As a San Fran resident, I know the northern California parts of highway 1 better than the southern parts. Big Sur has some amazing hiking, and you might want to stop there to hike or just to see the dramatic views and take photos. As you get closer to SF, I’d also recommend stopping at Big Basin park (near Santa Cruz) to see the redwoods. Big Basin has hikes that range in length from 1 mile to 20 miles, so there is hiking that’s appropriate for all kinds of people, whether you’re an experienced backpacker or just looking for a nice walk in the woods. If you’ve never seen redwoods before you really must stop there -they are majestic, enormous, breathtaking trees, many of them over a thousand years old.