Fun, but getting there can be tricky. I used the AllTrails app to find Jade Cove. I then opened up…read morethe Jade Cove map and looked for the blue dot (my car) going along highway 1. I pulled over at the trail marker.. It worked perfectly. The best part of this experience was the short but precarious hike down to the cove. You'll be required to use a rope to hike down to the beach and back up again. The rope is a permanent fixture. Kids seven and over could do it without any assistance. When at the beach you'll see a lot of green rocks, mostly serpentine. The rule is that you can take anything you like as long as the "tide" ocean is able to touch it. The tidal range goes all the way to the cliffside. - There is no highway sign for jade cove anymore. That was taken down many years ago. - Check the tides and try to come here at low tide. - If you can, when you're at the bottom of the rope hike southward to the next cove. Better rocks over there.

1 2 3 not it. Finding the spot is kind of a game. Quite frankly the bluff is a great place to have…read morea picnic if nothing else on a nice day. The whole area is breathtaking, I'm fairly sure there isn't any jade at the beach, there's also a sign that tells you not too take anything from the beach. When you find that sign I'm relatively sure you have found jade cove. It's not a long walk down from the parking area (just south of the entrance to the nearby campground on the east side of the road). The sign gets taken down by locals? I really count on locals to protect their interests unnecessarily, i should do that more often. Unfortunately I never went to the jerk academy so I never leaned how to selfishly conduct myself in such a manner. I would love to camp at the nearby campsite, the bluff above jade cove would be a great place to star gaze on a clear night.

this is a hidden gem for the Californians. Enjoy the quietness next to the ocean. we also spotted…read moresea ottar in water.

We came here 10 years ago and it was a hidden gem at the time, we drove by around 8:30am on the way…read moreto McWay Falls and there were already 2 cars there so I knew it was no longer a secret. This is by far one of our favorite Big Sur spots. The entire beginning of the hike is all downhill so you'll have an easy time going down and be panting on the way back up, you'll see it in other people's faces as you are going down. At the very bottom split I would take the time to go both directions, if you take the bridge it'll lead to a view of the ocean that narrows and then broadens. There is a nice wood tunnel you'll pass through and at the very end of the trail you can do a small rock scrambles to get an amazing view of the turquoise blue water and seaweed gently swaying in the water. If you are lucky you'll spot some sea otters diving in the kelp. If you take the other path it leads to a rocky cove with fun boulders for kids and adults to climb on, if you come in a wet season or after rain there will be a stream with many mini waterfalls on the left side. The wave splashes here are epic and it is dangerous so I would always be mindful of the water and avoid rocks that are wet when visiting.

This is a nice quick walk off of Hwy 1 with a lot of roadside parking available. It's a nice quiet…read morewalk since the highway has very few cars and there's thick vegetation around. My complaint with this waterfall is that we couldn't figure out how to get to it! The signage is bad and they need to point you in the right direction more. We were prepared to climb some rocks, as we'd heard that you have to to get to the falls, but when we couldn't figure out which rocks to climb, we just turned around. We were able to see the waterfall from a distance and heard people splashing around. Definitely not a trail to walk when muddy and definitely be prepared to climb a lot of boulders to get to the waterfall.

June 2025 As a city person, this is not a "normal easy…read moretrail" Fair warning, the trail is everywhere, no signs or one real pathway to the fall I'm not a hiker and end up turning back because I didn't think I can hope over wet boulders and climb pass a ledge to reach the waterfalls I'm sure it was worth it, I hear others swimming and having fun but I'm too old for that trail I hope you guys give this a try but be careful

Great trail with an opportunity for an epic view of the coastline…read more With many of the State Parks in the area closing down their hiking trails (Spring 2019) I was lucky to find the Mill Creek trail. This hike exceeded my expectations. The Yelp page directions were spot on and we arrived at the dirt parking lot. The trailhead is right along the road. This is a family-friendly trail, and I think I booked about 3.5 miles total. There are some small ups and downs but overall not too bad.. There was a lot of green during our hike and many tall redwoods.. Tips - My top tip is that after you've hiked just drive up the road from the parking lot for about a mile. There will be amazing views when you get to highest point facing the coastline. - Make sure you have Google maps installed on your phone (for the gps)... just in case you accidentally go off trail. - Tons of poison oak. Long pants required. - If you have kids, there will be a fork in the trail not too far from the trailhead. Right side path goes straight down the steap side of the hill. You can take this and check out the creek if you don't want to do the full hike. - Basic rule is to stay along the main creek trail until you get to a point to cross it.. This is confusing because when you reach the point that the creek is in your way there are multiple paths you can take. The few people we saw on this hike all went different directions from here. We crossed the creek and we were okay.

We decided to do this hike on our way back to the Bay Area. It was amazing and we are so glad we…read moredid. We were the only ones in the parking lot that morning and it felt like we had the whole hike to ourselves. Coming in the spring was great since everything was growing, lush, green, and the water was roaring. So serene.

