A row of scarecrow musicians stands mid-set in a display called Crowchella. Festival president Shelley Holden described it to KSBY as "a take on Coachella." It is one of more than 200 scarecrows around town for the 18th Cambria Scarecrow Festival, which runs October 1 through 31.
The displays are the same kind of homemade handiwork as always. Two other things are different. For the first October in years, the coast road north of town runs all the way to Carmel. And the festival has become the opening stretch of a season that local shop owners say lasts through the end of the year. Taken together, these make this October's scarecrows the first stretch of a three-month season, with Highway 1 open at both ends of town.
Where the Scarecrows Are Standing This Year
The festival covers more ground than many people realize. Its own description runs from Cambria's East Village to the West Village, along Moonstone Drive, and on into San Simeon. The festival is free, and the organization behind it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The 2026 festival map shows approximate scarecrow locations in both Cambria and San Simeon.
KSBY's October 7 report pointed out a few displays worth finding:
- Crowchella, the music-festival scene Holden pointed to
- A new Steven Spielberg scarecrow, part of the setup at Second Take Thrift, which owner Monica Raethke said draws attention
- Scarecrows dressed in real military uniforms, made by a volunteer to honor friends finishing active duty or newly retired, with their names on them
- A Kentucky Derby figure at the Hampton Inn, wearing a dress its maker first wore to her grandson's wedding
You can vote online for a favorite scarecrow or display, and voting enters you in a drawing for a free night in Cambria. The festival officially ends October 31. KSBY reported that the scarecrows come down November 2, so the first weekend of November is a last look.
The Job a Scarecrow Does on Main Street
Under the costumes, the festival has a practical purpose. Raethke explained it plainly to KSBY:
"Usually after summer in our town it would die down but then now with this it just keeps going and then the holidays start with the Christmas market and yes the sales are great."
She told KSBY the boost lasts until about the end of the year. That is one shop owner's experience, not a townwide sales figure. Still, it shows what the festival is for. Scarecrows fill the weeks between Labor Day and the holidays, when a coastal town that depends on visitors would otherwise go quiet.
That makes this year's road news matter. A festival built to bring people to town depends on how easily people can get to town. For the last few Octobers, half of the coast route that once delivered them was closed.
Highway 1 Through Big Sur, Open Since January
Governor Newsom's office announced on January 14, 2026, that Caltrans was reopening the stretch of Highway 1 closed by Regent's Slide. The reopening came nearly 90 days ahead of the March 30 estimate. The announcement said it gave residents and visitors uninterrupted access along the Big Sur coast between Carmel and Cambria "for the first time in almost three years." A later Caltrans release gives the date as January 15, so sources differ by a day.
Caltrans released early numbers on what the reopening meant on May 15, 2026. They are worth reading carefully, because they describe late winter and spring, not this October:
| Measure | Period | Change | Source of figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northbound traffic at Ragged Point | Since reopening, year over year | Up more than 900% | Visit California, via Caltrans |
| San Simeon lodging occupancy | February 2026 vs. 2025 | Up 37% | Visit SLO CAL, via Caltrans |
| North Coast lodging occupancy | February 2026 vs. 2025 | Up nearly 20% | Visit SLO CAL, via Caltrans |
| Cambria weekly occupancy | Mid-March 2026 | Up 25% | Visit SLO CAL, via Caltrans |
| San Simeon weekly occupancy | Mid-March 2026 | Up 43% | Visit SLO CAL, via Caltrans |
| San Luis Obispo County weekly occupancy | Mid-March 2026 | Up 9% | Visit SLO CAL, via Caltrans |
In mid-March, Cambria's 25% gain ran close to three times the countywide 9%, and San Simeon's 43% was larger still. The gains were concentrated in the towns closest to the reopened road. The Caltrans release also quotes Big Sur business owners. Kirk Gafill of Nepenthe reported a 45 percent increase in guest volume after the January reopening.
None of these figures covers October, and none separates the festival's effect from the highway's. What they show is the backdrop. This is the first Scarecrow Festival since the road reopened, at a time when spring occupancy in Cambria and San Simeon ran well ahead of the year before.
What the Drive North Looks Like This Month
The road has been open since January, though not without interruption. Winter storm debris near Regent's Slide closed a 6.8-mile stretch in February. On February 17, the Big Sur Chamber reported that the slope was stable but debris had come over the shoulder barriers. Caltrans reopened that segment at 4 p.m. on February 20, with daytime one-way traffic control starting the next day. By September 14, the Big Sur Chamber listed Highway 1 as fully open through Big Sur.
As of the evening of October 10, 2026, Caltrans' road information page lists two work-zone controls in Monterey County. Neither is a closure:
- Mud Creek: one-way controlled traffic, Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. to noon, through November 13, for emergency work
- Rocky Creek Bridge, 15.7 miles south of Monterey: one-way controlled traffic around the clock through 6 a.m. on November 30, for construction
The Mud Creek weekday window runs past the festival, lasting until November 13, more than a week after the scarecrows come down on November 2. Weekend trips north avoid it. Rocky Creek's control lasts through Thanksgiving weekend. The February closure showed that conditions can change quickly in a storm. Caltrans' highway information line, 1-800-427-7623, has the current status before a drive.
The Calendar After November 2
The scarecrows hand off to a busy season. Today, October 10, the Cambria Historical Society holds its 28th Harvest Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Historical Museum, 2251 Center St., with live music, soup flights from local chefs, vendors and children's games.
After that, the season Raethke described points to the Christmas Market at Cambria Pines Lodge:
| Event | Dates | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Cambria Scarecrow Festival | October 1–31, displays down November 2 | All day |
| Christmas Market, open to the public | November 27–29; December 2–6, 9–13, 16–23, 26–31 | 5–9 p.m. |
| Lights-only package dates, market closed to the public | November 30; December 1, 7–8, 14–15, 24–25 | Lights only, no vendors, Santa, train, music or food |
The Cambria Pines Lodge market listing gives the full run as November 27 through December 31. Because the Monday-Tuesday gaps and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are lights-only, check the calendar before planning a December evening around the vendors and the train.
That leaves the stretch Raethke flagged. "January, February is when it really slows down," she told KSBY, "so somebody has to create something in our town for January and February." Starting January 1, the scarecrows and the market lights will both be down. Highway 1 is the one part of this fall that will still be there, as long as the winter storms allow.
If you're a Cambria homeowner wondering how a busier, better-connected North Coast fits into your own plans for the year ahead, I'd be glad to talk it through over coffee in the Village. Barbara Letty Carstensen is here when you're ready. Schedule a Meeting.
