If you stop in Big Sur on your California road trip along the coast, you will be able to enjoy getting outdoors into the wonderful tall Redwood trees, which feels very therapeutic. In fact, there’s a high chance that you’ll not want to leave Big Sur as it’s so pretty, but be reassured that there are plenty of things to look forward to beyond Big Sur – more spectacular ocean views, pretty coastal towns, purple sand, and the historical ‘sardine capital of the world’!
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Grab breakfast from the Big Sur Bakery
Get ready for your day with a delicious breakfast at Big Sur Bakery, just a 4-minute drive south of Big Sur Lodge on the main Highway. The bakery sells great coffee and pastries for breakfast, such as, blueberry strudels and cinnamon swirls. It is however very popular, and so the queues build up quickly with the laid-back staff on ‘Big Sur time’, but there is a pretty garden with lots of cacti to make the wait more enjoyable.
The Big Sur Bakery would be equally great option for lunch if that better suited your timetable when in, or passing through, Big Sur.
Hike the Pfeiffer Falls Trail
Once you’ve fuelled up on a hearty breakfast at the Big Sur Bakery, it’s time to go and hug some trees. The Pfeiffer Falls Trail (2 miles long) starts behind the Big Sur Lodge and climbs through a scenic gorge filled with tall Redwoods, to reach the waterfall. As you follow the Pfeiffer Falls Trail on boardwalks, across footbridges made of large redwood timbers, listen to the silence, and breathe in the wonderful scent of the trees – wonderful.
From the Pfeiffer Falls Trail you can continue your walk on the Valley View Trail which climbs up to a great viewpoint overlooking the Big Sur Valley before descending back through the trees. The Pfeiffer Falls Trail and Valley View Trail are very popular hikes in Pfeiffer Big Sur and so apparently can get very busy, however we only saw about 4 people in total whilst walking on the trails in April.
Check out the purple sand on Pfeiffer Beach
Just before you head off on Pacific Coast Highway 1 towards Monterey, make sure to take a quick detour to Pfeiffer Beach (only 12 minutes’ drive from Big Sur Lodge). You need to pay for a Visitor Pass (around $15) before parking up and heading to the beach.
Pfeiffer Beach is known for having purple sand, caused by manganese garnet that has trickled down from nearby mountains after a rainfall.
Our first impression of Pfeiffer Beach was less about the colour, which was visibly golden, and more about the striking rock formation in the shallows with a keyhole arch in the middle, which the waves were crashing through. It was a very pretty beach for a walk regardless of the lack of purple sand.
Eventually though we hit a patch of wet sand which had purple whirly patterns – it wasn’t bright purple or particularly extensive, but it was definitely pinky-purple in colour. There had been no rain in the run up to visit to Pfeiffer Beach, and so that had been no run off from the hills, which probably explains why the sand was not more purple – no rain run-off!
Cross the famous Bixby Bridge
Back on the Pacific Coast Highway 1, continue north on your California road trip for around 30 minutes until you cross Bixby Creek on Bixby Bridge, one of the most photographed bridges in California. You might recognise it from the opening titles of the TV series Big Little Lies based on Lynn Moriaty’s best-selling book. If so, then you might want to play Michael Kiwanuka’s Cold Little Heart (the theme tune from Big Little Lies) as you cross Bixby Bridge?
If you are driving south to north like us, cross Bixby Bridge, then look for a parking space so you can get out and take photos of the bridge back down the coastline – it’s definitely worth stopping for.
Stop in Carmel-by-the-Sea
Another 30 minutes’ drive north brings you to the town of Carmel-by-the-Sea which had the Wow-factor for me because the town seems to be buried in the forest, with trees surrounding all of the buildings – it was so pretty. This is the perfect place to park up, go for a wander and grab some lunch, if you have not done so earlier.
Pick up the 17-mile scenic drive in Pebble Beach
After exploring Carmel-by-the-Sea, you can pay to enter the private peninsula area of Pebble Beach as a Visitor (assuming you do not have a Resident’s Permit) and follow the 17-mile Scenic Drive around the peninsula. The 17-mile Scenic Drive is a beautiful route passing big houses in the trees, offering sweeping views of the ocean and numerous viewpoints along the route, such as:
- Cypress Point Lookout – craggy rocks and pure white beaches home to harbour seals, with a section roped off to protect mums and pups.
- Lone Cypress Tree – a 250-year-old lone Cypress Tree which has braved the elements atop the rocks overlooking the Pacific Ocean (as seen on the featured image of this blog).
Along the 17-mile Scenic Drive, we had the bonus of coming face to face with a deer who popped up by the side of the road. The area felt very exclusive and special. If you have time today on your California road trip, stop in sleepy but pretty Pacific Grove before continuing to Monterey.
Make your way to Monterey Bay
From the Scenic Drive of Pebble Beach, it’s only a short 16-minute drive to Monterey, the final destination for the day on this section of the California road trip. Monterey has a fascinating maritime history, from the 1850s when Chinese immigrants fished for abalone, and Japanese Workers came to Monterey in the 1890s to work in the local fishing and packing industries – a row of huts for Japanese workers sits on the opposite side of the road to the Bay.
The first of many canneries opened in 1902 and Monterey became the ‘sardine capital of the world’, although sardine stocks depleted within a few years due to overfishing so the canneries eventually closed. Author John Steinbeck wrote about the sardine industry in his book Cannery Row and there is a Cannery Row Monument on the bay front with Steinbeck at the top, surrounded by 8 other bronze characters from the cannery industry.
After our cabin in the woods in Big Sur, we decided to stay somewhere more upmarket in Monterey – the InterContinental Monterey which was an old Canning Factory back in the day and is right on the main strip overlooking the Bay.
It doesn’t take long to explore downtown Monterey, which is effectively a collection of gift shops and seafood restaurants. Monterey had an old-fashioned vibe to it but, if I ever came back, I would choose to stay in Carmel-by-the-Sea as it had more character…..and was full of trees which I love.
The main event in Monterey is really the well-regarded aquarium overlooking the bay. We hadn’t planned to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but when poor weather affected our plans for the following day, we ended up with an additional morning in Monterey and so headed to the aquarium. Find out if it was worth the visit….
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