Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Hikiing Big Sur State Parks

This is a report of a few short hikes that I did in one day along the Big Sur coast. It is written especially for those who want to decide on which State Park they would like to visit when they go to Big Sur.

Morning dawns, grey and cold. I layer my clothing with T-shirt, thin turtleneck, and my favorite grey Eddie Bauer zippered sweatshirt. Jeans and my trusty Merrells for hiking and I'm ready.

6:30 am and it is still dark outside. I start up the car and head for Carmel. About 7 am light begins to streak in the east and by the time I reach Carmel Beach at 7:30a, it is full daylight but overcast.

Carmel Beach is a wonderful soft sandy beach and is a doggie beach. This early in the morning, dozens of dogs and their owners are already on the beach along with other people exercising and doing their tai chi. I park at the bottom of Ocean Avenue and walk down to the beach. The dogs are in rapture. They race up and down the beach, into the surf, and run excited circles around people. Their toys fly through the air and some are caught midair, while others land and several dogs playfully chase the ball, the roped toy, the frisbee. One dog runs at my back full speed and smashes into my back, nearly knocking me over. Other dogs come to investigate. As one who is allergic to cat and dog fur, I am a magnet for these animals. Pretty soon, I am surrounded by a bevy of furry friends. We run down the beach together. Another group of dogs bark and my new friends veer off suddenly to investigate. I've not seen so many happy animals in a long time. Here's an aging bulldog with his belly flopping down and his tongue lolling almost to the ground as he stands there panting from having retrieved his toy from the surf. There a pair of beautiful golden retrievers run delicate happy circles around their owner. I notice the owners too. Here's this little girl with a huge mastiff and there's this big man with a teenie weenie dog. Carmel Beach is a happy beach.

8:30a Refreshed from my mini-hike along the beach, I drive up a few blocks and get a cup of coffee. Time to move south again.

Two miles south of Carmel is Pt Lobos. I turn into the driveway only to find that the State Reserve is still closed. It will open at 9am. Mine is the fifth car in line and within a few minutes the line has stretched to ten cars. A number of the people are divers and they are gearing up while waiting for the gates to open. Half of Pt Lobos State Reserve is under water and it is that half which attracts the divers.

As the gates open, the four cars in front all pull over. Divers have to get special permits at the gate, so my car becomes the first car. "Welcome to Pt Lobos", says the ranger, "You now have the entire park to yourself!" I am the first one into Pt Lobos this morning!

I drive in to the Information Station, chat with the ranger there for a bit, and exchange my car keys for a pair of binoculars. "You're not going to see much in this fog," he warns. But there is always the off-chance ... so I sling the binoculars on my shoulder and set off.

On previous trips I had hiked Whaler's Cove, Sea Lion Point Trail, and along the South Shore. This time I chose the Cypress Grove Trail along the Allan Memorial Grove. A.M. Allan was the man who had the foresight to buy up some of the land and start this area on its road to a State Reserve. IMHO, Pt Lobos is one of the most beautiful spots along Big Sur. The Cypress Grove Trail is a circular trail that goes around the Allan Memorial Grove. It offered fantastic vistas out to Devil's Cauldron and to Punta de Los Lobos Marinos (the"Sea Wolves", i.e., the sea lions which give this park its name). There were also vistas of jagged granite "islands" near shore. With every step there was the wonderful fresh scent of pine, cypress, sagebrush and other evergreen shrubs. High up on this bluff, I watch the fog play chase with the surf and the shoreline. It is so breathtaking beautiful out here, even in the fog.

Back at the ranger station, I retrieve my car keys and the ranger tells me of another trail to hike - The Granite Point-Moss Cove Trail, which he claims is even more beautiful than the Cypress Grove Trail, but, since it is not a loop trail like Cypress Grove, fewer people hike that trail. Another reason to return soon to Pt Lobos!

9:30a and I'm on my way to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.

Pfeiffer Big Sur is a bit inland from the shore and bathed in glorious sunlight with a blue blue sky. Dozens of cars are already parked at the Ranger Station and a lot of people are using Big Sur Lodge. I head for Pfeiffer Falls. The tall redwoods look taller today. It's spring and I want to see the falls at their fullest. It's a short 1/2 mile hike and I am there and back in almost no time. Unfortunately, I had left my camera in the car. I do have a picture of Pfeiffer Falls taken in November when it was just a trickle. Yep, another reason to come back during the spring and hike to Pfeiffer Falls again to take pictures! :) There is so much more to explore at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park that I vow to overnight there on my next trip down.

On the road again, this time back to the coast and back into the fog. I drive past the Post Ranch Inn but manage to miss Nepenthe altogether in the fog. Oh well, can't see the spectacular view anyhow in this fog.

Next stop is Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. I turn into the left parking lot (the right parking lot is for campers) and then walk the easy trail to the viewpoint for McWay Falls. Only one other family is hiking this trail, but the Falls are beautiful as they cascade onto the sandy beach and into the ocean. It's a short 1/2 mile walk.

Back at the parking lot, I head in the opposite direction for the OTHER falls, those that are inland, and I hear McWay Creek gurgling invisibly in the thick redwood forest. There are a lot more hikers on this trail, but I still keep an eye out for mountain lions, knowing that they prefer to dine on lone hikers rather than a group. The trail follows the creek to some extent and, although it's only a 15-20 minute hike from the parking lot, it's pretty steep in places. At the Falls, there's a bench and I sit on the bench to catch my breath. In each direction as I look, there is another picture perfect view. (Hope there's still film in my camera!) Here, too, the flowers have changed. While at Point Lobos there had been beautiful purple irises and lupines, here there are delicate white flowers and the scent is that of a redwood forest instead of coastal pine and chaparral.

It is past noon by the time I leave JPB State Park and head southward for Limekiln State Park. I had never been in Limekiln past the ranger station. The ranger at Limekiln has a single zeroxed page for a map and it's free! I decide to hike to the lime kilns that give this park its name.

The trail leads first past the camp site where a number of families had pitched their tents. I'm going to tell you fron the start, that this was my best hike for the day. It's only a half hour from the Ranger Station to the lime kilns, defunct today but they must have been roaring during the late 1800's. Limekiln Creek is almost three times as big as McWay Creek. That's because the slope here is much gentler than at McWay Creek, which tumbles down some pretty steep grade.

The four lime kilns are huge. They are easily reached over some foot bridges. I decided, after the lime kilns, that I would hike to the "Falls". After all, spring time is the best time to view falls. This was the most fun part of all my hikes this day. There were no bridges, so fording the Creek meant balancing on logs and other pieces of drift wood while the spring swollen stream rushed madly downhill around my feet. One misstep or one teetering in the wrong direction and it could be a wet day. Fun! Fun! Fun!

The best part was the Falls. They were the tallest falls that I saw today, of the four falls. They split down in two huge streams and were really mesmerizing. I must have stood there with my jaw open just starring at the magnificent sight. What a bonus!

I left Limekiln State Park at about 3:30pm, having hiked probably a total of 5-6 miles this day. There was still the curviest part of Highway 1 ahead of me and I had to be in LA that night.

Gotta go, a little more later.