Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
McWay Falls plunges 80 feet over a granite precipice to pristine McWay Cove.
From the spur junction, the main trail heads southwest through a tunnel beneath
Highway 1, emerging on the north end of
McWay Cove,
one of Julia Pfeiffer's fa-
vorite places to sit, wander, and explore. At one time, a trail descended to the cove,
but access is no longer permitted down the rocky, unstable cliffs. Trespassing on the
beach can also interrupt the feeding and breeding patterns of sea otters, peregrine fal-
cons, and other protected species.
Bear right for the best vantage point of 80-foot
McWay Falls,
which plunges
over a narrow notch in the granite cliff face to the wave-washed crescent of sand be-
low. Fragrant coastal scrub flanks the trail, highlighted in spring by the orange and
yellow blossoms of paintbrush, golden yarrow, and sticky monkeyflowers. Palms,
bluegum eucalypti, and a number of other exotic species are remnants of a garden
planted by the Browns, former owners of Saddle Rock Ranch.
In the 1920s, Lathrop and Helen Hooper Brown purchased the ranch from Chris-
topher McWay, who had settled here in the late 1870s. The Browns built a simple
redwood cabin on this overlook, replacing it in 1940 with a larger dwelling called the
Waterfall House.
Helen Brown donated the property for parkland in 1961, and the
