of a trip to California, to a first-time visitor especially, is to take a car trip through Big Sur. The pleasure of cruising down Highway 1 with the Pacific Ocean next to you is a memorable experience for many.

Big Sur coastline
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CalifCentralCoast.jpg
Author: Paul Lee

Visiting Big Sur

Highway 1 is the only main road through Big Sur.

If you are coming from Los Angeles, take US Highway 101 north and enter Highway 1 at San Luis Obispo.

From San Francisco, rather than traveling the entire stretch of Highway 1, you can use US Highway 101 south to California Highway 156, which merges with Highway 1 at Castroville.

Places of Interest in Big Sur, California

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.