Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
unmarked trailhead turnoff inside a hairpin turn on the ocean side of Hwy 1, about 6 miles
south of Nepenthe restaurant and 2 miles north of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.
The trail starts just beyond the locked vehicle gate. There's no real beach access and
ocean swimming isn't safe, but some people scamper on the rocks and look for tide pools
as waves splash ominously. Originally used for loading freight, Partington Cove allegedly
became a landing spot for Prohibition-era bootleggers.
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park PARK
( GOOGLE MAP ;
831-667-2315; www.parks.ca.gov ; Hwy 1; per car $10;
30min before sun-
rise-30min after sunset; )
If you're chasing waterfalls, swing into this state park named for a Big Sur pioneer. From
the parking lot, the 1.3-mile round-trip Overlook Trail rushes downhill toward the ocean,
passing through a tunnel underneath Hwy 1. Everyone comes to photograph 80ft-high
McWay Falls , which tumbles year-round over granite cliffs and freefalls into the sea - or
the beach, depending on the tide. The park entrance is on the east side of Hwy 1, about 8
miles south of Nepenthe restaurant.
McWay Falls is the classic Big Sur postcard shot, with tree-topped rocks jutting above a
golden beach next to swirling blue pools and crashing white surf. From trailside benches,
you might spot migrating whales during winter.
Limekiln State Park PARK
( GOOGLE MAP ; 831-434-1996; www.parks.ca.gov ; 63025 Hwy 1; per car $8; 8am-sunset)
Two miles south of Lucia, this park gets its name from the four remaining wood-fired kilns
originally built here in the 1880s to smelt quarried limestone into powder, a key ingredient
in cement building construction from Monterey to San Francisco. Tragically, pioneers
chopped down most of the steep canyon's old-growth redwoods to fuel the kilns' fires. A
one-mile round-trip trail leads through a redwood grove to the historic site, passing a
creekside spur trail to a delightful 100ft-high waterfall.
Los Padres National Forest FOREST
(
831-667-2315; www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf ;
)
Search WWH ::




Custom Search