Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
er human capacity,' from shapeshifting to Thai massage. Esalen's famous
baths
(
GOOGLE MAP
; 831-667-3047; per person $25, credit cards only; public entry 1am-3am nightly,
reservations accepted 8am-8pm Mon-Thu & Sat, 8am-noon Fri & Sun)
, fed by a natural hot spring,
sit on a ledge above the ocean. The entrance is on the ocean side of Hwy 1, a little more
than 11 miles south of Nepenthe restaurant and 10 miles north of Lucia.
Dollars to donuts you'll never take another dip that compares panorama-wise with the
one here, especially on stormy winter nights. Only two small outdoor pools perch directly
over the waves, so once you've stripped down (bathing is clothing-optional) and taken a
quick shower, head outside immediately to score the best views. Otherwise, you'll be stuck
with a tepid, no-view pool or even worse, a rickety bathtub.
Things have sure changed a lot since Hunter S Thompson was the gun-toting caretaker
here in the 1960s.
WORTH A TRIP
VENTANA WILDERNESS
try. It lies within the northern Los Padres National Forest, which straddles the Santa Lucia
Range running parallel to the coast. Most of this wilderness is covered with oak and cha-
parral, though canyons cut by the Big Sur and Little Sur Rivers support virgin stands of
coast redwoods and the rare endemic Santa Lucia fir, which grows on steep, rocky slopes
too.
Partly reopened after devastating wildfires in 2008, Ventana Wilderness remains popu-
lar with adventurous backpackers. A much-trammeled overnight destination is
Sykes
Hot Springs
, natural 100°F (35°C) mineral pools framed by redwoods. It's a moderately
strenuous 10-mile one-way hike along the
Pine Ridge Trail
, starting from
Big Sur Sta-
tion
( 831-667-2315;
www.parks.ca.gov
; Hwy 1; 8am-4pm, closed Mon & Tue Nov-Mar), where
you can get free campfire permits and pay for overnight trailhead parking ($5). Don't ex-
pect solitude on weekends during peak season (April through September) and always fol-
low
Leave No Trace
(
www.lnt.org
) principles.
Sleeping
