Big Sur Essential Info
Overview
Big Sur is a region on the Central Coast of California. It contains vast wildernesses and breathtaking views as it stretches 90 miles along the rugged Pacific Ocean. It is approximately 150 miles south of San Francisco and 300 miles north of Los Angeles. The area is great for outdoor recreation and contains several state parks, two national wilderness areas and is part of the Los Padres National Forest, all of which include hiking trails. The most common visitors to Big Sur are those just driving through to enjoy the scenery. The next most common activity is hiking/backpacking in the open natural spaces.
California Highway 1 (also known as Pacific Coast Highway) winds through Big Sur flanked by the steep Santa Lucia Mountains to the east and the rocky Pacific Coast to the west. Big Sur begins just south of Carmel and continues south through the small towns of Big Sur Village (between Andrew Molera State Park and Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park), Lucia, and Gorda. It ends in San Simeon (where the Hearst Castle is located). When driving on Highway 1 through Big Sur be sure to stop at the many turnouts and vista points to see the beauty of the area.
Big Sur Village is a mile-long village containing gas stations, roadside markets, lodges and restaurants.
Big Sur is known as a destination for the "Merry Pranksters" in the 1960s.
For more information visit the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce, which is continually updated with a Calendar of Events.
Description is available from Wikitravel under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license. A list of contributors is available at the original article.
Basics
Best Time To Go
Apr-Jun, Sep-Nov
Current Time
Current Weather
Mostly Cloudy
Popular Foods
- Ambrosia Burger
- Crab Cake