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.

Site 29! Had a great stay here. Stayed April 7th and 8th. First day and night were clear and we…read morewere able to see so many stars at night. As far as the campsite it self, i was a little scared that it would be too sloped, but it wasnt bad at all. We used a tent and set it up on the left side and kept the table/bench in the middle. We still had awesome views of the water. Everything was so green it looked like it was a filtered photograph. You could see the vault bathroom from our site but we couldn't smell it. The smell was very prominent though around the area where the host was staying. Bring a bucket, diapers (to soak up the pee), and thick plastic bags if you dont want to use their vault bathrooms. We didnt encounter any raccoons personally, but did see their prints all over our cooler (locked) and table in the mornings. We saw a groundhog and it spent an hour digging up a hole. Firewood was $15 a bundle. we have verizon for our cell service and had no signal at all. It actually went out about 20 miles before arriving to the campground. We were able to use the satellite option on our phones to send out a couple of text messages. Wish we lived closer cause the drive from Orange County was long. Enjoy the photos

Kirk Creek Campground offers one of the most breathtaking coastal views you'll find anywhere in…read moreCalifornia. Waking up right on the cliffs above the ocean is incredible and truly makes the trip worth it. There's no cell service, though newer iPhones with satellite messaging can still send and receive texts if needed. Just be prepared: the campground is very rustic. There's no water, no power, and only basic latrines. At $45 per night, it feels a bit steep considering the lack of amenities, but that's the Recreation.gov rate- and the scenery does soften the sting. If you're driving in, know that Nacimiento-Fergusson Road is not recommended for large vehicles, trailers, or anything that struggles with braking downhill. For larger rigs, Highway 1 is definitely the safer and better option. The surrounding area is amazing, with tons of hikes, beaches, and spots to explore. You can even find local jade along the beaches and in riverbeds, which is a fun bonus. The campground hosts are enthusiastic, friendly, and genuinely helpful- one of the highlights of staying here. The only major downside is the raccoon situation. They go absolutely wild at night- climbing on tables, chairs, coolers, even cars and trailers. They will try to open anything they can, so make sure everything is secured or locked up. It would be great to see the park system address this, because they're definitely a persistent (and bold) nuisance. Overall, Kirk Creek is stunning, quiet, and unforgettable- as long as you're ready for a rustic experience and some energetic nighttime visitors.

Wow!!! Loved this campsite and the camp hosts here! Came up and it was my first camping by the…read morebeach and wow, it was beautiful. The campsites were clean and access to sand dollar beach was amazing. Make sure you go during low tide though so you can actually walk down to the beach! My partner and I talked to the camp hosts and they were so sweet and accommodating. They made sure the campsites were clean and checked in with us. We will 100% be back here this year since we had such a great experience. Thank you Katie and James!!

This is a dry Campsite with water faucets in between two campsites. Large restrooms with toilet &…read moresink the sink not in use, it has a bag covering it. No lighting inside be sure to have a flashlight of some kind for nighttime use. The camp host's were very friendly and informative. It is pet friendly our Corgi came home with quite a few ticks on him (6) we had never experienced that before. I suggest your pet be given some flea & tick meds prior to visiting campsite. We had a visit to the Vet and Archie is fine... We enjoyed our 3 nt. stay. It was March and the weather was perfect for hiking & walks on the beach. It rained one of the afternoon into evening while we were there, I would recommend staying here.

Another great Ca.state park. A short drive from Carmel down the Hwy 1. Plenty of parking. A nice…read morevariety of walking trails. Some short flat trails. We saw a lot of campers heading out on the trails for some overnight camping. Nice to see some hard to find California native flowers. FYI no cell service. Download your maps, or bring a paper map

We stayed two nights at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and while the scenery is absolutely stunning…read more(as expected for Big Sur), the experience was seriously impacted by poor enforcement and lack of oversight from staff. Right off the bat, our check-in experience was frustrating. We had reserved and paid for an ADA campsite, only to arrive and find someone else already occupying it. Apparently, there is no system in place to verify IDs against reservations, which seems like a huge oversight--especially for ADA-designated spots. After spending time sorting that out, things settled temporarily. Our first night at the Weyland campground quickly went downhill once "quiet hours" (10pm-6am) began. Instead of quiet, the majority of the campground was loud, playing music, and talking well into the night--until nearly 4am. There was zero enforcement of quiet hours, and no visible presence from a camp host or ranger to address it. It honestly felt more like a free-for-all than a state park campground. Hoping for a better experience, we moved to the South campground for our second night. Unfortunately, things got worse. The bathroom across from Site 45 was in unacceptable condition. The ADA shower stall took three of my paid shower tokens without working, and to make matters even worse, there was literal human feces on the floor. Not just dirty--completely unsanitary and clearly not being maintained. We attempted multiple times to contact the camp host about both the bathroom situation and earlier noise issues, knocking several times with no response. It was incredibly frustrating to have no support or accountability when problems came up. It's really disappointing because this park is naturally beautiful and has so much potential. But the lack of basic management--no ID checks for reservations, no quiet hour enforcement, and poorly maintained facilities--completely takes away from the experience. It honestly feels like the park is being let down by the very people responsible for running it. Would love to return someday, but until there are major improvements in oversight and maintenance, it's hard to justify coming back.

