Big Sur

At the few beaches you can reach, the tide matters. Pfeiffer Beach gets narrow at higher tides, and some access points close off entirely at high water; a lower tide opens up more sand and more of the arch. Watch the waves too. The surf here is powerful and unpredictable, and logs and debris on the beach can hurt you. The nearest NOAA station is Monterey, about 37 km north of Big Sur village. South Big Sur is closer to San Simeon.

Big Sur is not really a town. It is a 90-mile stretch of Highway 1 where the Santa Lucia Mountains drop straight into the Pacific. The road runs along the cliff edge, and its pullouts look down on open ocean and sea stacks, with the occasional condor overhead. There are no traffic lights and no chain restaurants, and cell signal is patchy.

Most of the shoreline sits at the base of steep cliffs, so getting to the water usually means a hike. A handful of state parks and beaches break up the drive. Pfeiffer Beach is the best known, for its purple-tinged sand and the sea arch the sun sets through.

Stops along the coast:

• Pfeiffer Beach — purple sand and a sea arch, at the end of a short, narrow road.
• Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park — McWay Falls drops 80 feet onto the beach.
• Andrew Molera State Park — a beach trail through meadow and redwood, for a longer hike with ocean views.
• Bixby Creek Bridge — the arched bridge; pull over at the north overlook for the view.
• Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park — redwood grove trails and the Big Sur River; campgrounds book fast in summer.
• Sand Dollar Beach — a wide, sandy pocket beach in the southern section, easier to reach than most.
• Nepenthe & Sur House — restaurants on the cliff above the ocean, for a meal or a drink.