Big Sur: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
The Spanish in Monterey called this coast el país grande del sur, the big country to the south, and for a long time it could only be reached on horseback. Highway 1 was finished in 1937 after eighteen years of work, much of it done by convicts. This route drives north from the village over the bridges to Carmel, about 45 km, stopping where the road is most dramatic. Half a day; mornings are often foggy, so the views may open only after noon.
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A short history of Big Sur
Big Sur is a stretch of coast about 140 kilometres long where the Santa Lucia Mountains drop straight into the ocean. The Esselen people lived here, and the Spanish in Monterey called the area 'the big country to the south'. Until the 20th century it could only be reached by horse trails. Bixby Bridge was built in 1932, and the coast road opened in 1937. In 1944 the writer Henry Miller settled here, and in 1962 the Esalen Institute was founded. Rockfalls sometimes close the road for months.
The ten best sights in Big Sur
1Henry Miller Memorial LibraryA bookshop and arts space in the trees, with evening concerts in summer
2Point Sur LighthouseVisited only on guided walks on set days; the climb up the rock is steep
3Mission San Carlos Borromeo de CarmeloThe mission church in Carmel, 40 minutes north, with a museum and gardens
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4Big Sur Ranger Station
Maps, trail and road closures, and the latest on Highway 1
5Bixby Creek BridgeThe famous arch; park only in the marked pull-outs, the shoulder is narrow
6Hurricane PointThe highest viewpoint on the road north, often above the fog and always windy
7Andrew Molera State ParkA flat walk along the river to a wild beach; in spring you may need to wade
8Pfeiffer Big Sur State ParkRedwoods, the river and the trailheads, right in the village
9Pfeiffer FallsA short climb through redwoods to a waterfall that is thin by late summer
10Pfeiffer BeachDown an unmarked narrow road with a fee at the gate; no trailers, and it fills by midday
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Big Sur →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Big Sur:
Free walking tours in Big Sur
North over the bridges
The Spanish in Monterey called this coast el país grande del sur, the big country to the south, and for a long time it could only be reached on horseback. Highway 1 was finished in 1937 after eighteen years of work, much of it done by convicts. This route drives north from the village over the bridges to Carmel, about 45 km, stopping where the road is most dramatic. Half a day; mornings are often foggy, so the views may open only after noon.
- Andrew Molera State Park · Juan Bautista Rogers Cooper, a sea captain who became a Mexican citizen, ranched this land in the 19th century, and his descendant Frances Molera sold it for a park in the 1960s, naming it after her brother Andrew. A small cabin from the Cooper ranch, from the 1860s, is counted as the oldest building on the Big Sur coast.
- Point Sur Lighthouse · First lit in 1889 on a volcanic rock that rises about 110 metres from the sea, after a string of shipwrecks on this coast. The keepers and their families lived on the rock itself, and their stone houses still stand.
- Hurricane Point · Big Sur is where California condors were returned to the wild in 1997, after the species had been reduced to a couple of dozen birds. Scan the sky above the ridges here; they are far bigger than the turkey vultures you will see everywhere.
- Bixby Creek Bridge · Completed in 1932, the concrete arch is about 218 metres long and stands some 80 metres above the creek. Before it, travellers had to go inland around the canyon on the Old Coast Road, which still leaves from the north end of the bridge as a dirt track.
- Point Lobos State Natural Reserve · The painter Francis McComas called it the greatest meeting of land and water in the world. In the 1860s Whalers Cove inside the reserve held a shore whaling station run by Portuguese whalers.
- Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo · Founded in 1770 and moved to this spot by the Carmel River a year later, it was the headquarters of Junípero Serra, who led the founding of the California missions. He died here in 1784 and is buried beneath the church floor.
The village in the redwoods
Big Sur has no town centre: the village is a few kilometres of inns, a store and a gas station strung along the river under the redwoods. This route stays close to home, from the river and its falls to the purple-sand beach and up to the ridge where writers and artists settled after the war. Most stops are ten minutes apart by car; plan a day with long breaks. Phone signal is poor, so download maps before setting out.
- Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park · Michael and Barbara Pfeiffer settled in this valley in 1869, among the first homesteaders on the coast. Their son John sold part of the family land to the state in the 1930s, and it became the park.
- Pfeiffer Falls · The falls are on a side creek of the Big Sur River and drop about 18 metres down a fern-covered rock face. Many redwoods along the trail carry black scars from the wildfires that sweep these mountains; their thick bark lets them survive.
- Big Sur River Inn · The inn puts wooden chairs in the shallow Big Sur River behind its restaurant, and on a warm afternoon guests sit in them with their feet in the water. The river runs down from the Ventana Wilderness to the sea at Andrew Molera.
- Pfeiffer Beach · The purple streaks in the sand are manganese garnet washed down from the hills. Around the winter solstice the setting sun shines straight through the hole in Keyhole Arch offshore, and photographers line up for it.
