Road trip · California, United States

Pacific Coast Highway

California's Highway 1 from San Francisco through Big Sur, Santa Barbara and Malibu to San Diego.

San Francisco Santa Cruz Monterey Big Sur San Simeon San Luis Obispo Santa Barbara Malibu Los Angeles San Diego
Distance
~782 km
Stops
10
Typical length
5–10 days
Transport
Car
Map style
Golden Hour

Distance is measured stop to stop in straight lines, so the real road or rail distance is longer.

About the route

The Pacific Coast Highway hugs California's coast for about 900 km between San Francisco and San Diego. Highlights include Santa Cruz, Monterey and Carmel, the cliffs and bridges of Big Sur, the elephant seals at San Simeon, Santa Barbara, Malibu and Los Angeles.

This template follows the coast with a car line. Golden Hour gives it a warm sunset feel; for a vertical video, set the follow camera to a heading-up view so the coast scrolls past like a real drive.

Tips for your video

  • A heading-up follow camera makes the coastline scroll like a dashcam.
  • Put a flag sign at Bixby Creek Bridge, the classic Big Sur photo stop.
  • Golden Hour or Desert Road both suit California.

Stops

  1. San Francisco37.77°N 122.42°W
  2. Santa Cruz36.97°N 122.03°W
  3. Monterey36.60°N 121.89°W
  4. Big Sur36.27°N 121.81°W
  5. San Simeon35.64°N 121.19°W
  6. San Luis Obispo35.28°N 120.66°W
  7. Santa Barbara34.42°N 119.70°W
  8. Malibu34.03°N 118.78°W
  9. Los Angeles34.05°N 118.24°W
  10. San Diego32.72°N 117.16°W

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