Big Sur, California

Gently winding from Pebble Beach to Pacific Grove, the 17-Mile Drive will take you through magnificent cypress forests along a dramatic rocky coastline, passing some absolutely spectacular homes and some of world-class golf courses in Pebble Beach. You can head straight to Pacific Grove to enjoy its attractions, or savor the drive with many stops along the way. Stop by Fanshell Overlook to take in the view of the ocean and watch the harbor seals and, if you pass from April to June, their babies too.

As you come by a lovely little beach in Spanish Bay, take a break and have a picnic. If you are in the mood to celebrate, treat yourself to a gourmet meal at the Lodge. 17-mile Drive is privately managed, but passing through is free whether you drive, walk, or bike.

Located about 21 miles from Carmel, Andrew Molera State Park is one of the less developed parks in the Big Sur area. There are miles of hiking trails that cross the verdant meadows, dramatic bluffs, sandy beaches, and gentle hilltops. There is a simple, rustic trail camp that is very popular with hikers about a third of a mile from the park’s parking area. The park borders the private El Sur Ranch and the visitors are requested to respect the boundary and not enter the ranch’s cattle grazing fields when looking for the beach access. Fires are allowed in the park only in the designated metal fire rings. The beach is great for strolling and beach combing.

45500 CA-1, Big Sur, CA 93920, Phone: 831-667-2315

The California Sea Otter Game Refuge is a marine park in Monterey, a part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The refuge covers the area from the Carmel River to the Santa Rosa Creek in San Luis Obispo County. While you can see these charming sea animals floating in the sea of kelp all over Big Sur, there was a time when they were believed to be extinct as they were hunted for their pelts. In 1938 a small group of California sea otters was discovered near the Bixby Creek on Big Sur Coast. Thanks to efforts of people like Margaret W. Owings and the Friends of the Sea Otter society, which she founded, their numbers increased significantly.

Highway 1 Gate, 17 Mile Dr, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93923, Phone: 831-647-4201

If you are driving along Highway 2 in early spring, stop at lovely Garrapata Park for a very special treat. At the small narrow ravine where Doud Creek passes through on the way to Garrapata Beach, there is a valley filled with elegant, wild calla lilies. To protect the beautiful but fragile flowers, there are stairs and trails through the valley. Take your time and enjoy the scene of rare but very fleeting beauty – the lilies do not last long. After enjoying the scene, keep going through the park to the 2-mile-long beach surrounded by coarse coastal vegetation. The park’s spectacular headlands at Soberanes Point are a perfect spot for watching harbor seals, point sea lions, and passing gray whales.

Located in Carmel at the corner of 6th Avenue and Lincoln Street is the First Murphy House, maintained by the Carmel Heritage Society and owned by the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea. The house is a home to the Carmel Heritage Society, a non-profit organization that has a goal of protecting, promoting, and preserving the cultural heritage of Carmel. Visitors to the First Murphy House can enjoy a range of historical exhibits as well as a research library with books, video, and audio tapes and periodicals about the history of Carmel. The First Murphy House is also a place for friends and residents of Carmel to get together.

Lincoln St, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921, Phone: 831-624-4447

Carmel River State Beach is a mile-long state park in Carmel Bay, a protected beach where the Carmel River creates a lovely lagoon. The beach is very popular with bird watchers as the lagoon is a natural habitat that attracts a huge number of migratory birds. The area has been declared a bird sanctuary for its diversity of waterfowl, song birds, and many other species of birds. Monastery Beach, also known as San Jose Creek Beach, is also part of the park and is very popular with scuba divers, Other activities, such as swimming or even walking near the edge of the water, are considered dangerous due to the very strong currents.

Carmelo St, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93923

Garrapata State Park is a 2,939-acre park established in 1979, located less than 7 miles from Rio Road in Carmel. The park has a lovely 2-mile-long beach, fantastic hiking trails, and a 50-foot climb in order to enjoy the most spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean and nearby Santa Lucia. The beach is at times used for nude swimming and sunbathing. The trails through the park are surrounded by thick coastal vegetation and run through dense groves of magnificent redwoods. The coastal headlands at Soberanes Point are a great spot to watch sea lions, sea otters, and harbor seals as well as gray whales during their yearly migration.

Highway 1, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93923, Phone: 831-624-4909

Located in a redwood grove on the mountain side of Highway 1 about a quarter mile from the famous Nepenthe restaurant in Big Sur, the Henry Miller Memorial Library is not a normal kind of library: It is an unofficial Big Sur art hub as well as a book store with a focus on promoting the artistic and literary works of Henry Miller. Known as a fiction writer, Miller also wrote some very good travel books, mostly about Greece. The library’s founder was Miller’s friend Emil White, who founded the library on his property in memory of a friend. The library soon became a gallery and a gathering place for local artists.

48603 CA-1, Big Sur, CA 93920, Phone: 831-667-2574

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is located 37 miles from Carmel, stretching from the coast of Big Sur to the 3,000-foot-high mountain ridges. The park’s lush vegetation consists of ancient redwood, madrone, tan oak and chaparral. The park’s most outstanding feature is an 80-foot-high waterfall that drops from the massive granite cliffs at the Overlook Trail straight into the ocean below. The trails through the park offer fantastic views of the rugged coastline and the endless ocean. There is no beach access from the park. Fenced cliff areas, the beach, Saddle Rock, and McWay Falls are off limits from the park and accessing them from the park is considered very dangerous.

52801 California State Route 1, Big Sur, CA 93920, Phone: 831-667-2315