A Big Sur Road Trip

I don’t remember how or when the idea germinated that some friends and I would take a road trip down to Big Sur (California). I was excited because I’ve wanted to drive down Highway 1 (a.k.a. “the One” or “PCH”) for a very long time. I had the very fortunate experience of attending college at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, (Cal Poly to all those in the know!) and had wanted to take a road trip down from home to college on my many routine trips back up the Bay Area to visit family over breaks. It never happened. And so, I was ecstatic to do at least a part of the drive along the coast with some friends.

When I was doing research on places to visit in Big Sur, I didn’t realize that Big Sur is a reference to the general area along HWY 1. It’s not a specific point, but more a general region. There was a time when some friends (who drive very fast) did a night drive up (north from San Luis Obispo) to a random point on HWY 1, and in my mind, Big Sur refers to the region between Carmel in the north all the way down to San Simeon in the south. More preferably, Big Sur refers to the windy roads that hug the mountains on one side with views of the sheer drop-offs and the Pacific Ocean on the other side.

We started early in the morning, and made a stop for brunch at First Awakenings in Pacific Grove. This is a really great spot to grab some delicious eats before heading down the coast.

I am no coast weather expert, but I think that all types of weather are what makes Big Sur so alluring. The morning started off grey, cloudy, foggy, and misty, and burned off in the afternoon, revealing the vivid and beautiful blues of the Pacific Ocean. Then the clouds returned later in the evening, making the whole day a wonderful experience of exposures of Big Sur weather.

First stop: Bixby Bridge! There’s a parking lot on both sides of the highway for different vantage points.

Along the way, we stopped at different pull-outs, experiencing the rugged coastline. And the clouds cleared, too!

We had tried to visit Pfeiffer Beach, but the guard told us that the parking lot was full, and was not admitting any more cars. We didn’t want to make the hike down and back up along the dusty road, so we skipped it…

Next stop: McWay Falls! The magical highlight of Big Sur and one of the must-visit sights. Either park along the side of the road or in the paid parking area. I was expecting a semi-long hike to the overlook, but the hike was maybe 5 minutes! I think views this stunning deserve some sweat, but I guess the drive along HWY 1 and getting to the waterfall was the ‘sweating’ part.

We decided to turn around at this point, not wanting to drive along the windy road in the dark. We made a second pass at Pfeiffer Beach, and the guard said it was open. Hurrah!