Pacific Coast Highway- Monterey to Little River, California
For Wed. January 21st, 2026 

 

Background
The Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), primarily California's State Route 1, is a legendary 650+ mile scenic drive famous for dramatic ocean views, rugged cliffs (especially in Big Sur), historic landmarks like Bixby Bridge, redwood forests, and charming coastal towns, offering iconic California experiences from San Francisco to Southern California, ideal for road trips with stops at beaches, aquariums, and state parks for unforgettable sunsets and natural beauty. This is US Highway 101, which stretches on the west coast of the US from California to Washington (state) and is referred to as CA-1 in California. (https://www.roadtripusa.com/pacific-coast/

Popular Stops & Sights -  We’ll visit a few locations as we fly the Pacific Coast Highway in the California Section.

Ø  Big Sur: The most iconic stretch with towering cliffs, crashing waves, and the famous Bixby Bridge (engineering marvel).

Ø  Monterey Bay Aquarium: World-class marine life exhibits.

Ø  Central Coast: Features Monterey Bay, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Hearst Castle: A historic mansion with opulent architecture.

Ø  Elephant Seal Rookery (San Simeon): Witness hundreds of seals on the beach.

Ø  McWay Falls: A waterfall dropping onto the beach in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. 

Ø  Redwood National Park, California – Stretch your legs with a walk through Lady Bird Johnson Grove

Ø  Mendocino, California – One of the prettiest towns on the California coast, and extra fun for fans of the TV show Murder, She Wrote

Ø  San Francisco, California – Easily one of the most enjoyable cities in the US and a great place to start, end, or spend a weekend along the Pacific Coast Highway

Ø  Monterey, California – Home to the excellent Monterey Bay Aquarium and the internationally famous Monterey Jazz Festival

Ø  San Simeon, California (Hearst Castle) – One of the truly unique attractions to see on a classic Highway 1 road trip

Ø  San Luis Obispo, California – A lively college town with a beautiful 18th-century Spanish mission to tour, and the Madonna Inn, one of the quirkiest places to spend a night

Ø  Los Angeles, California – Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard, and an intersection with another storied road trip: Route 66

Our Trip

This is part two of the Pacific Coast Highway which covers the highway segment between Monterey and Alameda California.

We are travelling northward out of Monterey and will travel or follow the Pacific Coast Highway US-101 or CA-1 for the most part.

This second segment of the PCH is 199 nm and we will see the sites of Watsonville, Half Moon Bay, and many of the very famous sites of San Francisco and Oakland. We’ll also divert from the PCH and travel northeastward to San Rafael and San Pablo before we head for Alameda California. Now this is a very scenic trip and I have made it intentionally short we can use helicopters or very slow fixed wings to be able to take some time to see the very scenic and famous sites and bridges around the San Francisco/Oakland area. In the next PCH-3 we will depart Alameda and resume our route heading northward along the Pacific Coast Highway,

FP, itinerary, etc can be found HERE.

Aircraft:

Any helicopter or GA fixed wing aircraft that can travel at least 100 nm which has an open/wide cockpit view to be able to take in the sites. (I will likely use the Airbus H135 helicopter for this trip. (It is fairly easy to fly and is free and works great in MSFS2024!) but as always please use your aircraft or helicopter of choice for this trip.

Add-on Scenery:  All airports are in the default sim but there are a few scenery adds: that is if you want some eye candy!!

KMRY Monterey (Payware by bmw if you have it, if not, the default or free-addon is perfectly is fine!)

KMRY Monterey Airport: https://flightsim.to/file/28239/monterey-regional-airport (byStarseed)

KMRY Monterey Wharf: https://flightsim.to/file/100218/monterey-bay-california-harbor-and-piers (by GoneFlyin)

KWVI Watsonville: https://flightsim.to/file/100309/kwvi-watsonville (by GoneFlyin)

17CL Las Trancas: https://flightsim.to/file/95962/17cl-las-trancas-airport (by KroxenStudios)

KHAF Half Moon Bay: https://flightsim.to/file/101793/khaf-half-moon-bay-airport (by Goneflyin)

KOAK Oakland Intl: https://flightsim.to/file/50257/oakland-international-airport-oakland-ca-usa-koak-v1-0 (by FreakyD)

Oakland Alameda Coliseum: https://flightsim.to/file/5573/oakland-alameda-coliseum-oakland-ca-usa (by FreakyD)

KSFO-KOAK Ports: https://flightsim.to/file/31791/san-francisco-bay-area-cargo-terminals-san-francisco-oakland-ca-usa (by FreakyD)

San Francisco City: https://flightsim.to/file/47498/san-francisco-ca-usa-v1-0 (by FreakyD)

San Francisco Water/Foliage: https://flightsim.to/file/24593/san-francisco-bay-area-foliage-water-clean-up-ca-usa (by FreakyD)

San Francisco Bridge Lighting: https://flightsim.to/file/28530/san-francisco-oakland-bay-bridge-enhanced-night-lighting-san-francisco-bay-area-ca

(by TheWhiteArcades)

Dumbarton/San Francisco Swing Bridges: https://flightsim.to/file/72508/dumbarton-and-swing-bridges-lights (by amazigh)

Time and Weather
Prefer to fly real weather if possible but if not, the few clouds or high clouds might make a nice choice.  For takeoff: set the simulator time to @1700-1730-(ish) local.  (This time simulates an early dusk flight and so that the sun will set on the ocean side (left side) as we travel northward!) This should prove to be very scenic especially around the San Francisco and Oakland areas as night falls and lights illuminate the cities.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Wednesday, January 21, 2026 - 1900 UTC, (1400 Eastern, 1300 Central, 1200 Mountain, 1100 Pacific)
AVSIM Discord Server: https://discord.gg/K5Vy6UxWNm  - AVSIM GROUP EVENTS-WED. COM1
Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: EAST-USA Server

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here). Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!

 

 

Norm Richards

Jan 11, 2026

 

Edited January 14Jan 14 by nbrich1

Here is one you missed.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and Wharf, Santa Cruz, CA for Microsoft Flight Simulator | MSFS

Ah, yp[.. good find. Thanks Josh