Big Sur is a spectacularly beautiful stretch of California's central coast located between Carmel and San Simeon, snuggled between the steep slopes of the Santa Lucia Mountains and the Pacific.

Most tourists see this romantic scenic area from the narrow State Route 1, which winds and turns beside steep seaside cliffs, offering lookout points every now and then. The whole wild and misty area is very sparsely populated and offers great opportunities for hiking, beach combing, exploring, whale watching, and camping. Artists and writers discovered the area in the 1950s and ‘60s, finding inspiration in the rugged beauty and untamed wilderness.

You can visit the house of Henry Miller, today a memorial library, McWay Falls and Cove, Bixby Creek Bridge, many small, quaint inns and restaurants, small picturesque beaches that are not easy to access but well worth it, and a richness of rare plants and animals.

Big Sur Yosemite National Park Santa Cruz San Jose Oakland Mendocino National Forest Redwood National Park Sonoma, Northern California Modoc National Forest Calaveras County Point Lobos State Reserve Muir Woods National Monument Marin Headlands, Northern California Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park Yosemite Falls Pfeiffer Beach Lava Beds National Monument Napa Valley Humboldt Redwoods State Park Mendocino, Northern California Sacramento San Francisco Six Rivers National Forest Klamath National Forest

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