Saturday, January 17, 2026

California's Pacific Coast Highway Fully Reopens

A stretch of California's Pacific Coast Highway, the world-famous route that winds through steep, rugged and breathtaking terrain along the ocean, has reopened after a yearslong closure that hampered tourism and cast doubt on its future.

Posted by retort at 12:53 PM | 9 COMMENTS | permalink

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"This vital corridor is the gateway to California's coast and the lifeblood of the Big Sur economy," he added, "and today it's restored."

Comments

Enjoy it while you can. Cambria and Ragged Point on the south end

#1 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-01-17 02:44 PM

Sadly, the Pacific is going to keep eating the Cali coastline. Rising ocean levels are just accelerating the process.

#2 | Posted by morris at 2026-01-18 02:04 PM

#2 "the Pacific is going to keep eating the Cali coastline. Rising ocean levels are just accelerating the process."

Sometime you need to check out the east coast of Florida, Mara-Lardo and south, and what the Atlantic Ocean is doing. :-)

#3 | Posted by A_Friend at 2026-01-18 02:06 PM


Rising ocean levels are just accelerating the process.
#2 | POSTED BY MORRIS

It was from a land slide not the ocean rising.


Sometime you need to check out the east coast of Florida, Mara-Lardo and south, and what the Atlantic Ocean is doing. :-)
#3 | POSTED BY A_FRIEND

Until Florida is underwater you're just lying.

#4 | Posted by oneironaut at 2026-01-18 02:17 PM

Mr. Legal...There'a ocean-front house in Cambria I've had my eye on for some time now. Of course I'd have to win the Powerball lottery to procure that one-of-a-kind, 3 bed/two story FLW-adjacent abode with it's $3.8m panoramic ocean views, but it's still listed lhe last time I checked. For those who can affod it, San Simeon, Cambria, Harmony, Cayucos and Morro Bay are truly magical places on the Central Coast, and PCH connects all of then to Big Sur, Carmel and Monterey to the North.
I confess I really miss the ocean sometimes.

#5 | Posted by dutch46 at 2026-01-18 05:49 PM

We camp almost every Spring in San Simeon, and the road North seems to have been closed for a lot longer than 3 years ... glad it's open!

#6 | Posted by chuffy at 2026-01-18 11:58 PM

I've driven on the Pacific Coast Hiughway, back in the day.

A spectacular drive, imo. The views presented made it difficult to focus upon driving.

But, also, as I drove north, I noticed the cliffs on the right-hand side of the road. And I said to myself that they do not look stable.

So, was the closure a surprise to me when I read about it?

No.

It was more expected than a surprise.



#7 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-01-19 12:22 AM

@#3 ... Sometime you need to check out the east coast of Florida, Mara-Lardo and south, and what the Atlantic Ocean is doing. ...

Yeah, given the rising sea levels and most of Florida's low rise above sea-level, there may be a problem.

When I look at the topological maps, one thing I notice is that one has to look miles, many miles, inland before you even get 20 feet above sea level high tide.

So, yeah ,the coastal areas of Florida are threatened.

For example ...

Sea Level Rise and Flooding
www.miamidade.gov

... Resilience is the ability to cope with adverse shocks and stresses, and to adapt and learn to live with changes and uncertainty. Climate change and sea level rise are long term stresses that will amplify other issues in our county from intensifying storm events and hurricanes to impacting human health and social vulnerability.

With its ongoing Sea Level Rise Strategy project, Miami-Dade County is identifying and developing financially-feasible mitigation and adaptation strategies to prepare for sea level rise and coastal storms. This includes analyzing multiple "adaptation pathways" and quantifying the economic cost of inaction. ...



#8 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-01-19 12:30 AM

" When I look at the topological maps, one thing I notice is that one has to look miles, many miles, inland before you even get 20 feet above sea level high tide."

About 25 years ago, the bride and I were traveling through South Carolina in the Low Country, when one of the travel books directed us to go to Botany Bay on Edisto Island. It was across a marsh at the end of a former plantation, all of which had been donated to the state, on the condition SC allow public access.

The first time we went, high tide was about 50 yards from the entrance arch. Every visit since, high tide got closer and closer. Last time, it was about 50 feet.

I'm going again in four months; I expect the entrance to be pulled back by now.

#9 | Posted by Danforth at 2026-01-19 12:51 AM

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