Big Sur, where the Santa Lucia mountains overlook the Pacific Ocean, is one of the most iconic places in California. The beautiful Central Coast area was named by Spanish settlers living on the Monterey Peninsula in the 1700s. The called the bucolic forested area El Sur Grande, now Big Sur.
Big Sur is a real place, but its mountains, forests, beaches and general remoteness also make it a state of mind. It is not a single city or park, but rather a patchwork of public and private lands. Big Sur runs about 90 miles between Carmel-By-The-Sea and San Simeon, home of the Hearst Castle and a large elephant seal colony.
California’s famed Highway 1, which covers those 90 miles, was an engineering marvel when originally “carved into the mountains” in the 1930’s. Automotive and travel publications consider it one of the most beautiful drives in the world. However, use the numerous turn-offs to view the scenery, rather than lose focus and end up flying off the twisting two-lane road.
Unfortunately, the area is also prone to flooding and rock and landslides, like one at Mud Creek that on May 20, 2017, dumped more than 6 million cubic yards of sediment on the highway, closing a quarter mile for weeks.
This year slides and bridge issues have shut down various parts of Highway 1 as well. In late May we planned a trip to the Central Coast, hoping to drive all the way up Route 1 from Los Angeles. But we checked the road and found that not one, but two slides had bisected the road, so instead we drove north from Los Angeles using the 5 and 101.
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Before you go, whether you drive from Los Angeles, San Francisco or rent a car from Monterey Airport, (where Alaska, Allegiant, American, Sun Country and United fly) check online for road closures.
We stayed at the delightful new Stilwell Hotel in Carmel-by-the-Sea. A Lark property, it is designed for comfortable indoor and outdoor living, with white outdoor couches and chairs, firepits, and a pizza oven for light evening snacks and co*cktails.
While Carmel is delightful, we hungered for the beautiful, bohemian groove of Big Sur. So after stopping at the Carmel farmer’s market for sandwiches and headed to Big Sur. The short drive from Carmel took about an hour. It included traversing a bridge where two lanes had been shaved to one while the damaged highway was repaired. North and southbound vehicles were controlled by a traffic light.
As we got further south, road closure signs appeared every half mile or so. Just south of the famed Esalen Institute, a barricade announced the end of the road.
When we pulled off at the barricade, two other vehicles traveling in the same direction also stopped. We assumed they were “get to the end of the road and turn around” completionists like us. In actuality, both couples were determined to pass the barricades and head south, rather than turn around, go back to Carmel and head inland to the 101.
A couple from Texas said they were going to Los Angeles. The other couple were determined to drive down the coast to visit the elephant seals. Neither understood that the road was closed.
“Didn’t you see the signs?” I asked.
“I saw something, but I wasn’t paying attention,” said the elephant-seal enthusiasts. “We couldn’t get any reception for our GPS,” said the other. There is little cell reception through that stretch of Highway 1, and few gas stations.
I recommended turning around and going north and east to the 101. As they debated, a driver drove north through the barricades. We asked the driver where he was coming from. “Santa Monica, man, I started this morning and I’m tirrrrrrred.”
What about the road closure? He grinned “Those signs are just trying to scare you.” Despite the closure sign, our new friends pieced open the barricade and went sailing south down the road. We never learned if they got through, another mystery of Big Sur.
Instead, we turned around and drove back towards Pfeiffer State Park, home of 300-foot redwoods and a waterfall.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the rustic area became a popular retreat for artists, poets and writers like Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and the erotic writer and novelist Henry Miller. The Henry Miller Memorial Library in Big Sur is open from 11am to 5PM, Wednesday through Sunday.
More than a bookstore, the sprawling property contains strange and wonderful sculptures. Books wrapped in plastic bags hang on an outside wall. And the property has a stage, where many musicians have performed; Patti Smith played there in 2021.
The bookstore clerk said business was down 30% since the road closures. But the bookstore was surprisingly well stocked, so we bought a book and even found a copy of novelist Walter Kirn’s newspaper, County Highway.
There are a number of luxury properties in Big Sur, but they tend to be more retreat than resort, like accommodations at the famed Esalen Institute. Esalen is a non-profit American retreat center and intentional community in Big Sur, which focuses on humanistic alternative education.
Esalen, which holds different kinds of weekly retreats, notes that its “accommodations do not include televisions, alarm clocks, phones, cell phone reception, or internet access. A premium wooden yurt with two beds for one to three guests was $3400 for a week, including all classes, meals, tuition and access to the oceanside hot spring baths while the Fritz Point or Point House were $6500.
The Alila Ventana Big Sur has officially reopened, boasting 54 secluded suites featuring expansive balconies and views of 160 acres of the natural splendor of the rugged Pacific coast. Stays encompass “inclusive meals, non-alcoholic beverages, transformative wellbeing programming (like Mindful Movement classes), exclusive amenities, and a captivating collection of curated experiences.” A 415-square-foot room with one king bed, a private deck with forest or ocean views, and a comfy window seat averages $2300 a night.
A newspaper like County Highway would have been perfect to read at the nearby Big Sur River Inn. The rustic motel has Adirondack chairs that let you sit and talk, read or just relax while sitting in the river. During the summer high season, queen bedrooms start at around $400 on weekends. It has both a restaurant and a general store.
Nearby, the most famous restaurant in Big Sur, Nepenthe, has been celebrating its view to die for for 75 years.
But we were staying at the Stilwell for the night, and we’d packed a lunch. So instead we drove in search of the beach at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. We missed it the first time, as in typical Big Sur fashion the rutted 2-mile, single-lane road from Highway 1 to the beach is not marked.
But we eventually found the road and bounced through a forest to the spectacular beach. The wind was roaring, and the waves crashing through openings in the picturesque rocks. It wasn’t warm, but like all of Big Sur, it was a beautiful place to spend an afternoon.
