California in Pictures: 58 Free Photos of Big Sur, Highway 1 and More

California in 58 free photos from a road trip: the golden hills, orchards and fields of the interior, vineyards and wineries, Highway 1 along the cliffs of Big Sur with Bixby Bridge in the fog, the elephant seals that haul out on the beaches, the rocks and coves of the Pacific shore, and the harbours and bay towns. Each set of photos has a short note on the place.

California at a glance

• Getting there: fly into San Francisco or Los Angeles; Big Sur lies between them, a long day’s drive from either.
• Getting around: a car. Highway 1 is slow and winding; plan for 30 to 40 mph on the cliffs, and check the Caltrans road report, as landslides close stretches of it.
• Money: US dollar. Fuel in Big Sur is expensive and far between; fill up before you leave Monterey or Cambria.
• When to go: September and October have the clearest coast. Summer mornings are often foggy on Highway 1, while inland it is very hot.

How to download: click a photo to see it large, then use Download. The originals are about 1200 × 800 pixels: right for blog posts, slides, social media, school projects and video call backgrounds.

Highway 1 and Big Sur

Between Carmel and San Simeon, Highway 1 clings for some 140 km to the Santa Lucia Mountains above the Pacific. Bixby Creek Bridge, built in 1932, is the famous view; fog often fills the coves in the morning and burns off by noon. Stop at the turnouts, walk to McWay Falls, and take your time.

Elephant seals

Every winter thousands of northern elephant seals come ashore on the beaches near San Simeon to give birth and mate; the rookery at Piedras Blancas has a free viewing boardwalk by Highway 1. The males, up to four metres long, fight with loud roars. Keep to the paths and behind the fences.

The rocky Pacific shore

Rocks, kelp beds, sandy coves and sea stacks: the Central Coast is wild and cold, better for walks and tide pools than for swimming.

Vineyards and wine country

California makes most of America’s wine. Away from the famous valleys of Napa and Sonoma, wine country runs down the Central Coast too, around Paso Robles and Santa Barbara, with tasting rooms behind grand gates and long rows of vines.

Orchards, farms and golden hills

The Central Valley is one of the richest farming regions in the world: orange and almond orchards, vegetable fields and cattle on hills that turn gold in the dry summer.

The open road

Straight roads to the horizon, speed limit signs and roadside stores.

Harbours and bay towns

Yacht harbours and painted wooden houses above the water.

Tips for a road trip

• Drive Highway 1 from north to south: you are on the ocean side and can pull into the turnouts easily.
• Book Big Sur lodging and campsites months ahead; there are few of them.
• Expect no phone signal for long stretches of the coast; download your maps.
• Visit the elephant seals between December and March for the births and the fights, or in spring and autumn for the moulting.

More about California

California Travel Information and Pictures

California, America’s “Golden State” is about 300 km wide and 1400 km long, stretching along the west coast of the Pacific Ocean. It borders on Mexico to the south and Oregon to the north. Its western beaches, see pictures below, are in direct contrast to its deserts which border on the states of Arizona and Nevada to the east.

To the south the warm Pacific waters attract countless surfing freaks, but further north the coastline becomes more rugged and the water temperature tempts only the toughest.

Except for a gap near San Francisco, California’s coastal mountains run the whole length of the state and separate the coast from the Central Valley. This feature has a tremendous effect on the climate. Pacific storms bring rain to the western slopes, while the eastern slopes stay relatively dry. Frequent coastal fogs cool the hot, southern inland valleys to the east where vineyards and fruit and nut orchards are cultivated.

California produces many millions of litres of wine each year. The best-known come from the more northerly Sonoma and Napa Valleys, and the neighbouring Mendocino and Lake Counties to the north of San Francisco.

The Central Valley, 90 -150 km wide, runs between the coastal mountains and the Sierra Nevada mountain range to the east. Thanks to wide-spread irrigation, this once desolate desert plain is now some of the richest farmland in the USA, home to orchards and vineyards. The snow-capped Sierra Nevada peaks form a 650-km-long barrier running north to south.

A wilderness with few roads and difficult access. To the east of this mountain range is a narrow strip of parched desert – the beginning of the barren Basin and Range Country which includes the notorious Death Valley, , a 3 million acre area of National Park wilderness that lies in two states, California and Nevada. Home to the Timbisha Shoshone tribe of Native Americans, the Valley has only 1.5 inches of rain on average each year, and high temperatures up to 50° C, yet 900 different species of plants survive there.

Since 1999 the extremely tough 1,200 mile ‘California Coastal Trail’ has been designated a Millennium Legacy Trail, thanks to Coastwalk, an organisation that is working to complete the route. Hikers walk south along the coast, through California from the edge of the state of Oregon in the north to the Mexico border. About two thirds of it is satisfactory walking trail, and way-marking is continuing, although there are still some gaps. The walk is along beaches and through parks, sometimes on sand or cobbles, and at times detouring inland to avoid obstructions. In places the fragile Pacific coastline, especially in the central and northern sections, is open, beautiful and biologically rich. Mile after mile of beach, cove and estuary welcome the hiker.

In Monterey Bay and all along the Big Sur region of the California coast you can see humpback whales from the shore between late April and early December. Humpbacks can reach 50 feet and about 800 individuals have been recorded off California. One of the best sights to photograph is a humpback whale “breaching” – jumping vertically out of the water before falling back.

More free photos

• San Francisco pictures
• Las Vegas pictures
• Florida pictures
• New York pictures
• Free beach pictures
• Free mountain pictures
• Free road pictures and backgrounds
• Free ocean and sea pictures
• USA pictures
• North America pictures

Questions about these California photos

Can I use these California pictures for free?

Yes, for personal and commercial projects. All we ask is a link back to BigFoto.com; the box at the top of the page has a credit link you can copy.

How long does it take to drive Big Sur?

The 140 km between Carmel and San Simeon take about three hours without stops; give it a full day, or two with a night in Big Sur.