California State Route 1

Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Pacific Coast Highway (disambiguation), Coast Highway, California's 1st congressional district, 1 California (disambiguation), and PCH (disambiguation).
"Cabrillo Highway" redirects here. Not to be confused with the Cabrillo Freeway in San Diego.

State Route 1 marker
State Route 1
Map
SR 1 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Caltrans
Length655.845 mi[1] (1,055.480 km)
(broken into 5 pieces by U.S. Route 101)
Existed1934–present
Tourist
routes
  • Route One, Big Sur Coast Highway and Route One, San Luis Obispo North Coast Byway
  • Portions of the Cabrillo Highway in Santa Barbara and San Mateo Counties[4]
Restrictions
Special restrictions[2][3]
  • No flammable or combustible tank vehicles in the Sepulveda Tunnel
  • No trucks with 4 or more axles through Malibu
  • No trucks over 3 short tons (2.7 t) through Lompoc
  • No explosives, flammables or combustibles in the Tom Lantos Tunnels
  • No trucks exceeding 30 feet kingpin to rearmost axle distance from Carmel to San Simeon
Major junctions
South end I-5 in Dana Point
Major intersections
North end US 101 near Leggett
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountiesOrange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino
Highway system
← I-980→ SR 2

State Route 1 (SR 1) is a major north–south state highway that runs along most of the Pacific coastline of the U.S. state of California. At 656 miles (1,056 km), it is the longest state route in California, and the second-longest in the US after Montana Highway 200. SR 1 has several portions designated as either Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), Cabrillo Highway, Shoreline Highway, or Coast Highway. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 5 (I-5) near Dana Point in Orange County and its northern terminus is at U.S. Route 101 (US 101) near Leggett in Mendocino County. SR 1 also at times runs concurrently with US 101, most notably through a 54-mile (87 km) stretch in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, and across the Golden Gate Bridge.

The highway is designated as an All-American Road. In addition to providing a scenic route to numerous attractions along the coast, the route also serves as a major thoroughfare in the Greater Los Angeles Area, the San Francisco Bay Area, and several other coastal urban areas.

SR 1 was built piecemeal in various stages, with the first section opening in the Big Sur region in the 1930s. However, portions of the route had several names and numbers over the years as more segments opened. It was not until the 1964 state highway renumbering that the entire route was officially designated as SR 1. Although SR 1 is a popular route for its scenery, frequent landslides and erosion along the coast have caused several segments to be either closed for lengthy periods for repairs, or re-routed inland.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference trucklist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Special Route Restrictions". California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on September 12, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  3. ^ "Truck Networks on California State Highways" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  4. ^ California Department of Transportation (August 2019). "Officially Designated State Scenic Highways and Historic Parkways" (XLSX). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 27, 2019.