- Nepenthe · In 1944 Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth bought a log cabin on this ridge and never lived in it. Bill and Lolly Fassett bought it in 1947 and opened Nepenthe two years later; the Fassett family still runs it.
- Henry Miller Memorial Library · Henry Miller lived in Big Sur from 1944 to 1962 and wrote a book about it, Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch. His friend the painter Emil White turned his own house into this library in his memory in 1981.
South to the waterfall
South of the village the road narrows and the cliffs fall straight into the sea; this is the emptiest part of the coast, with no shops for long stretches. The route runs from the ridge-top inns down to the waterfall on the beach and on to the old lime kilns, about 50 km. A full day there and back; fill the tank in the village. Landslides close this section from time to time, so check the state of Highway 1 before setting out.
- Sierra Mar · The restaurant belongs to the Post Ranch Inn, named after William Post, who homesteaded this ridge in the 19th century. The inn opened in 1992 with rooms set into the hillside to keep the ridge line clear.
- Deetjen's Big Sur Inn · Helmuth Deetjen, a Norwegian immigrant, and his wife Helen built the inn by hand from the 1930s out of local redwood. Its rooms still have no TVs, and guests write in diaries left in each room.
- Partington Cove · In the 1880s John Partington used this cove to ship tanbark, the bark of the tanoak used for tanning leather. The tunnel cut through the rock carried it to a landing where boats loaded it.
- McWay Falls · The falls drop about 24 metres from the cliff. Until landslides in 1983 filled the cove with sand, the water fell straight into the sea; now it lands on a beach. The park is named for Julia Pfeiffer Burns, a pioneer rancher of the coast.
- Esalen Institute · Michael Murphy and Dick Price founded Esalen in 1962 at hot springs on the cliff edge, and it became a centre of the human potential movement. It is named after the Esselen, the native people of this coast.
- Limekiln State Park · Four kilns stand in the redwood canyon, built in the 1880s to burn limestone into lime for mortar and cement. The lime was carried down to the shore and shipped north, and the redwoods around were cut to fire them.
Getting to Big Sur and getting around
- Monterey Regional Airport · The nearest airport, about 45 minutes north; small, with flights mostly to West Coast hubs
- Highway 1 / Pfeiffer Beach · Monterey-Salinas Transit runs a few buses a day to Big Sur from Monterey, not every day — check before relying on it
Cheap eats in Big Sur
Big Sur is expensive and remote: everything arrives by truck along one road, and there are only a handful of places to eat. The local way is a picnic, sandwiches from the deli eaten on a bluff, or a long lunch at a table with a view. Many kitchens close early, so plan dinner before sunset.
- Big Sur Deli · Sandwiches made to order and picnic supplies, about $12-16
- Big Sur Bakery · Pastries and coffee in the morning, about $5-8
- Big Sur Taphouse · Tacos and local beer, about $15-20
- Big Sur River Inn · Burgers and salads by the river, about $18-25
- Big Sur Roadhouse · Breakfast and lunch on the patio, about $15-22
- Pfeiffer Big Sur Camp Store · Snacks, ice and firewood inside the park, a few dollars each
Museums in Big Sur
- Henry Miller Memorial Library · Books, readings and summer concerts in the garden
- Point Sur Lighthouse · Guided walks on set days; about three hours
- Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo · Church, Serra's grave and a museum, 40 minutes north
- Coast Gallery Big Sur · Local art and crafts on the road south
Nature and day trips near Big Sur
- McWay Falls · Ten-minute flat walk to the viewpoint
- Pfeiffer Beach · Purple sand and the Keyhole Arch; windy and cold water
- Andrew Molera State Park · River-mouth beach and bluff trails
- Partington Cove · Short, steep walk to a rocky cove
- Point Lobos State Natural Reserve · Sea otters in the kelp; the Cypress Grove trail is short
Things to do in Big Sur with kids
- Monterey Bay Aquarium · Sea otters, a kelp forest and jellyfish; a full morning
- Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park · River pools to splash in and easy redwood paths
- Big Sur River Inn · Chairs in the river, perfect for little feet
- Pfeiffer Falls · A short walk with steps to a waterfall
- Andrew Molera State Park · A flat walk to a beach with driftwood forts
Where to eat in Big Sur
- Nepenthe · Terrace with the classic view; the Ambrosia burger is the order
- Sierra Mar · Fine dining on the cliff edge; book well ahead
- Deetjen's Big Sur Inn · Candlelit dinner in a redwood inn
- Big Sur Roadhouse · Relaxed dinner in the village
Frequently asked questions about Big Sur
What is there to see in Big Sur?
The top sights in Big Sur are Henry Miller Memorial Library, Point Sur Lighthouse and Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Big Sur?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Big Sur without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Big Sur?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Big Sur, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: North over the bridges.
How do you get to Big Sur and get around?
The main ways are Monterey Regional Airport and Highway 1 / Pfeiffer Beach. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Big Sur, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Big Sur that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Big Sur for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.