“At dawn, Big Sur’s majesty is almost painful to behold. That same prehistoric look, the look of always, Nature smiling at herself in the mirror of eternity,”- Henry Miller.
Big Sur lives up to its name and leaves you speechless. The origin of the name of this coastal region of California comes from the Spanish “el país grande del sur” which means the Big Country of the South. And grand it is! We have traveled the scenic Pacific Highway 1 numerous times before: in Sonoma County, Mendocino Coast, Santa Barbara area – all portions of Pacific Highway 1 are beautiful but none as majestic as Big Sur.
I put together a 3-day Big Sur itinerary, driving from North to South, that is family friendly and includes best hikes, scenic views, hidden gems and must do things in the area. My best advice for you is this: do not ever listen to tour companies and so-called travel “experts” that tell you can do a Big Sur itinerary in one day. One day does not do Big Sur any justice nor you any favors. You need to live and breath with Big Sur, get the full immersion, if only for a couple of days and nights.
Big Sur itinerary Day 1
If your start your Big Sur itinerary from San Francisco Bay area, or any area North of Big Sur, I suggest you leave early in the morning, i.e. before 9 am. We started at 8.40 am and we arrived at the Northern end of Big Sur after 2 hours.
Our first stop was at a Kaiser Point cove for a scenic view. There are lots of pull outs along the scenic Pacific Highway 1 so no matter where you stop you will have a splendid view. Many of these coves don’t have a name. Just stop wherever there is a pullout and enjoy the view. You will have to be very flexible during this Big Sur itinerary: if there is no parking left at a certain “hot spot” you may need to move on. This is the reason why you need to leave early. Big Sur can be very crowded.
Our next stop was at the famous Bixby Bridge. It is overrun by tourists, there is no other way about it unfortunately. It is a must stop on those 1-day Big Sur itineraries because it is the closest to San Francisco Bay Area. But there are other bridges in Big Sur so don’t get fixated on this one if you don’t get a parking spot and please, don’t block Highway 1 waiting for parking – be considerate of others. There is so much more to Big Sur than Bixby!
Once we were in Big Sur territory the speed of driving dropped to about 20 miles per hour so by lunch time we reached the first small town on Pacific Highway 1. We decided to have lunch at the iconic Kevah Cafe. This pit stop actually consists of 3 institutions: Cafe Kevah, Nepenthe restaurant and a cute souvenir shop called Phoenix. Cafe Kevah is great for a breakfast and lunch stop, it is low key, has fast service and you can grab any table on their patio. Nepenthe is more upscale and wait times for a table can be quite long (the wait was 45 minutes when we arrived). Why these places are iconic? Fantastic panoramic views from their terraces are unparalleled, that is in addition to a great menu.
We settled on Kevah (Kevah eggs Benedict with Dungeness crab were divine and the staff was superb). After lunch we stopped by Nepanth’s terrace just to enjoy the view and then browsed the store.
Big Sur hidden gem # 1: The Phoenix Store
It is the most charming store for all things “California”, and much more. It is NOT your typical tourist trap. It feels like part arts and craft gallery and part a spiritual retreat. Even if you do not buy anything here (though you will be compelled to) just stop by and browse, it will be worth your time.
Since our lunch stop was only a couple miles away from Pffeifer Big Sur State Park it made sense logistically to proceed there next. Pffeifer Big Sur is a big park with many trails. Unfortunately some of them may be closed after a rainy season. When we visited Pffiefer Falls trail, which is a scenic and easy trail for kids, was closed. We explored a River Path, Redwood Grove trail and the first leg of the Buzzard Roost trail that goes along Big Sur River. All of these were flat, with no elevation gain and family friendly. The Big Sur river is beautiful and crystal clean. The redwoods are tall and imposing. What else could one desire?
Big Sur hidden gem # 2: The Campfire
Pffeifer Big Sur State Park has a campground, which in turn has a campfire site. It is built like a huge outdoor auditorium which hosts several FREE educational, family friendly events during the week (the schedule is posted right next to the amphitheater). We wanted to go to a presentation about marine life of Big Sur but it started raining. I strongly suggest stopping by one evening if you stay nearby. And bring s’mores with you, of course!
We had to cut our adventures on the first day in Big Sur short since we were going camping and we had to take care of setting up a tent and preparing dinner. We stayed at Big Sur Campground and Cabins and you can see a detailed review of the campground in my earlier post.
Big Sur itinerary Day 2
On the second day of our Big Sur itinerary we got up early as we had a long day ahead: the plan was to drive all the way to the South end of Big Sur stopping at the most scenic locations. It was a glorious clear and sunny day with excellent visibility. The color of the Pacific Ocean was “Caribbean turquoise”. The water here has no pollutants so it was easy for us to see through it. Even on top of a tall cliff (about 300 ft) we could see dolphins in the water! During the months of December – March you can observe migrating grey whales here.
Our first major stop of the day was at McWay Falls. McWay Falls is another hugely popular stop so plan accordingly. There will be less people before 10 am and you won’t find any parking there in the afternoon when the Falls come out of the shadow and into light. I am not sure though that the crowds are worth it. The photo below was done at 9.30 am and it is not bad at all, don’t you think? Make sure to check California State Parks website before you go. The trail to the Falls, which is only 0.4 mile long, is being closed from time to time, especially after rains.
