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| Wild California poppies are everywhere in the spring |
If you haven’t been to Big Sur, go now. It is breathtaking.
It is also really not as far as you think (especially if you are in the Bay
Area) and can be visited in a day, though we spent a few nights, which was perfect
for exploring. There are a lot of parks
and beaches, hikes and hidden waterfalls to see. A lot of it is unmarked so taking a guide book with very clear directions (for example, which mile marker
to park by and then which color gate and direction you should be headed) is
really useful. We used Lonely Planet’s California book, and it was a great
starting point in finding places to see and navigating us there.
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| Watching grey whales migrate |
We travelled from South to North, and my overall impression
is that the southern side of Big Sur is less busy. There are fewer (if any)
restaurants or shops, fewer people, and camping is significantly cheaper. The
northern edge is closer to the Bay Area and has the high-end resorts and big
parks. Particularly in the summer months there can be a lot of visitors so it
is a good idea to reserve campsites or other accommodation in advance. When we
went in March it was perfect weather and generally pretty quiet, so it wasn’t
too hard to find a drive in campsite (though some of our first choices were full).
We spent our first couple of nights camping at Plaskett
Creek Campground, which saves some walk-in sites. While we had our eye on Kirk
Creek Campground, which is on the bluffs over the ocean, that had already
filled up. Plaskett Creek was extremely pleasant, just across the road from
Sand Dollar Beach and Jade Cove. We walked around on the bluffs in the evening
and found a California Newt just cruising around! We were surprised to see it
so far from the water, but apparently this is normal. The newt was probably the
highlight of the whole trip for Dave!
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| Sunset at Sand Dollar Beach |
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| Campsite at Plaskett Creek |
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park- Probably the most
photographed spot in all of Big Sur, this place is ridiculously beautiful.
There is a waterfall over a cliff that tumbles onto a perfect little beach.
There is a short and easy (flat) hike to a lookout spot, and another trail that
takes you around the bluffs behind the waterfall. We found a spot amongst the
boulders here for a picnic lunch, and watched grey whales go by in the distance
and a sea lion swim right underneath us!
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| Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park |
Limekiln State Park- This seems like a fairly compact State
Park, with a handful of campsites in the redwoods and a few short hiking
trails. Nonetheless, it was definitely worth a visit because you didn’t have to
travel far to see some great sights! Limekiln Falls is impressive, and the
limekilns themselves were a lot cooler- and bigger- than I had imagined! Back
in the late 1800’s lime was extracted from limestone by heating it in huge
kilns (using wood from the local old-growth redwood trees).
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| Limekiln Falls |
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| Old lime kilns |
Partington Cove- This is an unmarked trail behind a locked
gate. It’s a short hike from the highway to the coast, passing through an old
mining tunnel. There are lots of boulders to climb on and the coastline here is
rugged and beautiful.
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| Old mining tunnel |
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| Partington Cove |
When we returned to the car after hanging out for a
couple of hours I spotted a huge bird just as we were about to drive away- a
California condor! And then we saw a second! We re-parked and watched them fly
and perch for a while. After talking to some other friends it sounds like they
are frequently sighted in this area, so definitely keep an eye out- this was
probably the highlight of the trip for me, seeing these endangered birds flying
free in the wild after all the work that has gone into saving them!
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| California condor! |
Camping in Northern Big Sur- Camping was a lot busier (and
more expensive- $50 a night!) up here. After trying a few places we found a
really nice site in Riverside Campgrounds that was, as the name suggests, on
the side of a river. We spendt the afternoon at Sycamore Beach, a lovely spot
with a natural rock arch, some hiking trails, and some pretty white sand.
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| Sycamore Beach |
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| Riverside Campground |
Even though we were camping we decided to have dinner out at
Nepenthe- a restaurant with the most spectacular view! I used a gift card I won
at the Ellen Show (the gift that kept on giving!) and we had a really nice meal
sitting on the deck looking out at the forest and sea. We went just before dusk
and watched the sun set while eating roasted garlic on toast and drinking some
fancy beer. Even though this place is fancy (in a casual Big Sur way) they also
had reasonably priced food- and a café during the day- so it was a fantastic
experience that isn’t out of reach.
On our final day we hiked in Andrew Molera State Park which was
lovely. There are a lot of shore birds and cormorants, and more stunning
coastal views. We saw the iconic Bixby Bridge (I can’t help playing that one
Death Cab for Cutie song in my head every time I hear the name!) and headed
into the Monterey area.
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| Andrew Molera State Park |
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| Hiking in Andrew Molera |
There are so many more places to explore and hike along this
relatively short stretch of coastline! The wildflowers were pretty special, and
we got lucky with splendid sunny weather. Maybe next spring it’ll be time for
another visit!
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| Bixby Bridge |
