Iconic Bixby Bridge Stands Strong on the Central Coast

Part of the iconic, beautiful, scenic and downright legendary Pacific Coast Highway, the Bixby Bridge has been traveled across by motorists for nearly 90 years. Since 1932, travelers have marveled at its engineering and beauty nestled among the ragged Big Sur coastline on the way between San Simeon and Monterey. The steep mountains and cliffs dipping into the ocean makes for a truly unique location in the entire country. Perhaps secondly only to the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bixby Bridge is one of the most photographed bridges in the entire state, if not the country. 

Tourists from across the globe love traveling up the PCH while sightseeing between Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, recent storms have made it a little more difficult to get to. On January 28, 2021, a one-hundred and fifty foot section of Highway 1 washed out at Rat Creek, almost exactly halfway along the stretch of coast. The Bixby Bridge is located a little further north of the washout, and so people wanting to see it will need to travel to Monterey and continue south towards Big Sur. 

​Of course, this isn't new to Highway One on the Big Sur Coastline. More than 60 times in its history, the road has been washed away or covered in mud and debris. Most recently in 2017, a landslide was so massive it took over a year to reopen and it actually added 14 acres of new California Coast into the ocean. So while there is no estimate reopening of the historic highway this time, we can all go back and fondly remember what it is like in some of our favorite movies and commercials.

Some of the more famous call outs to the Bixby Bridge is in the television show, Then Came Bronson and in films like Play Misty for Me, Escape to Witch Mountain and The Sandpiper.