Highway One, California Travel Dream
Stretching from sunny Southern California to the shady forests of the north, this coastal highway winds along some of the most spectacular ocean views in the U.S. This viewpoint is from a hill at Torrey Pines State Park looking north to Del Mar, home of the racetrack. Its a popular spot year round for hikers, swimmers, surfers and visitors from everywhere in the world. The lagoon to the right is a nature preserve where only fish and birds can enter. The larger park is open to visitors year round an is right next to the well know PGA golf course.
The highway, alternately called 101 and 1 contains countless examples of the many intrinsic qualities that make a highway a National Scenic Byway–qualities like perfect views of ocean waves breaking on rocky shorelines and cliffs, dozens of historical landmarks like Spanish Missions and Spanish settlements, and limitless opportunities to participate in every kind of outdoor recreation imaginable. A traveler would have to travel numerous other byways spread across the nation to witness all the qualities contained on just this one byway. This should be no surprise considering the highway runs through some of America’s most influential cities and most scenic landscape, including San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. This stretch which begins near La Jolla goes north through lovely beach towns including Encinitas, Carlsbad and Oceanside. Auto travelers have to get over to Intersftate five for about a ten mile strethc north then the coastal road picks up again to take you to San Onofrio, San Clemente, through Orange County past Newport and eventually up to Malibu and onward to Big Sur. Bikers can stay on the road with permission as it sometimes enters a military reservation like Camp Pendleton. Happy traveling.
