(36 miles southwest or 55 Minutes) Big Sur is a rugged stretch of California’s central coast between Carmel and San Simeon. Bordered to the east by the Santa Lucia Mountains and the west by the Pacific Ocean, it’s traversed by narrow, 2-lane Highway 1, known for winding turns, seaside cliffs, and views of the often-misty coastline. The sparsely populated region has numerous restaurants, and state parks for hiking and beachcombing. Visit Big Sur for more information.
Garrapata State Park and Beach – (18.5 miles southwest) –A beautiful long sandy beach, and many coastal hiking trails. Great for picnics, pictures, walking, or relaxing with a good book. Trail entrances are scattered along the highway in turnouts on the west side. Look for small brown forest service signs indicating coastal access. Beach access is via a wooden staircase, just north of Garrapata Creek Bridge.
Bixby Bridge – (25 miles southwest) – One of the most photographed bridges in California – and maybe the world – due to its aesthetic design, graceful architecture, and magnificent setting. It is a reinforced concrete open-spandrel arch bridge, important in Big Sur history because prior to its opening in 1932, the area was often cut off in winter due to the dirt Old Coast Road becoming impassable. Bixby is one of the tallest single-span concrete bridges in the world at 279 feet. Lot parking at the bridge is extremely limited; it is best to go during off-peak hours (morning and evening). The land around Bixby is all private property; please be respectful and do not trespass, park over the white line, or block residential access to Old Coast Road.
Andrew Molera State Park – (33.2 miles southwest) – Coastal State Park with bluffs, beaches, and headlands where the Big Sur River meets the ocean. The East Molera Trail climbs up from Highway 1; after a bit of work, you’ll be rewarded with some excellent views looking back down upon the beach at Molera. The Creamery Meadow Trail is a flat 15-minute walk that gives you direct access to the beach. (Note: This trail requires an initial crossing of the Big Sur River, so accessibility depends upon the height of the river on any given day.) From there, an 8-mile loop of interconnecting trails gives you access to a variety of terrain, including coastal scrub, redwood forest, and ridgetop grassland. Beach access is seasonal and limited to when the crossing bridge is down or not.
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park – (38.3 miles southwest). Most hikes are through the forest, and you are often surrounded by giant redwood trees. A self-guided, quarter-mile Nature Trail is the only ADA-certified trail in the area. The Valley View & trail gives you great views of the Lighthouse and the northern coastline, and Buzzard’s Roost is a moderate loop up through the trees with a nice ocean view at the top. For the more adventurous hiker, the Mount Manuel Trail will take you nearly ten miles up to the 3500’ peak.
Pfeiffer Beach – (40.9 miles southwest) (Sharp turnoff located at the second 45-mile marker) – Beautiful beach with 3 coves, purple sand, and giant rock formations. The entrance off Highway One on the west side is not well-marked. Look for a paved road that goes downhill sharply to the right and has a yellow “Narrow Road – No RVs – No Pedestrians” sign. Only after you turn the first corner on the road will you see a sign for Pfeiffer Beach. It is a 2.1-mile drive down to the parking lot. The road is narrow and heavily trafficked, therefore please always stay to the right, especially where two cars can pass, drive slowly, and yield to oncoming traffic.
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park – (46.3 miles southwest) – The Waterfall Overlook Trail/McWay Falls is open. All trails on the east side of Highway 1 are closed.
Partington Cove – (Considered part of Julia Pfeiffer) (46.7 miles southwest) – Short hike down a fire road to the rocky mouth of Partington Creek or take the left fork to a historic 60-ft tunnel through the rock and a cove with the rusty ruins of an old ship-loading apparatus, used by the tanoak-logging industry at the turn of the century. There is no signage for Partington on the highway so look for a curve in the road with large dirt turnouts on either side near the 38-mile markers.