California Highway 1

California State Route 1, or Highway 1, is a State Highway that runs along a large span of California’s pacific coast.  Formed in 1934, it is famous for traversing some of the most breathtaking coastal views in the world.  It passes through the counties of Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, and Mendocino.  Highway 1 is a part of the Freeway and Expressway System as well as the Scenic Highway System, according to the California State Highway Code. 

Highway one could be considered as a “complex” highway.  There are disparities arising from its Legislative and Actual definitions.  These disparities cause the highway to have two different measurements, one at 548.9 miles and the other at 656 miles.  Certain portions are renamed by the legislatures of the cities or counties exercising jurisdiction over that portion.  In Southern California, major portions are called the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH); in various parts of Central California, it is named the Cabrillo Highway; and the northern part of San Francisco is known as the Shoreline Highway.  Portions of it are also known by different names, which include:

• Blue Star Memorial Highway – from the I-5 junction at Dana Point in Orange County to SR-101 at Leggett in Mendocino County.
• CHP Officer John Pedro Memorial Highway – from Harkins Slough Road to Pajaro River Bridge.
• Los Angeles County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway – portions in Los Angeles County.
• Louis J. Papan Highway – from the Skyline Boulevard Interchange to the southern limits of Pacifica.
• Orange County Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway – from San Juan Capistrano to Golden West Street in Huntington Beach.
• San Simeon Highway – from San Luis Obispo to Monterey.
• US Submarine Veterans of WWII Memorial Highway – from Golden West Street in Huntington Beach to Orange County boundary.
• Ventura County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway – portions in Ventura County.

The legislative basis of Highway 1 sets is official length from Route 5 south of San Juan Capistrano to Route 101 near El Rio.  It should also be noted that the legislature has authorized the relinquishment of portions of Highway 1.  In actual, the highway is divided into three parts.  First is from Route 5 south of San Juan Capistrano to the western edge of the San Juan Creek channel overcrossing in the city limits of Dana Point.  The second is from the border between the City of Dana Point and the city limits of Laguna Beach to the southern city limits of Newport Beach.  The final portion is from Jamboree Road near Newport Beach to Route 101 near El Rio.  Whatever the definition is, the clearest thing about Highway 1 is its northern and southern ends.

Highway 1 Information

The original plan of the highway has it stretching even farther up north from Rockport to Ferndale.  However, this portion was never constructed and the completed segment between Ferndale and US 101 was renamed State Route 211.  Because of the lack of Highways along the coast between Rockford and Ferndale, this area has been labeled as California’s Lost Coast.

The major junctions along Highway 1 include Interstate 10 in Santa Monica, State Route 17 in Santa Cruz, and Interstate 280 in San Francisco.