It was hard finding parking on a weekend. Luckily, people don't stay long. Unfortunately, there's…read moreonly one lane going north and one lane going south. The Bixby Bridge was absolutely beautiful. Great place to take pictures and watch the sunset.

This is just one of those iconic bridges you have to just stop, get out the car, and take a few…read moremoments to appreciate with it's stunning backdrop. Parking can be tricky and be careful of traffic. Do yourself a favor and don't just take in the view from the top. There is a little pathway which drops you down lower so you don't get as much of the crowds in your pictures. Also, hop over the otherside of the bridge for a different vantage point.

So much history and so much to see here. We took the tour of the grand entrance and pools. You…read morelearn the most in this tour but there are other tours available as well such as the upstairs bedrooms and library or even the kitchen. Each tour is about 2 hours long. It's great to visit and the views are AMAZING! There is also a theater showing after the tour on the hearts family. Totally recommend visiting and bring your walking shoes!

I have been DYING to come here! I tried two years ago, but sadly missed the bus to the top!…read more Finally came back in May of 2026, it was beautiful! Like WOAH! Stupid money, incredible views, history, and sites to see. However, my complaints.. and I don't mean to be this way... but the bathrooms were shut down and there was only porter potties and that was so disappointing and very disgusting. Second, not sure if it was because we had the last tour of the day or what but our tour guide was so sarcastic it felt like he didn't want to be there. His name was Chris or went by Greece, one or the other. Just his vibes were very funky. Anyways, beautiful place! Would love to see the other places on property. We saw the grand rooms!

First lit in 1875, the Piedras Blancas lighthouse is a National Historic Landmark as well as a…read moredesignated Outstanding Natural Area! It's surrounded by a marine sanctuary and the beaches and rocks are full of seabirds and elephant seals and more. If you can manage to get tickets for a tour, I highly recommend you jump on it - they're infrequent with limited availability - but so worth it! The tour starts at an old, out-of-use motel nearby - then you all get in your cars and follow the guide into the light station complex. After parking, you meet the tour guide for the grounds and they give a talk. Then you're free to explore for the rest of your allotted time. There are lots of historical buildings on the grounds to explore - with little "museums" in the gift shop, fog signal house, and lighthouse itself. You can even still see the foundation area of the original 1906 keeper's house - but the building was moved to nearby Moonstone Beach. You can't tour it but it's available to rent for overnight stays! Sadly, the top three floors of the lighthouse had to be taken down due to repeated earthquake damage - so the original lens (a first order Fresnel) was moved and is on display in nearby Cambria. But the signal is still functional and flashes every 10 seconds on its temporary replacement lens. They do have plans to fully restore the lighthouse to all its former glory - but are still trying to raise the funds - they have a GoFundMe on their website if you're interested. The grounds have tons of trails all around with amazing views of all the beaches and "piedras blancas" or "white stones" - covered in sea birds and seals! Definitely don't miss out on at least some of them. My only complaint is that they only give one tour a day (starting at 945am) and only allow you a total of two hours to explore - which is definitely not even close to being enough imo. Our tour guide's talk was 40-45 mins long so that left only about an hour to see all the museums and buildings and explore the trails. And they're strict on the time limit too :( But it's still totally worth it - and actually it's probably better for the protected nature environment lol! So see it if you get a chance bc it's a rare luxury!

Booked a Monday 2-hour tour in the early morning of the tour, and it turned out to be the best…read moreexperience of our central coast trip. The coastal fog cleared enough on the late June day for us to enjoy glimpses of Piedras Blancas rocks and breaching whale. Plus the native plants were in peak bloom. No one minded that the docent led tour lasted longer than the original 45 minutes, after which we were allowed to roam the well-groomed grounds until noon. Most of the tour group were still there when we left at 11:45 am. The fact that only tour groups are allowed in felt exclusive, plus you are away from the mass of summer tourists. My advice... the advertised tour dates are Tues, Thurs, & Sat, but we booked ours for a Monday. It doesn't hurt to check for available dates on the booking website.

Once abandoned and in ruins, when we first moved to the Bay Area it was a desolate and decayed huge…read morelot with a pet goat and a caretaker in a mobile home to shoo off explorers and vandals. Built in the 1930s by Kenneth Kitchen. It's inspired by romanticized Hindu mysticism as well as the arcane and occult. Because of this the site is covered in symbology and hidden meaning. From the obvious all seeing eye at the front gate to the mini details in the brick there is an esoteric design language that keeps it all unified and cohesive. The legend is also complemented by the fact that the owner and brothers were bricklayers and stone masons and it was only constructed under moon light. It was purchased in 2016 and lovingly restored and developed by the new owners to preserve the local folk-art style architecture. The new main house is next to the "court of mysteries" and a lot of the missing abalone and smashed brick has been painstakingly replaced.

