Big Sur: Check Caltrans Before You Leave

That is not an opening you will find in most travel pieces about Big Sur. But the road – Highway 1 carved along cliffs above the Pacific – closes with some regularity, and in the worst cases, sections close for over a year. The 2017 Pfeiffer Canyon slide took out a bridge and shut the central section for 14 months. The 2017 Mud Creek slide added another 40 feet of new coastline by dumping a hillside into the ocean and blocking the highway beneath it. Both eventually reopened. There will be others.

Check dot.ca.gov (Caltrans) for current conditions before any Big Sur trip. This takes 30 seconds and can save a four-hour round trip to a closed road. With an open road: Big Sur is 90 miles of California coastline where the Santa Lucia Mountains drop nearly directly into the Pacific, with peaks over 5,000 feet less than four miles from the shore. The scenery is genuine.

Bixby Bridge

The concrete arch bridge spanning Bixby Creek Canyon, built in 1932, is one of the most photographed structures on the California coast. Its particular distinction is that it was constructed using a temporary cable system instead of scaffolding – the canyon depth made conventional scaffolding impractical. The parking area on the north side of the bridge fills early on weekends. Walk to the bridge deck for views north and south along the cliff coast. The actual activity here is looking; that is enough.

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

McWay Falls drops 80 feet directly onto a beach and into the ocean, one of the very few waterfalls in the world that falls directly to the sea. The viewpoint is on an overlook trail of about 1 kilometre round-trip. The beach itself is inaccessible. Entry is $12 per vehicle.

Partington Cove, in the same park, requires a short hike through a hand-cut tunnel to reach a sheltered cove with clear water. It sees far fewer visitors than the McWay Falls overlook.

Pfeiffer Beach

One of the few beaches accessible to non-camping visitors in the main stretch. The purple tinge in the sand comes from garnet-bearing manganese minerals washed down from the surrounding hills. The sea stacks and the keyhole arch eroded through the main rock formation are the photographic subjects; the light through the arch near sunset is worth timing your visit for. Access via a narrow 2-mile side road off Highway 1; $12 parking.

Do not swim here. The waves break hard and the current is strong. People drown here with some regularity because the ocean looks more benign from above than it is at water level.

Hiking

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park has the most accessible trail network: the Valley View Trail (2 miles, moderate) climbs to a viewpoint above the Big Sur River valley. The Ventana Wilderness east of the highway has more demanding backcountry routes; the Pine Ridge Trail from Big Sur Station is the serious multi-day option that provides genuine solitude away from the roadside crowds.

Where to Eat and Stay

Nepenthe has been perched at 808 feet above the ocean since 1949. The views from the terrace are one of the better restaurant settings on the California coast. The food is good without being exceptional. Arrive at opening (11:30am) for a terrace table on weekends; otherwise expect a wait.

Big Sur Bakery and Restaurant on Highway 1 is the reliable alternative for breakfast and honest lunch prices.

Accommodation within Big Sur is expensive and limited. Post Ranch Inn and Ventana Big Sur are luxury at over $1,000 per night. Big Sur Lodge within Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is more accessible at $200 to $400. Campsite reservations at Pfeiffer Big Sur go months in advance for summer weekends. Carmel-by-the-Sea to the north has dozens of hotels at a wide range of prices and works well as a base for day trips south.