17 MILE DRIVE GATE FULL

It's 65 miles between Big Sur and Hearst Castle, but likely to take longer than you expect. How long to spend there: 3 hours to a day

17 MILE DRIVE GATE FULL

Depending on when you arrive, the 45-minute-long film 'Building the Dream' gives an overview of the historic home and takes less time than a full tour. Hearst Castle is a good place to visit the restroom and get something to eat, even if you don't take the tour. Hearst Castle tour reservations are available up to 120 days in advance. You can avoid this by reserving your tour online. If you arrive mid-morning without reservations, you may be disappointed to find that all the tours are sold out until late afternoon or even the next day. It's on the hilltop above the highway, too far away to see much unless you take a tour.ĭuring busy times, tours sell out fast. The 165-room, Moorish-style 'castle' sits amidst 127 acres of gardens, terraces, pools, and walkways, furnished with Spanish and Italian antiques and art, flanked by three large guesthouses.

William Randolph Hearst's monumental home at San Simeon is one of California's most popular tourist destinations. Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument San Simeon: Its name is most closely associated with Hearst Castle, but it offers little except some places to sleep.They are the descendants of animals brought to California for William Randolph Hearst's personal zoo near call box number 1-538 just south of San Simeon, but it's easy to know they're around because of the cars parked beside the road and people out photographing them. If you're lucky, you may see one of the oddest sights to be experienced in this part of California-a herd of zebras grazing alongside the highway.You'll find another short but scenic side drive north of town, along Moonstone Beach Drive. Cambria: Pronounced cam-BREE-uh, it is the most sophisticated of the area towns, with lots of art galleries, bed and breakfast inns and lodging strung along a pretty coastal road, good for an overnight stop or a day's visit.You'll find a winery there and a small pottery shop, but not much else. Harmony: This tiny place got a lot of press coverage a few years ago, so you may have heard about it.Exit at Ocean Avenue, the town's main street which intersects the highway on both its north and south ends. Even if you don't stop, it's worth a driving detour. Cayucos: One of California's cutest little beach towns, a bit old-fashioned, with a nice pier and beach.

Morro Bay: A side trip into this laid-back town with a nice, protected harbor, especially popular with families could last a few hours or overnight.It's the last of the Seven Sisters, a chain of worn-down, ancient volcanoes that lie between Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo. Morro Rock: You can't miss the big rock that gives the town of Morro Bay its name.Sea otters find food in the kelp and wrap themselves in the fronds when they sleep. Individual kelp fronds grow more than 100 feet (31 meters) long and as fast as 2 feet (0.75 meters) in a single day.

The dark-colored patches in the water are the canopy of an underwater kelp forest. North of Morro Bay, the highway runs close to water.

About 10 miles from where you left US Hwy 101, the road meets the coast near Morro Bay.

Going north, you'll pass the entrance to California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) and soon drive out of town. US Highway 101 and California Highway 1 diverge in San Luis Obispo. Carol Polich Photo Workshops / Getty Images

17 mile drive gate