One of the best ways to appreciate the natural beauty of the Western Coast is to follow Route One through Big Sur. The highway hugs embankments and cliffs as it winds along the blue waters of the Pacific, offering breathtaking views of water, sky, and land. This place of rugged beauty has long been a favorite getaway for people of all walks of life and it supports a small, pioneer-like population of residents who pride themselves on having been lucky enough to have had Big Sur “choose them,” as the local saying goes.
This is where writer and artist Henry Miller lived and wrote, and a library and cultural center stands in his honor amid a grove of coastal redwood trees. The West Coast Poetry Slam and International Short Film Screening Festivals are held here every year at the Henry Miller Library and Museum.
Standing 361 feet above the surf, and first lit in 1889, Point Sur Lighthouse offers tours by moonlight from April through October. For the “pack it in-pack it out” crowd, enjoy camping or hiking the hundreds of miles of trails found at both Julia Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and Andrew Molera State Park.
Relax at the rustic Deetjen’s Inn Restaurant, a legendary place for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Only 100 yards away is the famous Nepenthe Restaurant and Gift Shop, originally purchased as a present from Orson Wells to Rita Hayworth as a summer home; it attracts a million visitors a year who want to dine at tables that overlook the Pacific Ocean.
Don’t miss Big Sur Bakery and Restaurant, which bakes its bread every morning using a wood-fired oven. Next door is Big Sur Spirit Garden, filled with plants and statuary, it’s a meeting place for locals and tourists who come to catch up on the news of the day, sit inside giant tree houses made of willow, or play the congas, available to anyone who suddenly feels inspired.
For an adventuresome shopping experience that covers the exotic and erotic, check out the jewelry, clothing, and collectibles from all over the world along with local artists at the Heartbeat Gift Gallery, located next to the Big Sur River Inn.
A Mecca for day trippers, weekend visitors, Bohemians, beatniks, campers, and hikers, Big Sur offers up its natural beauty to all, and everyone who experiences this place of rugged canyons and steep sea cliffs, granite shorelines and windswept cypress trees, majestic redwood forests, California condors, whales, sea otters, and elephant seals, cannot come away without feeling changed for the better.
