Route 1 Photo Album

Santa Barbara County - From Route 101 near Las Cruces to the city of Lompoc.

This route meanders through the coastal portion of the Santa Ynez Mountains. As the route nears the city of Lompoc, it enters a valley which is famous for its fields of flowers raised for commercial seed purposes. The colors are most spectacular between the months of May and September.


99-09354-7.gif - 25KB 99-09354-68.gif - 24KB 99-09354-71.gif - 29KB
99-09354-72.gif - 29KB 99-09354-79.gif - 26KB 99-09354-89.gif - 27KB
99-09354-93.gif - 13KB 99-09354-96.gif - 12KB



Monterey County - From San Luis Obispo County line north to State Route 68.

Between the San Luis Obispo County line and the Carmel River, Route 1 traverses the rugged Monterey County coastline, world renowned for its spectacular beauty. The scenery ranges from various types of ocean shores, redwood forests, chaparral covered mountains, waterfalls, and the sand dunes, to vignettes of extreme and characteristic examples of local architecture.

Starting at the Carmel River about at Point Lobos, the motorist heads north through pine and cypress, into the sunshine overlooking Carmel Bay. Farther on is the picturesque cove at the mouth of San Jose Creek, with its steep descent to the beach, from which a view across Carmel Bay affords sight of Cypress Point and the peninsula famous for its 17-mile Drive.

Looking backward and to the right from this point are the Santa Lucia Mountains covered with tall pine and Monterey Cypress. Then, crossing San Jose Creek Bridge, is a descent into Carmel Valley, with artichoke fields covering the bottom land. The higher elevations at this point show rolling green hills of pasture, with tall, dark green pine along the skyline.

Climbing out of Carmel, the motorist continues through planned residential area, developing into dense wooded areas, with portals affording views of high mountains to the east. Approaching the summit, the road becomes only a channel, completely screened by trees.

Once over the summit, Route 1 becomes a four-lane divided freeway and an open view to the west presents a magnificent stand of cypress which stretches out toward the ocean, toward Pacific Grove. In the distance are Monterey Bay, the cities of Monterey and Seaside, and Fort Ord.

Proceeding northward and down grade, one enters Monterey, and upon reaching the junction of Routes 1 and 68, motorists may proceed east onto Route 68 which is an Officially Designated Scenic Highway.


92-04710-17.gif - 26KB C-10128-1.gif - 21KB 00-10207-17.gif - 22KB
00-10207-09.gif - 24KB 00-10207-100.gif - 28KB 00-10207-106.gif - 25KB
00-10207-61.gif - 23KB 00-10207-69.gif - 29KB 00-10207-91.gif - 23KB



San Luis Obispo County - From San Luis Obispo city limit to the Monterey County line.

Unfortunately there are no photos available for San Luis Obispo County at this time.
Please stop by in the near future to check for updates.


San Mateo County - From the Santa Cruz County line to the city of Half Moon Bay.

Clinging to the seaward edge of San Mateo County, the highway dips and twists across a rugged coastal terrain of wind swept bluffs, rocky ridges and deep coves. Each turn in the road reveals new and exciting vistas and points of interest. One such is Ano Nuevo Reserve, about a mile north of the Santa Cruz County line. From December through March, thousands of sea lions, harbor seals and elephant seals can be seen playing in the surf between the sand beach and offshore islands.


1231c-66.gif - 19KB 1250c-14 (22).gif - 24KB 4139c1-17a.gif - 21KB
4142c2-10.gif - 27KB 3521C3-20.gif - 27KB


Any questions, comments, or suggestions should be emailed to Dennis Cadd at
dennis_cadd@dot.ca.gov