PACIFIC VALLEY OF TICKS TRAIL* Ive never seen so many…read moreticks in my life (June 2017). If you see my photo, those were just the ticks we found on our clothes AFTER taking them off and putting them in a trash bag to get back to the campground. Literally more than 100 on our dogs and us! I had them all of my back and was wearing two shirts. Looked down at the dogs and saw SWARMS of them crawling all over! Haven't ran that fast in awhile haha! Pretty trail but leave the dogs at home and wear long pants/shirts! You can get your clothing treated for ticks as well. We got about a quarter mile in before I noticed those suckers were all over our dogs and us. In hindsight, I don't recall this trail being dog friendly (this would be a good reason why besides being a wildlife sanctuary) and would not recommend it to any dog owners. Stay away and save yourself the headache & several hours of picking those blood suckers off yourself and poor pup. Continue south down on highway 1 and hit up the Willow Creek Beach instead. Beautiful scenery and cmon', its to be expected in the outdoors, especially in Big Sur. Tall grass = ticks & snakes. Very much a "doh" moment for us. Lesson learned. Glad we had tick forceps in my emergency first aid to pick them off without having to touch them.

Love this place! Always stop by on the side of the road, climb over the ladder, and do some…read moreclimbing. Beautiful place to take pictures! Beautiful in the sun, beautiful in the fog, beautiful in every season.

Big Sur River Gorge Trail starts between campsite #111 and #112.  Go upstream on the right of the…read moreriver until you cannot, then wade across the river to continue on the left side. Great fun tackling boulders and fallen trees.    Dress to climb and swim.  I saw a family hiking with an elderly grandma and thought to myself, If she can do it, anybody who is willing can do it.  We came in the beginning of Aug 2020, when camping capacity was halved due to Covid.  But this trail was still super crowded when we arrived about noon.   Wafer is very clear with Steelhead Trouts in there, so naturally it was cold.  I jumped from rocks and swam around anyway, figuring that it will never turn into a hot spring no matter how long I wait.

I love, love this place! Specially during summer time,…read moreMake sure to go bright and early so you can enjoy some alone time, This spot got so much attention and gets very crowded, Specially on a nice hot day. I love packing a snack to have after a nice swim. But please, please be considerate and PICK UP YOUR trash!!!! If you see trash please bring it with you.. let's not forget to keep our rivers clean and everyone can enjoy the beauty of this place.

Thanks to Yelp pal Hannah S.'s review, I had bookmarked this spot as a place to stop when we were…read morein the area. The views are indeed scenic! We grabbed some coffee at the shop located here and then took a stroll behind the stores to savor the cool breezes, the trees, and the lovely sights of the Pacific Ocean. There's actually a trail, too, but we didn't venture down it as we were pressed for time. This is worth a stop to bask in the beautiful seascape.

Lovely scenic stop along the PCH as you make your way up from Cambria towards Big Sur. There's a…read morerestaurant, gas station, great coffee shop, bathrooms, art work, some hiking and view points, and an inn all at this little stop area. I walked all the way to the back where there's a lovely overlook with expansive Pacific Ocean views all along the cliffs and out as far as the eye can see! I even saw a sea otter hanging out with a sea gull - playing around in the waves together haha!! I think the gull was chasing him and gobbling up the otter's leftovers lol. There's another hiking trail on site down to the black sands of Young Creek Beach - but it's a super steep hike down a 400 foot cliff and I wasn't feeling it lol! But there are lots of nice seating areas overlooking the trail, beaches and cliffs so it's still very enjoyable. I grabbed a coffee and some dessert at the coffee shop instead which I can highly recommend!! It was fantastic and the staff were wonderful (see my review for Ragged Point Coffee Shop & Bakery). At the time of my visit, it was about as far as you could go up the PCH to Big Sur bc the road further up is washed out but they're working on it. Still a great little spot to explore - lots of parking and great views. I'd definitely consider staying at the inn next time!

A very short trek to the ocean from Hwy 1. The only drawback are the narrow trails where you can't…read moreavoid the brush. The lighting makes for great photos against the cove and emerald turquoise water.

I fell I love with this beach many years ago. The drive here is INCREDIBLE! I literally have dreams…read moreabout driving under the bridge! You go under to get to this secluded beach off of Hwy 1. I had no idea that you could choose between 3 different campsites until I decided I HAD to be under the moonlight at the beach on 2.22.22 at 2:22 pm. And the views are BREATH TAKING from the beach campsite. They were also freezing, windy, and WET in February! And all of the trails were closed when we visited due to the fire, but it was like a little slice of Heaven to disconnect and spend 2 nights off the grid with great folks. The rangers who serve this place are BEYOND friendly, and they do an awesome job of keeping the bathrooms clean. I believe they were cleaned 3 times a day. And the campsites were so self contained, you really had no idea there were up to 29 sites there. Camping on the beach meant you heard the crash of waves all night long. It was so very peaceful! And while the view looked almost warm, there was NOTHING warm about being there in February. But if you had a camper, and the right gear, the rain and wind would be worth it just to burn that image eternally into your mind! I hope I can snag this location during the warmer months. I'm just in love with everything about LimeKiln.

Heads up a number of trails are still closed from the fire so it's not possible to access the falls…read moreand other trails as in the past. We had site #6 near the beach. The sites are very close to each other. Our first night before our immediate neighbors arrived was amazing - incredible views of the beach/ocean from the campsite and very peaceful. Restrooms including shower were nearby and cleaned every morning. Next night, we were surrounded by big groups on both sides and it felt like a parking lot tent city and it did not seem like car parking restrictions were enforced. The sites are so close we could hear intense snoring on both sides. Neighboring kids would come and smack/kick at our dogs - they were young but still not cool and I was annoyed their parents stood by and watched. We will try Kirk Creek instead next time to get more space. Pros - we loved the incredible access to the beach. Amenities seemed to work well (until inconsiderate folks started to ignore basic human decency like flushing!). Cons - no access to internet (despite it being available but it is locked), some beach sites are very close together, trails closed.