A Beach Lovers Paradise, Yet No Footprints In The Sand?

That’s right, McWay Cove located in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, is one of the most amazing beaches I have ever seen, but it's actually illegal to go onto the beach. That’s okay. It adds to the mysterious grandeur knowing it is forbidden. And there is a peacefulness knowing it will go unharmed by humans. As you can see, the view is accentuated by a rare coastal waterfall, making it one of the most photographed waterfalls in California.


Why hadn't we been here before? Well it is a bit out of the way. We just happened to be heading south on Highway One to Cambria last summer, and my hubby said we had to stop on our way to see some waterfalls.

I thought, “If these waterfalls were worth seeing, we wouldn't we have done so in the past 18 years we have lived in this area?”
Boy, was I happily wrong!


Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is located 37 miles south of Carmel along Highway One. The parking lot is on the eastside of the highway, and the parking fee is $10. There are other hikes you can take from here, but to see the McWay Falls you take the signed trail toward the Overlook Trail. The path leads through a tunnel under the Highway.


Veering to the right, the trail leads you to a gorgeous view of the Big Sur Coast.


As you are hiking you will come upon the first overlook of the McWay Falls, cascading 80 feet below into McWay Cove (this is where most people take photos of the Falls).


But my favorite vista of the falls was further down the trail, towards the former site of the Waterfall House. I loved the huge palm tree framing the view of the cove.

Just a short distance from the waterfall are the ruins of an old stone "waterfall house", owned by Lathrop and Helen Hooper Brown back in the 1940s. Not much is left of the house, but it is an interesting site. It is amazing to think that someone actually lived here, surrounded by such beauty. What a life! The park was named after Brown’s friend, Julia Pfeiffer Burns, who was a respected resident and rancher in the Big Sur region in the early 20th century.

This is where the trail ends, at the site of the old Waterfall House. The Big Sur Coastline to the north was again, breathtaking.

The easy hike to view the falls and to the site of the old Waterfall House was only about 10 minutes one way. Well worth the while! What a fun tasty treat on our way to Cambria, it was as though we had taken a sidetrip to a tropical island!

(Below: Video of the view from the Waterfall House and a peak at the McWay Falls--enjoy!)