Highway One: The Ultimate Road Trip

Big Sur - one of the many popular destinations along Highway One

Highway One rolls along the Californian coast all the way from San Diego through to the northern border with Oregon. It is regarded as one of the 'All American' roads, and covers some of the most stunningly beautiful coastlines of the world.

From white sandy beaches, to rugged cliff tops, almost every man and his dog coming to Cali hits this road at some point in time. Some sections are more well known than others, and some are more overrated than others, but I would say it is worth setting foot, or should I say tire, on if you have the time.

The route from San Diego to LA is one of the more worthwhile sections. Leaving San Diego we stopped off at no less than 6 beaches, and swum at 3. With the pick of the lot being Blacks Beach just north of San Diego, albeit a nudist beach, the steep goat path down the cliff ensures the beach remains relatively quiet and for us, nudist free. There is usually a decent swell rolling through Blacks which makes the walk down worthwhile.

Blacks Beach

The next best would be San Clemente. Again with some swell on offer, it would be a shame not to dip your feet. The seaside town of San Clemente also seems like a pretty sweet place to spend a week or so with a bunch of mates.

San Clemente - good spot for a picnic

A little further north of here is San Juan Capistrano – not on many peoples wish lists but is home to some good friends of ours who took us in for 4^th of July weekend. We met Jason and Sabra back in Chile early last year and to be able to spend the best American holiday with them was awesome.

It actually made me think of home for once. The weekend was just like Aussie Day back home – spent amongst good friends, plenty of good food and cold beverages, just minus the tunes of Triple J – but we made up for that. It was one of the most chilled weekends we have had in a while, just relaxing at their place, riding around town, soaking in some rays down the beach, a hit down at the driving range with a few cold ones (fair to say I still don't have it and probably never will), and a well needed pedicure (don't knock it 'til you've tried it… no we let the girls indulge in this one) and a backyard kubb tournament to end all backyard kubb tournaments. And of course what 4^th of July wouldn't be complete without an 'All American' hot dog, a ferris wheel ride and some fireworks!

4th of July San Juan Fair

Thanks for having us for the weekend guys, we couldn't have asked for a better time!

The trip through to LA wouldn't be complete with out the obligatory stops at Laguna, Newport, Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan Beach – if you are looking for a spot of swimming I would recommend Manhattan over the others.

Heading north of LA, the drive through the Malibu coast is one of the 'Hollywood' sections of LA that really does live up to it's reputation. The houses are insane, the water's turquoise blue, and the cars on the road made Rodge look like the poor cousin he is!

Newport, Hermosa & Laguna Beach

Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz are all major tourist stops, and I would recommend a quick stop at each, but look for a place a little off the beaten path and save yourself some coin. We chose Ventura for this and filled one of the days with a trip out to Magic Mountain – touted as one of the best theme parks in America.

Santa Barbara & Ventura - home of Spencer McKenzie's

And it didn't disappoint. Luckily for Nic we had roped Bec into joining us for part of the road trip and she was with us for Magic Mountain. For once Nic had someone who could keep up with her on the roller coasters. Apparently I am only good for two rides in a row, then someone needs a little rest.

Magic Mountain is like no other theme park I have been too. It's definitely not for the faint-hearted; pretty much every roller coaster there would be the top dog at any other theme park. The pick of the bunch would have been Twisted Colossus – at nearly 4 minutes long you feel like you get two rides in the one, plus unlike most rides these days that strap your shoulders, the Twisted Colossus only straps you in from the waist down, giving you far more room to move around – just what you want right? Yours truly needed a sit down after this.

Magic Mountain is also home to a lot of innovative and unique roller coasters. The Tatsu is billed as the longest and fastest 'flying' coaster in the world. And given I have never been on a 'flying' coaster before I wold have to agree. You are placed in a position much like you would be if you were flying a broom which makes the ride like no other I have been on.

The Riddler's Revenge has you in the standing position for the length of the ride – just make sure you adjust the padding in the crutch area prior to take off as it can become a little uncomfortable if your family jewels are under immense pressure for the majority of the ride.

Six Flags - Magic Mountain

And finally there is X2 – yet another one like no other. Picture your standard 'top thrill' roller coaster, except the structure you are strapped to somersaults independently of the rest of the ride. Fair chance you'll end up a little dizzy after this one.

But still I would say the 'drop tower' rides give you the biggest adrenaline rush – there is just something about free falling that no other ride can replicate. And Bec if you are reading this, the Lex Luther: Drop of Doom is actually taller than the Giant Drop at Dreamworld, so I guess that means someone owes me a photo of a certain someone eating something extremely chili! Haha.

Next up along the coast is Big Sur – a place everyone recommends but no one really tells you much about it. And although it's spectacular, I would say it's a little overrated. Some of the scenery is breath taking but apart from driving along the coast there really isn't much else to it. Having said that it is still definitely worth driving through, I just wouldn't dedicate too much time to it.

McWay Falls

We stayed one night and I would say any longer and you'd find yourself getting rather bored. However that doesn't stop what seems like half the population of Cali doing that exact thing. Every campsite was booked out for the foreseeable future and the road jam packed with rented RVs, convertibles and bikes that you don't get far in a rush.

Given all the actual campsites were full we were wondering where we would be able to pull up for the night. Given there are signs every hundred meters informing you you can't just camp on the side of the road we were lucky enough to have a friendly ranger give us some handy directions to some 'free' spots just off the main highway.

The breath-taking scenery of Big Sur

The Bixby Creek Bridge and McWay Falls are incredible sights and are without a doubt the highlights of the drive, but the entire coastline is postcard worthy. I said earlier that it's a little overrated, and I stress the word 'little' in that sentence. Big Sur is a must for anyone heading along the Cali coast, just don't get carried away with all the hype. For us, after looking at the same thing for hours on end, albeit some incredible scenery, it all just seems to blend in after a number of hours.

Bixby Creek Bridge

San Francisco is next up along the coast but I will go into more detail on that one at a later date, likewise for Yosemite as that's the usual spot everyone ends up after San Fran.

San Fran would also often be the furtherest north most people head on their Californian road trip, and I reckon most people have the right of it.

We were continuing north to Oregon so thought we would check out the Lost Coast – I wish we hadn't bothered. Much like the rest of the Cali coast it has its moments but turning a 4 hour drive into an 8 hour ordeal wasn't quite what we had in mind. If you have the time to take a few days heading north, then by all means go for it. But if looking at tarmac for hours on end isn't your thing, I would recommend taking the shortest route possible up to the Redwoods.

Duncans Landing on the Lost Coast

The Redwoods are much like any other 'big tree' forest. But again if you're in the area stop in for a the morning and check out some of the biggest trees you'll ever see. But then again, when you've seen one they all look alike after that.

Highway One is one of the best drives we have been on. It doesn't take you on the most efficient of routes, but if you have nowhere to be in a hurry, and you really shouldn't when on holiday in Cali, take in part or all of it. You'll be treated to some of the best coastal scenery you'll get world wide, plus some half decent breaks along the way. Much of it is the same, so whether you take in a little or a lot, you'll enjoy yourself nonetheless.

Big Sur sunset and Santa Cruz