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.

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 is a NATIONAL PARK (los padres) that is PRIVATELY MANAGED…read more You cant use any passes except the resident pass to get in. Otherwise its really cool place. 15 to park no walkins allowed

Absolutely amazing beach. The purple sand alone makes it feel special, and the dramatic rock…read moreformations and crashing waves make it one of the most beautiful spots on the California coast. Number one tip is to come at low tide so you can explore the tide pools and see all the sea life. Just be sure to respect it and leave everything as you found it. It is incredible how much you can discover when the water pulls back. This was definitely a highlight of our trip to Big Sur and Monterey. A must visit if you are anywhere in the area.

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.

Beautiful site with all kinds of historic buildings. We saw it as we were driving down hwy 1 and…read moredecided to check it out. Unfortunately you can only really explore the area on a guided tour which we did not take. It's next to a gorgeous stretch of beach with some wonderful views!

The extremely large woman is absolutely rude. My family and I believe there's more to this place…read morethan they say (oh yes conspiracy theorists) it says "state park" but you're not to be "alone" away from your tour guide. The part of the tour everyone goes for is OFF LIMITS (nothing to see behind the 3rd locked gates with brand new underground electrical and new huge electrical box. That area is used for "weather current studies" yuh ok. A couple guides were more careful with their words than others. This tour would be great for people that question nothing and eat what's spoon fed to them. The lighthouse and land is attached, but they charge for both separately. Use your money to go to Pfiefer or even just grab food in Big Sur.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.