Things to do in Big Sur

Big Sur is a stretch of Highway 1 south of Carmel-by-the-Sea, not a town with a centre. 5-3 hours south of San Francisco by car; McWay Falls, an 80-foot waterfall dropping onto a beach at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, is another 20-30 minutes further south. Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park has redwood groves and river-adjacent trails.

Treat the drive as a half-day each way, not a quick detour: the road is narrow, winding and often slow, and a same-day round trip from San Francisco leaves little time to stop. A one-way run with an overnight in Big Sur or Cambria works better than a there-and-back.