Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Trip 17
PFEIFFER FALLS TRAIL
LENGTH AND TYPE: 1.4-mile round-trip
RATING: Easy
TRAIL CONDITION: Well maintained, good for kids
HIGHLIGHTS: Ancient redwoods flank this spectacular 60-foot waterfall.
TO REACH THE TRAILHEAD:
Pass the park's entrance kiosk and turn left at the stop
sign, following signs to Pfeiffer Falls. After 100 feet the road will fork. Veer right past
Ewoldsen Memorial Nature Center to the parking lot at road's end.
TRIP SUMMARY:
Unquestionably one of the most popular hikes in Big Sur, this short,
easy 0.7-mile trail leads past ancient redwoods to the base of the 60-foot cascade. Ex-
pect crowds in summer, when the park campground often fills. The falls are most im-
pressive during the winter wet season, when lush ferns, fungi, and mosses line the
canyon.
Trip Description
Pfeiffer Falls Trail
begins beside
Pfeiffer Redwood Creek,
shaded by the park's
most magnificent redwoods. Once comprising some 2,000,000 acres of fogbound coast
between Big Sur and southern Oregon, most of the old-growth redwood forests were
heavily logged, and now only small stands of these ancient trees remain in an area of
less than 300,000 acres. A 6-foot diameter cross-section of a 1000-year-old felled red-
wood rests beside the upper trailhead. Although enormous, it's an average size and age
for this region. Throughout their range in central California, redwoods rarely exceed
1500 years old, 10 feet in diameter, or 250 feet in height. It's the celebrated redwoods
in Northern California's Coast Ranges that commonly exceed 2000 years old, 15-20
feet in diameter, and 300 feet in height.
A gentle ascent up the narrow, well-used path beside
Pfeiffer Redwood Creek
Canyon
leads to the
Valley View Trail junction
(0.1 mile, 400'), on your left. Both
trails lead to the falls, but the Pfeiffer Falls Trail is less steep and a quarter mile shorter
than the Valley View Trail. Pass this junction and you'll soon reach steps that ascend
to the
Oak Grove Trail junction
(0.2 mile, 470'), which veers sharply south. Stay on
course to reach the first of four scenic wooden footbridges that cross the creek.
A PFEIFFER ON EVERY HILL
