Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

McWay Falls is a tidefall, one of the few waterfalls in the state that drops directly onto a beach and toward the sea. A short paved and dirt trail leads under the highway to an overlook where the whole scene opens up: the white thread of the falls, the small crescent of sand, and the blue cove below the cliffs.

The beach was not always so pristine; the cove filled with more sand after a coastal landslide decades ago changed the shoreline, which is part of why the falls now land on sand rather than straight into the water. The beach itself is closed to protect it, so the reward is the view, not a scramble down.

Inland from the highway, the park follows McWay Creek up a shaded canyon where coast redwoods grow, some of the southernmost of their kind, thriving in the fog that rolls in off the Pacific. Short trails wander among the big trees and past the site of an old cliffside home once perched above the cove.

This meeting of redwood forest and open ocean is one of the defining qualities of Big Sur, where cool coastal fog lets the giant trees grow within sight and sound of the surf.

The waters offshore are protected as an underwater reserve, part of a larger network of marine sanctuaries along this coast. Kelp forests sway in the swell, sheltering sea otters, harbor seals, and countless fish, and gray whales pass by on their long migration in winter and spring.

From the bluffs you may spot otters floating on their backs among the kelp or sea lions hauled out on the rocks, and the sea here is vivid with life just below its surface.

The park is one stop on the legendary Big Sur run of Highway 1, a road of bridges, headlands, and hairpin views carved into the flank of the Santa Lucia Mountains. Neighboring parks and beaches string along the coast to the north and south.

This is a landscape to take slowly. Fog and sun trade places through the day, pull-offs reveal new coves around every bend, and the whole drive rewards patience more than hurry. Services are sparse, so fuel and provisions are best gathered before you set out.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.