Signature Hikes
McWay Falls Overlook Trail
An 80-foot waterfall cascading directly onto the beach of a protected cove, with turquoise water and an arch of eroded rock. The overlook is wheelchair-accessible from the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park parking lot. Short, essential.
- **Distance**: 0.5 miles round trip · **Difficulty**: Easy · **Time**: 20–30 min
Partington Cove Trail
A hike down to a hidden rocky cove through a hand-carved tunnel in the cliffside. The tunnel is original — built by John Partington in the 1880s to haul out tanbark. The cove itself is dramatic: surging water, sea caves, a small footbridge. Short but memorable.
- **Distance**: 1.1 miles round trip · **Difficulty**: Easy-Moderate (steep descent/ascent) · **Time**: 45 min
Pfeiffer Falls & Valley View Trail
The definitive redwood hike in Big Sur. The trail winds through a grove of coastal redwoods along Pfeiffer Big Sur Creek to a 60-foot waterfall, then climbs to a viewpoint overlooking the Big Sur Valley and Point Sur. Best after significant rainfall.
- **Distance**: 2 miles round trip · **Difficulty**: Easy-Moderate · **Elevation gain**: 500 ft · **Time**: 1.5–2 hrs
Soberanes Point & Whale Peak (Garrapata State Park)
A coastal bluff loop with sweeping Pacific views and strong wildlife potential — sea otters, seals, and migrating whales visible from the trail. Soberanes Point is considered one of the best photography locations on the coast. Parking is roadside on Highway 1; arrive early.
- **Distance**: 1.8 miles loop · **Difficulty**: Easy-Moderate · **Elevation gain**: 300 ft · **Time**: 1–1.5 hrs
Creamery Meadow / Bluffs / Panorama Loop (Andrew Molera State Park)
The most complete single-day experience in Big Sur — meadows, coastal bluffs, redwood canyons, and a remote beach. The route crosses the Big Sur River (wade required when seasonal footbridge is out, typically fall through mid-June). The panoramic views from the Ridge Trail stretch up and down the coast.
- **Distance**: 8 miles loop · **Difficulty**: Moderate-Strenuous · **Elevation gain**: ~1,000 ft · **Time**: 4–5 hrs
Tanbark Trail & Tin House Loop (Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park)
The hardest hike in this guide and the most rewarding. The loop climbs steeply through redwood canyons and chaparral to the ruins of the Tin House — an old homestead with 360° views of the Big Sur coastline stretching in both directions. 2,000+ feet of elevation gain.
- **Distance**: 6.4 miles loop · **Difficulty**: Strenuous · **Elevation gain**: 2,000 ft · **Time**: 4–5 hrs
Buzzard's Roost Trail (Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park)
A local favorite for sunset. The lollipop loop climbs through tan oaks and redwoods to a ridge viewpoint overlooking the Pacific. Less crowded than coastal trails; deeply wooded and quiet until the summit.
- **Distance**: 2.6 miles · **Difficulty**: Moderate · **Elevation gain**: ~700 ft · **Time**: 1.5–2 hrs
Cypress Grove Trail (Point Lobos State Natural Reserve)
One of only two remaining native Monterey cypress forests on Earth — the gnarled, wind-sculpted trees growing from clifftop rocks above a crashing sea. Wildlife at every turn: otters in the coves, cormorants on the rocks, sea lions audible from the water. A short loop with outsized power.
- **Distance**: 0.8 miles loop · **Difficulty**: Easy · **Time**: 30–45 min
Bird Island Trail (Point Lobos State Natural Reserve)
The trail to China Cove — the most photographed spot in Point Lobos. The cove is a deep emerald bowl of water framed by white cliffs. The trail also passes Pelican Point and offers long coastal views south toward Big Sur.
- **Distance**: 0.8 miles out-and-back · **Difficulty**: Easy · **Time**: 30 min
Limekiln State Park Trail (Southern Big Sur)
A short trail through old-growth redwoods to four massive 1880s-era limekilns — stone furnaces slowly being reclaimed by the forest. A separate spur leads to Limekiln Falls, a 100-foot waterfall flowing over limestone-crusted rock face. Far less crowded than McWay or Pfeiffer Falls, deep in the southern corridor past the tourist density. The limekilns are a rare intersection of industrial history and deep forest — moss, ferns, and redwood roots pulling the stonework apart.
- **Distance**: 1 mile round trip (to limekilns); 0.5 miles to waterfall · **Difficulty**: Easy · **Time**: 1–1.5 hrs
Cycling
Highway 1 — Road Cycling
One of the great road rides in the world. Ninety miles of Pacific Coast Highway with the Santa Lucia Mountains on one side and open ocean on the other. Carmel to Big Sur River Inn (26 miles) is the most manageable day ride; Carmel to Nepenthe (47 miles) for the full epic. Light vehicle traffic outside summer weekends, wide shoulders on most sections, and the Bixby Creek Bridge at mile 13 as the iconic photo stop. Bike rental from Joselyn's Bicycles in Carmel or Sports Basement in Monterey.
17-Mile Drive — Cycling
Cyclists ...