In 1965 Bob Dylan wrote a song and album titled Highway 61 Revisited. Some say it reflects the blues, migration, and the American experience, and about the (imagined) place ("down on Highway 61") where these things happen or are conceived.
Arguably, and perhaps similarly, California’s most iconic, scenic, and famed travel route for visitors and residents is Highway 1, or State Route (SR) 1. It, too, deserves revisiting.
Recognized worldwide, our Highway 1 is well beyond being just a road. The route is a bucket-list passageway offering unparalleled scenery, fantasy sunsets, coastal and inland slices of all that California has to offer, and where dreams can be fulfilled as it conveys people all along the state.
Since Highway 1 opened, in 1937, driving the route—past vistas of the Santa Lucia mountains flanked by redwood groves and moody views of the Pacific—has become a rite of passage for state newcomers as I was 40+ years ago, and for visitors from around the world. It has been mythologized by Jack Kerouac, Richard Brautigan, and the photographer Ansel Adams, and in pop songs by a wide range of singers. The Big Sur landscape on Highway 1 has a storied place in the national imagination, (California State Route 1 - Wikipedia), creating a distinct sense of place there or wherever one is on the byway.
At 656 miles (1,056 km), SR 1 is California’s longest state route, and the second-longest in the US after Montana Highway 200. Its official southern terminus is Interstate 5 (I-5) near Dana Point (although its picks up again along coastal Oceanside), and its northern terminus is U.S. Route 101 (US 101) in Mendocino County. Segments of the route range from urban freeway to simple rural two-lane road, designated as Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), Cabrillo Highway, Shoreline Highway, or Coast Highway. Whatever the name, everyone wants to experience a drive on Highway 1.
Its route connects coastal cities and communities, and provides access to beaches, parks, communities and attractions. As such, Highway 1 helps attract several billion dollars of economic activity to the state's tourism industry annually.[20]
Due to route’s topography, cutting through beach bluffs, mountain passes and along low-lying coastal areas, Highway 1 has endured numerous closures over many years, due to rock slides, pavement damage, mud slides, and disruption from nearby wildfires.
Between 2016 and 2023, Caltrans spent three hundred and fifteen million dollars in unplanned emergency work in the area. www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-precarious-future-of-big-surs-highway-1
In 2017, a road closure in Big Sur cost businesses from Los Angeles to San Francisco almost half a billion dollars. In 2022 - 2024, the route closed for repairs, then reopened and closed again, and is still closed in the Big Sur area, cutting off a major throughway between San Francisco and the Monterey peninsula.
Also in 2017, sections located in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties closed in December and January due to the Thomas fire, and again that March from fire-related mud-slide blockage and damage. Visit Santa Barbara, the region’s visitor bureau reported that every week Highway 101 was closed, Santa Barbara County sustained estimated losses of $6.6 million of visitor spending, or $949,000
And in January 2025, coastal adjacent Pacific Palisades and Malibu received worldwide media coverage when one of California’s most destructive wildfires erupted, destroying thousands of residential and commercial structures, many located along PCH. The road was closed immediately from Santa Monica though Malibu, and over a month later remains closed to through traffic.
The long-term effects of any of these closures on local tourism and related media coverage are significant and varied, affecting visitors, residents and businesses, and include:
Decreased Visitor Numbers
Economic Loss for Local Businesses
Shift in Tourist Demographics
Increased Reliance on Alternative Routes
Potential Tourism Recovery Initiatives
Environmental Impact
Some specific consequences of Highway 1 closure on local tourism in the Big Sur area, as well as anywhere the road is closed, include: (https://travelpander.com/big-sur-route-1-closure/ Big Sur Route 1 Closure: Impact on Travel Plans and Latest Road Conditions, January 24, 2025 by Hassan).
Decreased Visitor Volume: Many travelers frequently use this scenic coastal route, and its absence reduces overall foot traffic. According to tourism statistics from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, annual visitors can decrease by more than 30% during extended closures, significantly impacting local revenue.
Economic Loss for Local Businesses: Local businesses, including hotels, restaurants, and shops, may experience a drop in income. A study by the Economic Policy Institute (2018) found that a decline of 50% in tourist visits can result in losses exceeding $10 million annually for small businesses in tourist-heavy areas. This loss can lead to layoffs and permanent closures.
Shift in Tourist Demographics: With Route 1 closed, visitors seeking alternative routes may not fit the typical tourist profile. Those using less scenic routes may prioritize practicality over leisure. A post-closure survey by Visit California indicated that family-oriented travelers favored other destinations, impacting the local economy.
Potential Tourism Recovery Initiatives: Local governments might implement initiatives to revitalize tourism once the route reopens. Recovery efforts may/should include marketing campaigns and infrastructure improvements. Studies by the University of California highlight the importance of strategic investment in tourism to facilitate recovery and encourage return visits post-closure.
At this point in the Los Angeles coastal area fire recovery, communities directly along the route such as Santa Monica, which experienced no fire damage, through Malibu, are experiencing markedly decreased visitation and economic revenue, while other farther away also may be impacted as visitors will seek alternative routes away from closure areas.
Marketing efforts have been launched by the state and local marketing offices to drive area visitation, but until the Highway 1 fully reopens, the long-term impacts have yet to be determined.
Whether called Highway 1, Pacific Coast Highway, SR1, Cabrillo Highway or another name, it means the same thing – a route that attracts visitors from around the world, who generate significant economic activity, and especially, as a place for an iconic distinctive journey, in our imaginations, and so much more from what we feel and experience along the way.
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