Spent an amazing day in May at sunset beach. The weather was breezy and warm and surprisingly very…read morelittle traffic at this beautiful beach. There is plenty of space to spread out for bbqing, fire pit, sunning, frolicking in the sand with no disturbance. Super clean beach, and clean restrooms. Parking day pass for a $10. If you enjoy Northern California state parks, an annual pass is $125.

This is my go to beach for a reason. The beach is always never crowded and if it is, there is…read moreenough space for everyone. Sunset is beautiful as well.

I would recommend. Cabin was nice and clean Fire place was…read morenice and cozy and kept cabin nice and warm. Sheets and comforter were of very good quality Nice to have coffee and hot chocolate available. Awesome and beautiful settings. Only down fall was grandson ( teenager) complaint of NO cell or internet services.

Beautiful area and close to all the hikes we wanted to do! The sound of the creek made it magical…read moreand a peaceful sleep was long over do.

Mcway falls is beautiful something out of a story or a movie. So beautiful…read more Key things to note if you want to go - See if the trail is open. ( it wasn't but they instructed how to view the falls from the roadway) still beautiful. We did not have ANY RECEPTION after point lobos park traveling south on pch to Bixby bridge to the Julia phifer burns park which is where the mcway falls are. Roughly an hour drive depending on variables on the road. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A FULL TANK OF GAS MORE ROUGHLY OVER 150 miles if you are going from Carmel. We had to get a couple gallons of gas in Big Sur and it was not cheap, almost double a regular gas price. All in all good trip!

Came here to use the bathrooms and go to Mcway Falls. First off bathrooms here are CLEAN. All the…read morestate parks in Big Sur seem to have very clean bathrooms. They didn't have an attendant on duty do we dropped a $10 bill for the park pass. Nice views, short walk.

This post is looong overdue becuase I believe the highway 1 now near this waterfall is closed from…read more2025 to 2026 (but check) I love, love, love waterfalls, and this spot is absolutely gorgeous. McWay Falls feels truly magical, the way the waterfall spills onto the beach and meets the turquoise ocean is breathtaking. This waterfalls combines two of my favorite things (the beach and waterfall so what's there not to love). The views are stunning, peaceful, and unlike anywhere else. An unforgettable stop along the coast and one of the most beautiful natural sights I've ever seen. I wish there was a way to hike down, but there isn't, I guess it's a good thing as it preserves this spots natural beauty

A must stop location if you're visting the Big Sur area!! No matter how many times I have seen this…read moresite, it still continues to make me smile and look on in admiration of it's natural beauty! Images are from two separate visits. Can get crazy busy so best to see in the off-season or during the week if possible. There is parking on the street, however, be careful of traffic, as well as a paid parking lot.

Came here from Monday- Wednesday at their tent camping site. We stayed at campsite #1. This site…read morewas considered a hike in. To get in was a slight incline, slightly steep but there were stairs, so that made the incline slightly easier. Someone mentioned that it was a 0.5 mile hike-in in another review, and it's far less than 0.5 miles. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who maybe doesn't want to get their steps in because you have to climb up and down to use the restroom/shower, but other than that no complaints about this particular hike-in spot. The description of this campsite states that it'll fit a 1-2 person tent. My partner and I managed to fit a 6 person tent. It was a little big to fit in the spot, but we managed. There was a slight slope towards the edge, so we just slept the other way where it was a little more flat. This spot is super secluded, you have a lot of trees covering you. So if you value a little more privacy, it might be good for you. The closest neighbors were downhill at campsite 2 and 3, but it's a good amount of distance away. That being said it's one of the first campsites upon entering, so in the day time you get a good amount of cars passing by. At night, it's super quiet, you can even hear the creek flowing. I haven't gotten this good of sleep in a while. In the morning around 8/9 you have maintenance and cleaners coming around, cleaning the bathrooms and doing other stuff around the campsite. So if you are not an early riser, there's the noise from that. However, I didn't mind that because that gave me reassurance that they actually clean the bathrooms daily. Ventana campground offers hot showers at $2 for 5 mins. If you taken quick showers, 5 minutes is all you really need. I would recommend taking showers before it's too late or super early. There was a guest across the way from us at 54 yelling at the top of his lungs about how the water was cold and how he wasted money on his shower at 5AM. He then proceeded to break the door and break the hand sanitizer off the wall and throw its across the campsite. I'm sure he woke a lot of people up from his little baby temper tantrum. Not sure if it was because spot 1 was surrounded by trees, but we had a lot of little flys?/gnats? Flying around. They went away once we got the fire going and there was smoke. There were also wasps flying around which made it uncomfortable as my partner is allergic. They only came out when food/meat was out and being cooked. Overall, this was a great experience for a first time camper, like myself. The showers and bathrooms were greatly appreciated. They had an airstream that offered drinks and snacks. There was also jenga and cornhole by the airstream. Again, we came during the weekday. It was not that busy and super quiet. There were a lot of spots open. I'm sure the experience would be different on the weekends, with more spots filled. Some of the campsites are really close together so I'm not sure how busy or loud it could get on the weekends with neighbors close by. I went around to scout other campsites for next time. Overall, I would like to come back again and either book the same spot or try a different spot.

