Cliff-top driving on the California coast
Big Sur is the most dramatic section of California's Highway 1, roughly 145 km of road clinging to cliffs between Carmel and San Simeon. Bixby Creek Bridge is the classic photo stop, McWay Falls pours onto a beach in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, and redwood groves fill the canyons inland. There are few towns and little mobile signal, which is part of the appeal. Drive it slowly, stop often, and continue south to Hearst Castle or north to Carmel-by-the-Sea and Monterey's aquarium.