The Court of Mysteries (which also goes by The Red Brick Castle, among other names) is a beautiful…read moremonument and home in Santa Cruz, which not many people know about. It has a very interesting history to it, and though you cannot go inside the house or on the property itself (because it is a private residence), you can still appreciate the architecture from out front, including a lovely fountain in the courtyard, and learn about the stories and mysteries that have defined this unique landmark. These stories can easily be found online, but some of the most interesting details are that the original builder (Kenneth Kitchen and his brother) built it only during the night, modeled it after a Hindu temple, and incorporated hidden messages throughout, using shapes, astrological symbols, and dashes and dots resembling morse code, with possible connection to the occult. Also, there is no historical record of Kenneth Kitchen after he left Santa Cruz in the 1950's, so yeah a lot of oddities to drive your imagination and make you wonder. One of the most intriguing parts of the Court of Mysteries is the "Gate of Prophesy" which has two magnificent towers and an intricately designed archway with the mysterious triangular structure at its center. Beautiful trees and vegetation surround the brick and abalone "temple" and entire site, creating a picturesque scene overall. Apparently the property was restored a few years ago by the previous owners (I'm pretty sure that rebuild didn't occur "only at night"). They even built a house on the left side to live in while reconstructing the Court of Mysteries. The property was subsequently sold in late 2021. If you're interested in a quick visit, it's easy to just park right on the street, take a few photos of the amazing archway and towers, and peek through the gate to see what the Court of Mysteries looks like today... and then maybe amuse yourself with the legend and history behind this strange phenomenon.

Beautiful drive and amazing view! You gotta see this with your honey or your family! Pack a picnic…read moreand have a wonderful day! Be prepared to be offline...

What the hell is a Rock Shed and why did this cost $40 million? Well after watching a very…read moreinformative video on YouTube I have an answer. As someone that comes up this way several times a year I've experienced the pain of landslides and road closures. This particular section of road is the most dangerous on the Big Sur highway. It was costing the state over a million a year just to maintain this small section of road. So civil engineers got the funding to build a "cover" over the road so that dirt and rocks would simply slide over the moving cars and down into the ocean.. - The cool looking stone finish of this rock shed is just decorative stamped concrete..

I didn't know that I loved lighthouses until I had the tour of the Point Pinos Lighthouse in…read morePacific Grove. Now I am drawn to lighthouses for their beauty, their history, and their unique mystique. The docents at Point Pinos Lighthouse were extremely knowledgeable and friendly. The grounds are impeccable, and the exhibits within the lighthouse are a slice of living history. The setting is stunning, right at Asilomar Beach. You'll want to leave time to walk along the water after you explore the lighthouse. Even if you are not into history or the military or lighthouses, you should definitely drop in to visit this space. You will walk away having digested a bit of unique beauty. Check the hours online -- they are very specific and limited, and it's easy to get shut out. Many people don't know that women often worked the lighthouses back in older times. This is just one fact that stayed with me after my visit. A candle on the water helps lost sailors find their way home.

My family and I held a wedding ceremony at the lighthouse. Upon the wedding day, the communication…read morewith the staff was great. Response time for booking was quick and specifically, Deborah, was extremely helpful. It was such a beautiful and quaint place to hold such a special event. The grounds are nicely kept and the architecture and fountain really give this place a special charm that I have not seen elsewhere. I would highly recommend visiting this lighthouse!

The Soledad Mission is a beautiful place to stop and explore CA history. I especially enjoyed the…read moregardens and old trees. The ruins in the back were fascinating. My only suggestion is that they clean the fountain and add water plants so that the koi fish can survive. The Santa Barbara Mission did that with their koi fountain and it looks beautiful & healthy.

I really enjoyed my visit Mission Soledad. Although this mission is much smaller than many of the…read moreother missions in California, there is still plenty of beauty to see along your visit. I also wanted to mention that the two women that worked the gift shop works extremely welcoming and treated my wife and I and our son like family. The view surrounding the mission was also breathtaking hills and mountains of luscious California farmland. It definitely made me proud of being born and raised right here in the central Valley of California.

Marker #12 of the 17-mile drive, this iconic tree is known as the most photographed tree in the…read moreworld. Believe to have been seeded around 1750 by the Spanish, this lone tree growing atop a granite overlook has weathered harsh winds and salt spray from the ocean which has resulted in its worn and weathered look that we see today. Despite the extreme and inhospitable environment that it continues to survive in, this lone tree miraculously has continued to grow, in part due to various conservation efforts throughout the years, and stands as a testament to the history of the ancient land it resides upon. Access to the tree is closed off in order to protect the tree's roots, but is easily visible from a nearby viewing platform along the 17-mile drive. Parking is readily accessible, and people are constantly leaving as they finish their photo ops.

What an amazing sight. A cypress tree growing on a rock in an almost inhospitable environment…read more Can walk down stairs for great photos.