Stayed here last minute on our roadtrip because there was nothing else available. I would never…read morestay again. Over $90! The campsites are way too close. I've never seen anything like it. So many huge groups, barking dogs, whining kids which I can hear perfectly because I'm feet away - and I'm here with my own young kid! We ended up requesting to move sites and setting up shop in our car to mitigate the loud drunk people. The airstream did offer margaritas, so why not be encouraged to be loud and drunk all night? The cost far outweighs the experience people are talking about unless you don't care about large groups (tons of families and barking dogs) within feet of you. Perhaps they should make this adults only? Drink so much you don't care about the loud party happening all around you. It is beautiful and it is sad that they have made this such a terrible experience with the sites being so close etc. Have a good night sleep somewhere else and enjoy Big Sur for the DAY at one of the state parks for $10 pass to all parks. Update: construction at 8:37a. Another poster said 9a but these trucks were going by earlier and have started officially now. Cutting down trees maybe? It's loud hydraulic sounds. Hope you are able to get a good night sleep before that starts. NO toilet paper in morning.

This was such a fun park. A little out of the way but way worth the trip!…read more A small fee to enter. It's worth it because it goes to take care of upkeep and in the summer, there's a lot of people so this little bit helps. You will want to have a flashlight on hand to go through the caves here as there are long spots you are in the dark climbing up and down stairs or down or up through boulders. Headlamps are best but a flashlight will work too. I started out day 1 on one side and had so much fun hiking through the park and crawling through the rock caves. I spent a little time talking to the Park Rangers to find the best place for me to hike that wasn't too long. Reaching the top of the mountain and walking back down with the amazing views, all the Turkey Vultures and other birds and wildlife was spectacular. The trails, though not necessarily well marked which way is which were well traveled so you knew you weren't going to get lost going off trail. The second day I hit the other side of the park to do Bear Gulch Caves. Excellent cave! Parking at the foot is limited even about 1/4 mile down next to info shop and restrooms is limited so be patient. You may have to park further down as summer comes. This is the only bathroom but very well maintained. There is water running down through this cave and when you reach the top, there a tight squeeze through the rocks and then an amazing payoff with the reservoir. Great spot to watch the birds, Dragon Flies, walk around some of the reservoir before hiking back out down along the very well traveled path past rock climbers to the parking lot again. I highly recommend this fantastic park not just for the excellent caves but for all the good hiking trails. There is some camping and even a pool further down towards the entrance on one side. The Rangers here are full of knowledge and very friendly and professional. Excellent experience!!

For the first time, we were able to hike at Pinnacles National Park--specifically the Bear Gulch…read morearea--and it was truly an amazing experience, definitely one for the books! We absolutely loved the variety this hike offers. The caves were such a fun and unique highlight, and the reservoir added a peaceful, scenic touch to the whole trail. The views of the rock walls and dramatic formations were stunning from start to finish. It felt like a perfect mix of adventure and nature. What made it even more special is that we did it together with our 3-year-old, and he absolutely loved it too! It's such a memorable family-friendly experience, though of course some parts require a bit of extra attention with little ones. One thing to keep in mind--parking can be quite challenging. During our visit on April 2, it was very hard to find a spot. We ended up parking quite far and had to walk about a mile just to reach the entrance to the Sycamore Trail. Next time, we'll definitely plan to arrive as early as possible to avoid that hassle. Overall, it was an unforgettable hike, and we're already looking forward to coming back and exploring more trails in the area!