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Roads Home > California Motorcycle
Roads |
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| Title:
Pacific Coast Cruise; Hwy 1 |
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State:
California
Submitted
By: Tom Jacobs
Date Submitted: 2000 BMW K1200 LTc
Motorcycle Type: Jan 99
Motorcycle Road Length: 110 Miles
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Motorcycle
Road Scenery: 
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world-class scenic route takes you along the famed California
Route One starting (or ending) in Monterey California and
ending (or starting) in Morro Bay. The route is only one
of nine routes to be selected by the US Department of Transportation
as an "All American Road." The
route is part of a stretch of Route One that was voted to
be one of the "10 Best Drives" by the members of USAA insurance
in 99 and made the list of 120 road trips highlighted in the
Reader's Digest book "The Most Scenic Drives In America". Along
this route you will see coastal scenery that will leave you
breathless. Opposite the ocean, inland scenery is as inspiring
with its display of rolling hills, rock outcroppings, picturesque
waterfalls, redwood forests, flowered meadows, lush valleys,
and majestic coastal mountains. Along the route you will
see a number of light houses, 18th century Spanish missions,
and a variety of animal life including sea lions, sea otters,
sharks, bat rays, gray whales, brown pelicans, and peregrine
falcons as well as monarch butterfly winter sanctuaries.
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Motorcycle
Road Quality: 
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Overall
the road quality is very good and the number of turns, climbs
and descents alone should give it a five star rating. However,
its overwhelming beauty and popular attractions also lead
it to be a sometimes constricted route and at times leading
to traffic bottlenecks in some of the towns along the way.
However it still is one of the best roads in America and
therefore deserves its four star rating.
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Motorcycle
Roadside Amenities:
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You
can plan a weeks vacation along this route in terms of the
number and quality of amenities available. There are
seven state parks along the way, a state reserve, a botanical
area and many historical areas of interest. At anyone
of these state parks you will find many opportunities for
hiking and beach exploring. Monterey California offers
a walking tour as well the Cannery Row district with its
restaurants, museums,
and aquarium. Pacific Grove is known as Butterfly
USA due to its choice as a winter home to a vast number
of monarch butterflies coming in from as far as Canada.
Carmel-by-the-Sea
offers shops, cottages, galleries,
restaurants,
and a preserved 18th century Spanish mission. You
will also cross the much photographed Bixby Bridge (you've
probably seen this bridge in a few movies, postcards or
TV commercials). It arches 256 feet above the meeting
of the Bixby Creek and Pacific ocean. Tours of the
lighthouse
in
Point Sur State Historic Park are offered on most weekends.
Pfeiffer
Big Sur State Park offers outstanding hiking trails
leading to many waterfalls and trout filled streams.
Don't miss one of California's most visited tourist site
- Hearst's paradise. This
mansion/castle (1-800-444-4445) was built for publisher
William
Randolph Hearst at the beginning of the 20th century;
taking nearly 30 years to be completed.
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The
directions to this route are pretty straight forward since
it stays on one road, highway 1, the whole time. My description
of the "Roadside Amenities" above, describe the route from
north to south. Start
the route in Monterey California and simply follow highway
1 south through Big Sur and down to the route's conclusion
in San Simeon California (where you'll find the Hearst Castle).
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Additional
Information:
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