Big Sur
Garrapata, Molera, Pfeiffer Big Sur, Julia Pfeiffer Burns, and Limekiln State Parks
California
Big Sur
With some of the best scenery in California, Big Sur is an incredibly rewarding place to hike. The different scenic elements of the California coast really come together here. Rugged flower-strewn mountains provide magnificent vistas over a rocky coast and a strikingly turquoise ocean. Surprisingly lush and scenic redwood forests shelter in steep canyons beside fast-flowing and crystal-clear creeks. Unspoiled beaches are tucked away into little coves.
Big Sur is also one of the most difficult parts of the redwood coast to hike. The steep mountains also make practically every hike a challenging climb. Every trail gets overgrown with poison oak, to the point where some trails are surrounded by 6-foot-tall walls of the plant. The chaparral is crawling with ticks in the spring, and you can easily pick up a hundred ticks on a single day hike (as Analise Eliot points out in her indispensible Big Sur hiking guide, “Garrapata State Park” translates to “Tick State Park” ). Clouds of flies may surround and bite you, undeterred by insect repellent. Rattlesnakes, black bears, and mountain lions also live in the area.
Big Sur has two types of trails. All but one of the trails featured here are in the relatively easy-to-hike Big Sur state parks. There’s also an extensive network of wilderness hiking routes that are often poorly maintained and a lot more challenging.
Bixby Bridge
Parks
* Andrew Molera State Park
Located on the site of a former ranch at the northern end of the Big Sur Valley, this park mainly features flat, grassy meadows and low coastal bluffs covered with chaparral, a departure from the rugged mountains of the other Big Sur parks. Two ridges within the park provide great views over the otherwise flat landscape.
** Garrapata State Park
The main feature of this park is a dramatically rocky shoreline with an offshore sea lion colony. Inland are steep, chaparral-covered hills, and hidden in a canyon is a small strip of redwoods. There are very few facilities and it’s easy to drive right through the park (on Highway One) without even realizing that it’s there.
*** Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
This exceptional park is in the heart of Big Sur, set in the Big Sur valley among the Santa Lucia Mountains. It contains some very nice old-growth redwood forest bisected by a cool, crystal-clear river. The park is heavily developed and the accessible areas mostly consist of attractive campgrounds, lodging, and picnic sites. Although hiking opportunities are limited, the park is a real gem.
*** Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
The wilder neighbor of Pfeiffer Big Sur, this small and largely undeveloped park is located in the rugged coastal hills of Big Sur. It offers two 5-mile hikes plus the famous McWay Falls. The Ewoldsen Trail in particular is the quintessential Big Sur hike.
** Limekiln State Park
This tiny park has a remarkably lush second-growth redwood canyon that contrasts strikingly with the arid coast.
*** Los Padres National Forest
Consisting of the Ventana Wilderness and the Silver Peak Wilderness, this national forest includes an extensive network of very challenging but very rewarding trails. Since many of the trails are poorly maintained, this area is not for the casual hiker.
Food
- The Big Sur Bakery and Restaurant, just south of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, is one of my favorite bakeries. Scones, croissants, and danishes have a distinctively dark, crispy crust and unusually concentrated flavors. The baked goods usually sell out by 11 am. There’s also a high-end restaurant that’s pricey (dinners $60 per person) but casual. Be sure to order the bread, which may be the best part of the meal. (See the New York Times article) Bakery opens at 8 am. Restaurant: Tue-Fri 11:00 am - 2:30 pm; Sat-Sun 10:30 am - 2:30 pm; Tue-Sun 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm.
More information
- The Ventana Wilderness Alliance website has lots of useful information on Big Sur, mainly for backcountry hikers, including an active discussion forum and trail condition reports.
- Jon Iverson’s defunct Hiking in Big Sur website (this archived version is from September 2020) has descriptions of 17 hikes along with some outstanding photos.
- John Rabold’s Guide to California’s Big Sur has detailed listings of businesses, parks, and other points of interest along Highway One.
Highway One seen from Rocky Point
© 2006, 2007, 2011 David Baselt
