Today I will wrap up our California trip report with a few details on our last stops, including camping in Big Sur. As you know, not all things go as planned. And this is the part of the trip where we had a little glitch and had to change the itinerary a bit.
One Night in Santa Cruz
After we left Yosemite, the plan was to camp in Santa Cruz for one night, and then continue south onto Big Sur via Carmel. Brian had booked us to stay in a Santa Cruz state park there that was (in our minds) going to be nestled in a redwood forest. Please remember that we had already gone 3 nights sleeping in the camper van and not showering. We were ready to get cleaned up a bit. As we drove into the campground, it didn’t look bad, but it pretty much looked like most campgrounds look in Florida. And although we had driven past some beautiful redwoods before we arrived at the state park, there was not one big tree in sight here. I started to dread the idea of spending the night in this campground in the woods. Especially because Santa Cruz is a beautiful beach town. On top of it, we knew we had two more camping nights coming up in Big Sur. So, we made the call to ditch our reservations at the campground for the night, and head closer to the coast to find a place to stay. I’m thankful we changed gears because it definitely was the right call. It completely confirmed my standing camping commandment: “Thou shalt not go more than 3 nights without bathing.”
We made a quick decision to stay at the Seaway Inn right by the Pacific Ocean. Normally, I would have scoured the internet for hours to find an awesome location, good reviews, yada yada… But being that it was early evening and the clock was ticking, we jumped out at the first one that caught our eye close to the ocean. Luckily, it turned out to be just what we needed. The room was clean, beds were cozy and most importantly, had a strong hot shower. This hotel was right across the street and looked pretty cool too!
That night we went to a fun little retro vegetarian restaurant called the Saturn Cafe. They played 60’s music and served typical diner food, except it was all vegetarian. It was funny to hear the boys say that their hamburger and chicken fingers were the best they had ever tasted 🙂 After dinner, we rented a movie from the front office and enjoyed watching that as we fell asleep.
The next day, we drove along West Cliff Drive, a beautiful scenic road, which ends at a beach called Natural Bridges State Park. Natural Bridges had this really cool rock formation that looks like a bridge. We also stopped at a spot called Lighthouse Point for a while to watch all the surfers.
I wish we could have stayed longer in Santa Cruz. It had such a fun relaxed beach atmosphere with so many cool places still left to explore. If you have the opportunity to stay in Santa Cruz, I think you should. And if you can stay two nights, even better.
The beach at Natural Bridges State Park
Surfers at Lighthouse Point
Carmel
After grabbing some really good coffee and a grocery run in Santa Cruz, we headed south towards Big Sur with a stop Carmel. Carmel-by-the-Sea is a very charming coastal town filled with art galleries, shops and restaurants. If I had to compare it to something in Florida, I would say it is a bit like St Armand’s Circle in Sarasota. Brian and I spent a couple nights here on our honeymoon trip, and decided it would be a nice stop for lunch. We had lunch at Carmel Belle, which was so good. All organic and local, but casual. If you are going to be in Carmel with kids, this is definitely a good spot. There are also plenty of candy and chocolate shops for a sweet treat afterwards.
Blue Dog art gallery in Carmel
Big Sur
Big Sur is an amazing stretch of primitive California Coastline. There are no tall buildings, very little in terms of commercial properties or homes. Most of Big Sur has no wireless service either. Because of that, nature is the star of the show here. The winding road that runs north and south through Big Sur has a phenomenal view of the Pacific all the way. There are are little pulloff points all along, I am assuming so people can stop to soak it in without getting in car accidents.
Point Lobos State Nature Preserve
Our first destination in Big Sur was Point Lobos State Natural Preserve. Point Lobos is a fabulous hiking destination for families. The trails are easy and the views are breathtaking at every turn. The deep marine color of the water was beautiful against the bright yellow wildflowers that covered the trails. At Point Lobos, you might see whales, otters, seals and all kinds of other marine life. We saw seals the afternoon that we were there. If you come, I would say try to plan for 2-3 hours here.
