![]() ![]() ![]() The bigger reason to visit Big Sur in the fall, however, is that in many ways it’s a continuation of summer - without the crowds. Contrast these with the gray-green of cypress and the emerald of pine, and you have a study in contrasts that may be less showy than the aspens in the Sierras, but no less eye-catching. So Big Sur’s color palette is already burnished as fall begins, with the wine red of madrones, glowing yellow of sycamores, and rust of poison oaks layered over a wash of ochre. Lack of rainfall turns California’s hills gold in the summertime. Here’s a guide to getting the most out of one of California’s most addictive destinations at all times of the year. It’s no wonder, then, that visitors tend to return again and again to explore this rugged outpost in all its seasonal glories. Many of Big Sur’s most beautiful beaches are little more than rocky coves, and sun may be scarcer than expected at certain times of the year, thanks to Northern California’s notorious coastal fog.īig Sur’s biggest gifts, like sunsets to sigh over and views that seem to take in the entire Pacific, vary so profoundly with the changing light that artists and photographers like Ansel Adams have been drawn to making their homes here to experience it year-round. Despite having a few bucket list beaches to its credit, this 90-mile stretch of uber-photogenic California coastline is about far more than sun and sand. Just upstream is 30-foot McWay Creek Falls, and on a smaller tributary is Canyon Trail Falls.The first thing to know when planning a trip to Big Sur is that this is no typical beach destination. Even with this possibility, it is not recommended that people visit the beach as a safety precaution due to crumbling cliffs and to preserve the environment. Although it can be viewed via a trail from above, the beach and scenic cove below is difficult to access by land, however, it could be easily reached by boat. Near its parking lot begins the half-mile Waterfall Trail, a dirt path heading westward toward the ocean, to a short tunnel under Highway 1, a right turn to a trail in the cliffside overlooking a small cove, to the sign "Overlook". The Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is located 37 miles south of Carmel. In 1961 the approximately 1,800 acre property was donated by Helen Hooper Brown to the state for a park, to be named for Julia Pfeiffer Burns. Christopher McWay homesteaded the canyon in the late 1870s and eventually McWay's Saddle Rock Ranch was sold in the 1920s to Lathrop Brown and his wife, Helen Hooper Brown, who built two houses at Waterfall Overlook. On the edge of McWay Creek is a small building which houses a Pelton wheel, with signs that provide historical facts. The waterfall now meets the ocean when the tide is in. Originally the waterfall cascaded directly into the ocean but after a 1983 fire and 1985 landslides, the topography of McWay Cove was altered, forming an inaccessible beach. The source of the waterfall is McWay Creek and is one of the few waterfalls that empties directly into the ocean. This waterfall is one of only two in the region that are close enough to the ocean to be referred to as "tidefalls", the other being Alamere Falls. McWay Falls is an 80-foot waterfall located in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park that flows year-round. ![]()
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