On a 75-mile stretch of highway in California, traffic is increasing, despite rising gas prices. And locals are expecting the busiest summer in years.
Highway 1 in Big Sur, reopened in January after three years of repairs and reconstruction following two landslides. Drivers can also embark on the state’s most popular road trip, which spans 100 miles between Cambria in the south and Carmel in the north without leaving the two-lane coastal highway. And they came out in great numbers.
Caltrans estimates that as of May, Big Sur restaurant visitor numbers are up 40% from last year, and that northbound traffic at Ragged Point, the southern gateway to Big Sur, is up 900% year over year.
People pose for pictures near the Bixby Bridge. The Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted to evaluate a 12-month ban on parking near the bridge.
Safety barriers restrict parking along Coast Road near the Bixby Bridge.
“Take your time,” said Kirk Gafill, co-owner of the popular Nepenthe restaurant and president of the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce, offering advice to travelers. “You’re going to share the road with a lot of people.”
As travelers rediscover the road, the cost of driving has been on the rise. California’s average gas price ($6.11 per gallon as of May 26) is up 26% from a year ago. In early April, prices are as low as $9.99 at a single gas station in the Big Sur community of Gorda.
For spring and summer travelers, these numbers can seem to pose a difficult question: Stay home and save money, or head to the beach because the road is open and it’s still cheaper than flying?
So far, the last answer is winning the most.
Fog settles in along Highway 1.
“We’re definitely seeing a big uptick in our bookings,” said Megan Handy, assistant general manager at Treebones Resort. He estimated that bookings are 30% or more ahead of last year, and rates have not changed since then. But “it still doesn’t feel too crowded, which is good. Everything still feels calm.”
But the increased traffic has raised some concerns. On May 19, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted to consider a 12-month parking ban at the Bixby Bridge, one of the county’s most iconic landmarks.
Over the years, the number of cars parked near the bridge – often illegally, sometimes blocking emergency vehicles – has increased. The proposed parking freeze won’t go into effect until management discusses it further.
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As things are busy, several business owners have revealed that many international travelers have not returned – maybe because most make their plans in more than six months, maybe because of world politics, maybe a little bit of each.
The biggest challenge for businesses during this resurgence? “Recruitment and retention,” said Handy at Treetops.
In Nepenthe, Gafill said his business has seen a 45% increase in the number of visitors since the road was reopened. Gafill said he would have expected a 35% car recovery, “just because of the reopening of the highway.” The extra 10%, he said, could be “all that pent-up demand,” helped by a “very good and very dry winter,” followed by a mild spring.
The lunch crowd dines at the popular Nepenthe restaurant.
Another possibility: No one can be sure how long the road will remain open.
To deal with the influx, Gafill said, “everyone is trying to hire and retain existing employees.”
At the Ragged Point Inn, where rates dropped to $149 last night, rates are back above $200 and staff are suggesting customers make reservations at least six months out. The inn has reopened its snack bar for the first time since early 2023, and management is investing in improvements and live music on weekends throughout the summer.
Business is “up over 100%,” said Diane Ramey, whose family owns the inn. “I don’t know that not all of our neighbors are getting the same energy, but everyone is doing better.”
Traffic approaching the Bixby Bridge.
A guest is standing in a giant chair at the Big Sur River Inn.
Even at the New Camaldoli Hermitage, a Benedictine monastery above Lucia, the opening of the road and the upcoming summer season have made a difference. Reservations have increased by approximately 30% at the hermitage, which rents out rooms and cottages (for two nights or more) to guests who agree to its requirement of silence.
Big Sur business owners advise visitors to go on weekdays for less traffic and the best hotel rates, and to hit the road early.
Since opening in 1937, the highway has been vulnerable to landslides and shifting terrain, operating in a long cycle of landslides, closures, repairs, reopenings and then another landslide, or sometimes fire. The US Geological Survey has identified the Big Sur coast as one of the most prone to landslides in the western United States. The 2023-2026 closure was the longest in the highway’s history.
Over time, road crews have used more and more advanced techniques. In recent efforts, Caltrans said, it has used drones to help assess the terrain on slopes and remote-operated tractors and excavators to reduce the risk to workers.
During the closure, no vehicles are allowed to travel a distance of 6.8 kilometers from the north of Lucia to one kilometer south of the Esalen Institute. Drivers were detoured inland on US 101.
