Pfeiffer Big Sur

New favorite place! After all the camping we have done around California, it is hard to believe this is the first time we’ve stayed at Pfeiffer Big Sur. We’ve camped in the tiny town of Big Sur before, staying at the Big Sur Campgrounds and Cabins private campground. But the state park really shines and I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

We remembered to be super smart and take a half day off on Friday. This got us down the highway and to our destination by 4:30. Plenty of time to check things out and walk around the place while there was still light. We only got short periods of light rain during the drive, and arrived to mostly blue skies.

There are nice walking trails through the campground, and pedestrian bridges that cross the Big Sur River. It was flowing nicely looked like it would be a soothing, cool respite in the heat of the summer. The trails took us right to the Big Sur Lodge. I can’t actually think of another state park campground situated so close to such a treasure trove of delights. A couple of private places, like Casini Ranch, Collins Lake, and Costanoa, all boast well stocked stores and purchasable treats, but the lodge tops them all. There is a restaurant and bar serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, a nicely stocked campground store, and an ice cream and pastry store! This was very exciting. They also have excellent free wifi there and comfy couches to sit next to the fire. Five stars.

We were there for three nights and the weather reports called for some rain. We spent the first full day getting in two nice hikes right out of the campground. The first was up to Buzzard’s Roost. This hike goes up the western hills and gives a distant view of the ocean. It was loaded with blooming ceanothus, which reinforced my love of the California native shrub, and reminded me to plant a couple more on our hillside. It was also crazy full of Pacific Coast Native irises. Those are just spectacular, especially when they have established themselves in groves. We also saw some Trillium, Columbine, and a happy little Banana Slug.

We made a quick stop to get ice cream at the lodge before ascending our second hike of the day. This one went up the other side of the valley, aptly named the Valley View Trail. There is a spur that will take you to see Pfeiffer Falls, which bypasses the currently closed Falls Trail. That is a nice hike and the falls were pretty. This particular view runs down the valley to the ocean on the northern end. You can see Point Sur in the distance, where there is a historic park I would like to visit next time we come.

We celebrated my birthday a day early, figuring I might get rained out on the actual day. We lived it up and ate out at the lodge restaurant, enjoying a cheeseburger, french fries, and onion rings. It has literally been years since I have had that kind of a dinner, owing to the fact that calorie counting removes most of the wiggle room when it comes to fried food. But we’d earned the splurge on that day and feasted, guilt free, along with an IPA. Best day ever.

On my actual birthday, we expected rain, and got it in the morning. We drove out to Nepenthe, an iconic restaurant perched high atop the bluffs looking down on the vast Big Sur coastline. The view is the selling point at this place, and we found the cafe was closed, due to weather. The restaurant above was open, and we did think about it. But all things considered, we decided to just enjoy the view and move on to less expensive birthday treats.

Our next stop was to go to The Village for pastries. This is one of the handful of businesses located in the town of Big Sur. Sadly, we learned the bakery had burned down a couple of months prior. Bummer.

We continued on to do basically a photo tour of the coast, with stops to snap the historic Bixby Bridge and any especially spectacular views with an open parking space. It was very windy and I was happy not to be towing. With a car, it’s just fine, even if you can feel the buffeting.

We took in two shortish hikes, the first being in Garrapata State Park, up to Whale Peak. There is some amazing coast around there, with those iconic rocks and crashing waves. The color of the water was an unreal shade of blue and we even spied some bobbing otters down there! Happy birthday me! Up at the top of Whale Point there is a flat sort of a tableau, made of local hewn rock bricks. We are unclear on what this is for, but decided it is an alter with magical powers, especially if you stand on it and invoke the powers of the Universe on your birthday. I held out my arms and cried out my wish to the howling winds. It hasn’t come true yet, but it is out there. Just a matter of time.

Lastly, we drove back and took a pause to check out Calla Lily Valley. This is an Instagram destination, so there were lots of people there, almost too many. I did manage to strategically crop out enough of them that my photos make it look all serene and remote. This is a lie. It’s right off the highway and there are throngs of photo snapping people everywhere. But sure, I will play the game too.

The trail continues down to the beach where you can make a small loop, provided you are walking it at low tide. We were not. But we still managed to time a couple of beach sprints to get around the cliff bottoms before getting nailed by waves. That was fun!

To wrap up the visit, we went back to the Lodge for dessert and I got a chocolate mousse bomb. OMG. That was incredible. I should have taken a picture of the unwrapped one I got, but I was too excited to think of it.

All in all, I could not have asked for a better birthday. Well, I suppose my wish could have come true, and that would have made it even better. But despite all that, it was a top notch stay in a wonderful new-to-us campground. We will definitely be returning to this place!

Total miles: 150, 18.0 mpg, 3 hours 58 min. No hookups, no solar. Nice level and private site on dirt pad. Site 131 occasional 1 bar of service. Some service walking around campground, but never more than 1 bar of LTE. Excellent free wifi at the Lodge.