Our next stop on this Big Sur itinerary was at Limekiln State Park. The Park is small, it only has 3 trails, but it is very beautiful. The trails run through redwood groves along bubbling creeks. The most picturesque is the one leading to Limekiln Falls but it is the most challenging one. It crosses the Limekiln Creek 6 times. Twice on proper bridges and 4 times on sticks and stones that were just thrown over the creek which is swift, deep and wide for what it is. The second part of this trail is challenging for younger kids. You need to be prepared that your feet will get wet and you would be better off crossing these “bridges” with hiking poles. We did not complete this trail since our 6 year old was not comfortable with the crossings.
Instead, we went along the West Fork of the Limekiln Creek till the lime kilns. In the 19th century this place was use to extract and process lime from the canyon which was then shipped to San Francisco to use as concrete. The kilns are still standing as a reminder of the unique history of this region.
Limekiln Park is a good place to have a lunch break as it has a couple of picnic tables.
Our next stop on this Big Sur itinerary was at Sand Dollar beach. When you get there, first go to the scenic overlook (right fork of the main trail) and then down to the beach (total trail length – 0.7 miles). The view from the top is magnificent! The beach is long and wide with powdery white sand. It is best visited at low tide when you can explore the tidepools at the Southern end of the beach.
Big Sur hidden gem # 3 (literally) – Jade.
This area is famous for jade deposits, the semi-precious stone highly coveted in Asia. Most people go to search for jade in Jade Cove. The terrain in the cove is rugged, not the best for younger kids hunting for stones. But not many people know that Sand Dollar beach also has a sufficient amount of jade, the terrain at the beach is flat and you kill several birds with 1 stone: jade, tidepools and sand play.
We stayed a couple of hours at the beach and then drove to our final stop of this Big Sur itinerary – Salmon Creek Falls. This waterfall is located at the Southernmost end of Big Sur. The trail to the waterfall is short, only 0.4 miles but challenging at the end as you have to climb down over boulders. Some people climbed further up for a better view of the falls but the rocks are slippery from the water so you do that at your own risk. There is a swimming hole at the bottom of the Salmon Creek Falls which is great in summer.
This was the end of our second day of Big Sur itinerary. We drove back to our campground tired but very happy.
Big Sur itinerary Day 3
This was the final day of our Big Sur itinerary. We packed our things early in the morning and drove back North. Our major stop for the day was at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. Point Lobos territory is huge. We had to strategically pick and choose locations we will explore during this visit. We decided to focus on the area covered by the South Shore Trail. It is an easy trail even for small kids. We were lucky that our visit coincided with a very low tide and we explored a huge expense of magnificent tide pools. We saw many crabs (some were quite big!), sea urchins and a ton of mussels.
While hiking along the trail we saw seals and other people saw otters too. It is a very beautiful area with lots of wildlife.
We drove back to San Francisco Bay Area around 1 pm to avoid afternoon traffic.
More useful tips for Big Sur itinerary
Thing you will find useful on this trip:
- Hotels are very expensive in Big Sur so camping is you best bet even though campgrounds here are more expensive then any other campgrounds I ever camped at. Here is my Big Sur Campground and Cabins review.
- If you camp in Big Sur Campground and Cabins it is a great area to have as your base because it has multiple grocery stores, gas station, cafes in case you forgot or need anything.
- The weather is very changeable in the area. It may be foggy in the morning, windy at the ocean even in summer. When were in Big Sur it rained 1 full day. That’s why this is just a 3-day Big Sur itinerary even though I planned it for 4 days. We had to change things on the fly, take out some things from the plan and spend 1 day in Monterey museums under the roof. I will be posting that 1 day itinerary shortly. Monterey is only about an hour drive from Big Sur Campground and Cabins so it is easy to escape there if the weather is really bad.
- To plan your trip and educate yourself about Big Sur you will need to review a lot of information. The book 150 Nature Hot Spots in California: The Best Parks, Conservation Areas and Wild Places
is a perfect guide in that respect. There is a big section in it about Big Sur with lots of details and phenomenal photographs. I was asked to review this book but all opinions about it are 100% mine. It is an excellent book because it not only covers national parks and state parks but also lesser known “reserves” and “public areas” that you would never know existed. I thought I was an expert on California but when I read “150 Nature Hot Spots in California” it provided me with many ideas for new trips and specific pointers for this Big Sur itinerary.
5. If you go to Big Sur in spring you will see lots of wildflowers everywhere, especially on approach to San Dollar Beach along the scenic Pacific Highway 1. Keep your eyes pealed!
6. This Big Sur itinerary does not cover everything there is in this beautiful area, may be 50% or so. There are more state parks, hiking trails, waterfalls, etc. Stay tuned for more Big Sur highlights in the future.
7. If you need to pin this Big Sur itinerary for the future you may use the pin below:
If you found this Big Sur itinerary useful, please do me a little favor and share this information with others, for there’s a good chance that it will help them with their travel plans. 🙂 Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I post many more cool photos and videos about our trips than I could include in a blog post and organize some great giveaways!
