Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Ventana Wilderness

    5.0 (1 review)

    Ventana Wilderness Photos

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - Ventana Wilderness

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration
    Photo of Kaori M.
    269
    1738
    1482

    12 years ago

    Helpful 7
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Parks 251 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park

    Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park

    4.4(403 reviews)
    1.8 mi

    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.

    Photos
    Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park - Family Camping September 12-14, 2025

    Family Camping September 12-14, 2025

    Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park - Family Camping September 12-14, 2025

    Family Camping September 12-14, 2025

    Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park - Family Camping September 12-14, 2025  THE JOY LUCK CLUB

    See all

    Family Camping September 12-14, 2025 THE JOY LUCK CLUB

    Andrew Molera State Park

    Andrew Molera State Park

    4.3(135 reviews)
    2.4 mi

    First time visiting Andrew Molera State park this last weekend 5/25/2024. We were feeling ambitious…read moreand decided to hike the whole 8 mile loop (creamery meadow, ridge, panorama, and bluffs trail) roughly 1450 ft elevation gain total. At the beginning of the hike and at the end of the hike you have to cross a river that is about knee deep for someone around my height of 5"4. The hike took us 5 hours to compete with ample breaks included. We hung out on two different beaches (not included in the time) throughout our day which was a ton of fun. It was my first time ever seeing or even hearing about purple sand and my mind was blown. The trails are VERY overgrown so I'd suggest wearing long sleeves and pants to avoid ticks, poison ivy, and stinging nettle. Parking is free if you are willing to park along hwy 1 and walk/run across the street. There is paid parking inside of the park and there seemed to be plenty of space if that's your preference. Lastly, I love that there are clean bathrooms at the beginning of the trail head. Overall, this loop offered absolutely amazing ocean views during the majority of hike. Bring lots of water, sunscreen, and your camera.

    What a nice park. I would recommend the one mile trail walk to the beach. The beach is quite empty…read moreduring the week. Also, while the trail is quite wide, it is lined on both sides with poison oak almost the entire walk which is fine as long as you don't touch it. The trail floor starts out as dirt and small rocks and eventually turns to sand and rock. There's also a small section of a two planks wide stable bridge over a river. It's maybe 30 feet long and the water below is about 6 inches to a foot deep. It would be fine for most children to cross with an adult. The views once you arrive at the ocean are truly stunning . The sand is quite hot and there are many small rocks and lots of seaweed, so I'm glad I wore flip flops. Sneakers would have been better I think.

    Photos
    Andrew Molera State Park - River to cross before and after

    River to cross before and after

    Andrew Molera State Park
    Andrew Molera State Park

    See all

    Limekiln State Park

    Limekiln State Park

    4.4(142 reviews)
    24.2 mi

    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.

    Photos
    Limekiln State Park
    Limekiln State Park
    Limekiln State Park - Flocks of birds and otters hang out just offshore

    See all

    Flocks of birds and otters hang out just offshore

    Partington Cove - You can get to this part of the mountain and see an uninterrupted view of the ocean

    Partington Cove

    4.8(53 reviews)
    24.4 mi

    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.

    Photos
    Partington Cove - Right side trail, big waves here so be careful

    Right side trail, big waves here so be careful

    Partington Cove - Rock scramble at the end of the cove trail

    Rock scramble at the end of the cove trail

    Partington Cove - Gorgeous morning hike

    See all

    Gorgeous morning hike

    Point Lobos State Natural Reserve - Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

    Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

    4.9(1.1k reviews)
    20.7 mi

    This is one of the most gorgeous state parks in California!! I've been wanting to visit for years…read moreand we finally made it here this past weekend. We were staying in Monterey, so it was about a 25 min drive to get there, we arrived before 11am. We parked before the park entrance along Highway 1 where there were NO signs saying "No parking at any time" THIS IS IMPORTANT because as we were walking towards the entrance, there was a parking enforcement officer giving tickets to all the other cars parked where the signs were clearly posted closer to the entrance. So make sure you pay attention! There is parking inside the park too for only $10. Once inside there were park rangers helping you with questions and guiding you on deciding which trails to go on, which was very nice and convenient! We took a picture of the map and choose to do the Cypress Grove, and the Sea Lion Point Trails. We only had about 3 hrs to hang out at the park, so those two were perfect easy hikes and roughly about 2.5 miles if you do both loops. We got spectacular views everywhere, you could hear the Sea Lions and see so many beautiful birds flying around. Wish we would've brought binoculars, so bring some with you if you remember. We can't wait to come back another time and do a full day of hiking because there are so many other trails! The park and restrooms were clean and well kept too, it's definitely a must visit once in your lifetime at least!!

    Absolutely stunning scenery! Easily one of the best hiking trails I've experienced! I've visited…read moretwice now, and both times have been fantastic. The coastal trails are well marked and offer breathtaking lookout points throughout the hike. Today was a little foggy but we were still able to enjoy the beauty. It's definitely worth arriving early to secure parking. The main lot was full when we got there, but we were able to find a spot along Highway 1. While it was a bit crowded, the variety of trails helps spread people out, so it never felt too overwhelming. We hiked about 3.5 miles and made it to the cove where seals birth their pups, Bird Island, hidden beach coves with beautiful blue water and tide pools. There were also docents and volunteers we spotted along the way. Next time I'd like to go further down the trail and explore more of the park.

    Photos
    Point Lobos State Natural Reserve - Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

    Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

    Point Lobos State Natural Reserve - Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

    Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

    Point Lobos State Natural Reserve - Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

    See all

    Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

    Ventana Wilderness - parks - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...