I can finally say I’ve been to Big Sur. It’s a place I’ve always wanted to visit, and a place I’ve never heard anything bad about. (Have you?) And now that I’ve seen most of this approximately 90-mile stretch of Pacific coastline extending from Carmel-by-the-Sea south to San Simeon, I have one word: WOW.

I was on a May travel assignment in San Francisco, and Big Sur was close enough (125 miles south, about a two-and-a-half-hour drive) to justify an overnight road trip. My traveling companion and I got an early start, and by noon we were in Carmel. I’m going to save this idyllic seaside community for another blog, because it deserves one of its own (in a word: BEAUTIFUL).
The name Big Sur is derived from the Spanish “el sur grande,” which means “the big south.” It’s a reference to terrain comprising sheer cliffs that loom above the ocean; to the foothills of the rugged Santa Lucia Mountains, rising up less than 10 miles inland; and to the wooded valleys between them. This entire wilderness region was basically inaccessible until the opening of SR 1, popularly known as California Highway 1, in 1937. The road paved the way for tourism.

Two-lane SR 1 snakes along the Big Sur coast in a seemingly endless series of sinuous S-curves. Except for a few places where it detours inland for a couple of miles, you’re within sight of the ocean. Even though there’s a guardrail along the side, a couple of bends are dizzyingly close to a sheer drop-off. Needless to say, you don’t speed on this highway—but who would want to?

I loved the almost complete absence of man-made distractions. There are no billboards. No strip malls. No fast-food outlets. No gas stations (just gas pumps at a couple of roadside establishments). In other words, no visual blight gets in the way of nature’s glory.

Of course one can’t sightsee and drive at the same time, so there are numerous strategically located pull-off parking areas where you can stand at the very edge of a cliff top and position yourself for what is almost guaranteed to be a memorable photo. Just point and click; nature takes care of the rest.

The elevation of the highway varies from near sea level to nearly 1,000 feet above. But most of the vista points are high above the Pacific, and the panoramic views of headlands extending for miles along the coastline—against a backdrop of steel-blue ocean—are simply breathtaking.

A variety of plants cling for dear life to the cliff edges. Rocks are carpeted with ice plants, a succulent ground cover with fleshy, deep green leaves and pink, yellow and white flowers that look like small daisies. Wildflowers bloomed in profusion. It was wild nature that resembled a manicured rock garden.

One necessary man-made concession to travel is the suspension bridge, and there are several of them along the highway. I had to clamber down an ice plant-covered sand dune to get a shot of the Rocky Creek Bridge. A bit farther south is the larger Bixby Bridge, arching above wavescrashing against the rocks far below.

Aside from pulling off the road time after time to gape at the incredible views, we had a specific destination in mind: Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, right off SR 1. I had been told by a freelance colleague that the park’s McWay Falls was not to be missed—and he wasn’t kidding. 

From the parking area, the short McWay Waterfall Trail leads to an elevated boardwalk looking down on a rocky cove and secluded beach. Completing the picture-postcard view is a waterfall that cascades directly onto the sand. The fact that you can’t access the beach lends a mystique to this utterly gorgeous spot; my Canon 150 was put to good use.

From Julia Pfeiffer we started backtracking up the coast. Copious winter rains can cause periodic rock and mudslides that block SR 1 although repairs are usually quick, a slide about 20 miles to the south had closed the road. So our next stop was the “town” of Big Sur, along a stretch of SR 1 that runs inland for several miles through a stand of coast redwoods. This small group of cabins, campgrounds and general stores is also the location of Nepenthe, a popular restaurant (on the ocean side of SR 1 about 29 miles south of Carmel).

Big Sur definitely has its artsy side; Henry Miller was a resident for 18 years, Jack Kerouac sang its praises in a novel and Hollywood weighed in with “The Sandpiper,” a 1965 movie starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor that featured Taylor playing a caftan-clad “free spirit” and Big Sur artist. Nepenthe totally embodies this bohemian spirit. It’s a combination restaurant, outdoor cafe (Cafe Kevah) and retail store (Phoenix). The three-level complex perches on a hillside landscaped with pretty gardens.

We had lunch on the Cafe Kevah terrace, with umbrella-shaded tables and a to-die-for view of green hills rolling down to the Pacific. Norah Jones was playing in the background, providing an appropriate soft jazz soundtrack.

You peruse the menu, then order at the counter and the food is brought to your table. I had home fries topped with a poached egg and garnishes of salsa fresca and sour cream. It was tasty, albeit pricey (you’re definitely paying for the view and the laid-back ambience), and the house coffee was good. It’s a perfect spot to just chill for half an hour.

Phoenix is one of those gift shops selling things you don’t really need but want anyway: Navajo jewelry, wall hangings, meditation tapes, art books, stone Buddha sculptures. A back patio overlooked the ocean and tinkled with the sound of wind chimes.

Among the items for sale was a little wrought-iron table with a colored tile mosaic of Frida Kahlo as the table top and “vertical gardens,” miniature succulents planted in flat, shallow wood containers that could be hung on a wall. I really wanted one of those, but the logistics of getting it back to Florida on a plane were a little too dicey. 

Big Sur completely captivated me. I’m already planning my return visit.