Southern California car culture is unique from the rest of America in so many ways with the blessing of getting behind the wheel and relaxing on a scenic drive. Malibu and the western Santa Monica Mountains is on top of the list with many notable drives to enjoy. We’ll explore our favorite five worth the drive. Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), Malibu Canyon Road, Kanan-Dume Road, Mulholland Highway and State Highway 23 make up our favorite five. While there are many other wonderful routes to explore in the area, these are choice drives with many fine views and stops worth exploring. Traffic and road safety are always a concern anywhere and these roads are no exception so planning a relaxing drive on late Sunday afternoon in the summer will inevitably leave you stuck in traffic. Note to self 1; plan your drive when there is less traffic on the road or in a direction that is less likely to suffer congestion. Note to self 2; use your favorite traffic app before you set out so you can get an idea if its the right route at the right time. Note to self 3; hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. Like anywhere else, there are many bad drivers, distracted drivers, fast drivers on the road, so be aware and alert. Okay now that we’ve covered the obvious lets hit the road!
Drive 1 – PCH & the String of Pearls
The Big Kahuna of course is PCH aka Highway 1 between Santa Monica and Point Mugu, which offers the most stops, shops, views, and dining choices of any of our drives. If you have any visitors from out of state or out of country, this is the one drive that is a must do.
We prefer starting on the Point Dume end and drive east towards Santa Monica as you’ll be on the coast side of the road making views better, stops easier and safer. If you start in Santa Monica and travel west then take care with left hand turns or walking across PCH. The downside is the speed issue, unfortunately many drive PCH like it’s a freeway. With speeds posted at 50 plus miles an hour, many drivers easily hit excessive speeds but don’t let them be kill-joys, just stick to the right hand lane and follow the normal rules of the road.