Point Lobos
Camping in Big Sur
Our home base for Big Sur was Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. Since we had spent the previous night in a room with comfy beds and a clean private bathroom, we were ready to camp again.The campground had a little river running through it, which is a big draw for the Cretul boys. They love throwing stones in rivers. Apparently there is some giant disgusting frog that is indigenous to the area, but thankfully I didn’t have any run-ins with it or or I might be singing a different tune about this place.
Big Sur Bakery
On our first full day in Big Sur, we had breakfast at Big Sur Bakery. Every single mention of Big Sur I had read about before coming had mentioned Big Sur Bakery as a great place to eat in Big Sur. We had breakfast here two days in a row. I wish our schedule could have worked out to eat lunch or dinner here too, but it didn’t work out. The menus looked heavenly though.
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
Once our bellies were full, we headed to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. This park is most well-known for McWay Falls, a waterfall that pours straight onto the beach. People are not allowed on the beach, so you can view the falls from the trails above. Even with the foggy sky you can see that the color of the water is incredible. We learned while we were there that a major landslide a little bit up the way caused all that sand to deposit in that nook. Before that, the water poured straight into the ocean. Natural forces are amazingly dynamic and powerful. If you are going to be in Big Sur, I would definitely recommend coming to Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park.
Pfeiffer Beach
By now, you probably think every place in Big Sur has Pfeiffer in its name. Because our next stop was Pfeiffer Beach. This beach is hard to find! There are no signs for where to turn off to get there. Someone told us that the locals take them down because they don’t want people going there. If you have a map you will have to follow it closely and make sure you are turning at the first right turn after the Big Sur ranger station heading south. Once you have turned, you drive down a narrow road for about 2 miles. If there is a car coming from the opposite direction, you’ll need to move over so they can pass. Halfway down the road you will wonder if you are in the right place. You are. Eventually you will arrive at the kiosk to pay to get in. It costs $10 and is cash only. We almost had to drive out of there because at first we didn’t think we had the cash. But we scoured that camper van until we came up with the $10. There might have been about $3 in change, but who cares. We got in.
Pfeiffer Beach is a relaxing and remote beach in an already remote town. It feels like a different world. From what I understand, once they have reached capacity, they turn you away and you are out of luck. We came with picnic supplies and ready to spend the afternoon.
Unlike the Florida beaches we are used to, the water is extremely cold, so no one really gets in. There are lots of rocks and powerful waves crashing. Max found a group of kids playing games and immediately left us to go hang out with them. Ben went running to the stream that ran through the middle of the beach and started playing in there. We just relaxed, napped and read. We had a picnic lunch. We saw a proposal at the top of one of the rocks. And we even saw two whales swimming by. It’s a very nice beach which we definitely recommend, but make sure you bring food and drinks, because there are no concession stands (or anything really).
Purple sand at Pfeiffer Beach
Giant rocks jetting into the ocean. Brian and Ben look tiny in comparison.
Garrapata State Park
Our next adventure after Pfeiffer Beach was Garrapata State Park. Garrapata State Park is a large state park, part of which is on the coast and has a beach. We were on the hunt for tide pools, and ranger at the Big Sur Ranger station said we might be able to find some here. Like most exploration in Big Sur, we just parked on the side of the road, got out of the car, and went.
Investigating sea anemones during low tide
Looking for whales
One of my favorite parts about Big Sur were the flowers that grow wild on the cliffs and dunes of the coast. There were succulents covering the vertical walls of the cliffs. And on the walk down to the beach, calla lilies just randomly blooming.
Big Sur is so unique and special. A place where the ocean meets the land in such a dramatic way. If you haven’t been before, you will want to put it on your list for sure. Camping in Big Sur was the perfect way to close out the week with our camper van. After that, we drove back to San Francisco and said good-bye to our little home on wheels.
That’s a wrap on all the details from our visit to California! If you missed them, here are the previous posts on our time in San Francisco and Yosemite. In case you are planning a trip to California in the near future, here is my Pinterest board that I used for scouting out many of our activities and food destinations.
Tracy Okus
Ale- It all looks so magical! I want to go!!