Black Swift Falls at the Ragged Point Inn Ocean View Resort
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Black Swift Falls at the Ragged Point Inn Ocean View Resort, 805-927-4502: Black Swift Falls: Located on the Ragged Point Inn and Resort property 15 miles north of Hearst Castle San Simeon; at over 300 feet high Black Swift Falls is easily the highest waterfall on the Big Sur Coast. Black Swift Falls is best viewed during the rainy season from the furthest northwest scenic view point at the Ragged Point Inn and Resort; you can often take the rough steep
Ragged Point Nature trail to the beach and traverse the creek beds rocks and boulders to get a better view from the bottom but the top of the waterfall is an off-limits protected Black Swift habitat.
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Salmon Creek Falls
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Salmon Creek Falls:
Located 3 miles north of the Ragged Point Inn Resort on a hairpin curve of Pacific Coast Highway 1. Salmon Creek Falls height is 120 feet; the waters are split into two columns by a large boulder at the top. Beautiful Salmon Creek Falls can often be from the highway; park in the pullout or just north of the creek is a seldom used ranger station with a parking lot; there are short hiking trails to both the bottom and top of Salmon Creek falls.
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Limekiln Falls
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Limekiln Falls: Located in
Limekiln State Park that is on the Big Sur Pacific Coast Highway 1 about 2 miles south of Lucia. Limekiln Falls is truly beautiful and can be spectacular when the Limekiln Creek is running good, Limekiln Creek Falls height is 100 feet. The short trail is easy to follow to where the creek crosses then just work your way up the creek to the falls. If you like to camp the campground is nice many sites right next to Limekiln Creek.
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McWay Falls
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McWay Falls: Located at the beach of
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park which is 13 miles south of Big Sur on Pacific Coast Highway 1 (37 miles south of Carmel); parking is available in a parking lot at the state park. Follow the short Waterfall Overlook Trail and you will reach a view of an enchanting 80 foot McWay Falls that empties into a beautiful but unreachable rocky cliff surrounded cove; the trail continues on past McWay Falls a short distance to a historic stone house ruins but regretfully no hiking trail goes down to the beach where the base of the falls is so MacWay falls like Black Swift Falls is sort of unapproachable. This spring fed waterfall often flows nicely even during the dry season.
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Canyon Falls
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Canyon Falls:
Is also located at
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park which is 13 miles south of Big Sur on Pacific Coast Highway 1; Canyon Falls is a 30 ft. cascade on a little creek that flows into McWay Creek. It is small but if the creek is flowing it is worth the short hike from the Julia Pfeiffer Burns parking lot. Take the Canyon Trail starting at the end of the parking lot, to get to the waterfall turn left after crossing McWay Creek where Ewoldsen Trail goes right; you can climb up the rocks to the top of the cascade for fun.
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Pfeiffer Falls
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Pfeiffer Falls: Located at
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park which is 2 miles south of Big Sur on Pacific Coast Highway 1; enter the park and follow the signs to Pfeiffer Falls trailhead, follow the easy trail ½ mile through the beautiful coast redwood forest to the 30 foot tall Pfeiffer Falls on Pfeiffer Redwood Creek. This popular waterfall is quite nice during the rainy season and early spring.
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Highbridge Falls at Andrew Molera State Park
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Highbridge Falls: Is a short hike up a small road on the east side of Pacific Coast Highway 1 at
Andrew Molera State Park 20 miles south of Carmel. Highbridge Falls is a 70 foot high cascading waterfall that is seasonally quite nice. There are a multitude of not so famous waterfalls in Big Sur like Highbridge Falls; exploring the wilderness creeks can yeld some hidden jewels like this one and Plaskett Creek. The real attraction of Andrew Molera State Park is the fabulous beach, miles of trails winding over bluffs through meadows, beaches and hilltops; there is also a popular primitive walk-in trail camp. The waterfall is worth seeing November through May but the state park is worth a visit anytime all year round.
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