Bixby Creek Bridge & Old Coast Road

Everyone knew and heard of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. What about the Bixby Creek Bridge along the Big Sur coast on Hwy 1? They should! It was completed in 1932, a marvel of engineering and one of the top ten highest single span bridges in the world. This two-lane, 714 foot long bridge with an arch span of 330 feet, crossing 260 feet above the Bixby Creek and Canyon, and a view of the Pacific Ocean is considered by many to be one of the most iconic structures in California and a prominent landmark on this popular segment of Highway 1.

My first sighting of this bridge was about 10-12 years ago when I came to Carmel for Stacey’s wedding. Gosh, that was so so so long ago. It was marvelous then, and it was still marvelous today. I didn’t dare to go too near the cliff. The wind was blowing quite strong. But at least the day was clear.

You can see more old pictures of the bridge from this collection here.



After a few quick photos of the bridge, I spotted across Hwy 1, a dirt road entrance with cars parked there. People parked there so they can come over to check out the bridge. Looking over the map, I found the Old Coast Road, a 10.5 mile (16.8 km) long dirt road. It was the main road from Big Sur to Carmel in Big Sur before the completion of Bixby Bridge in 1932. The road is unpaved. Oh, the day was still young. Oh, it was only 10.5 miles. Oh, why not, we were in a 4-wheel drive (Chris’s Honda Pilot).

This was one of those things that I tended to talk the Chows into doing….like going to the red rock center of Australia with a 6 months old Makayla….now, taking a family of 4, a grandma, and a white boy on a “local” drive….

I believed Brenda held onto the car door handle the entire time. Caden and Makayla were fast to sleep with the swaying motion of the car….Mom was holding onto the front seats. Chris was at his top driving performance ever….and my hubby was crazily snapping pictures left and right, regardless of any image stabilization issues at the moment….I was just laughing because they couldn’t get mad at me, secretly praying no flat tire please. We were very uncertain of the cell signal at this point….half an hour later; we were still on the 10.5 mile drive… by now, we had to tell funny stories to keep Brenda from wondering if this were a bad idea or not…..Caden was snoring…yes, that little skinny guy could make some really funny noise. So we branded him little Uncle Tom Jr. in training, as my hubby is ranked #2 or #3. I couldn’t decide if mom or Tom should take the #2 prize. My brother, on the other hand, outranked everyone by far and took the top place as the loudest snorer I have ever known!!!



Finally, we came back out well and alive, including the car in one piece. I didn’t check to see if there were any new scars, didn’t want the Chows to think too hard on the subject….I asked Chris if he would do it again…..after a bit of hesitation, he said once was good enough for him….

Then it was time to say goodbye to my hubby and sent him back to work the next day while I played…