Big Sur has purple sand, a waterfall on the beach, and an 1889 lighthouse still running

It’s more than a bridge, it’s a whole corridor

Highway 1 through Big Sur is one of the most dramatic stretches of road in California, and the Bixby Creek Bridge sits at its heart.

The concrete arch rises 260 feet above a canyon, with cliffs dropping straight to the Pacific on both sides. But the bridge is just the start.

Within an hour’s drive, you’ll find a waterfall that drops onto a beach, sand with purple in it, and a lighthouse that’s been running since 1889.

There’s a lot more going on here than most people expect.

The bridge that rewired the whole coast

Before 1932, getting through Big Sur meant taking the Old Coast Road, an 11-mile inland detour that turned to mud every winter.

The Bixby Creek Bridge changed all of that. Workers hauled 45,000 sacks of cement up unstable cliffs using a system of platforms and cables to build it.

The job started Aug. 24, 1931, and wrapped up Oct. 15, 1932, for under $200,000. When the last form came down, it was the tallest single-span concrete arch bridge in the world.

Where to stand for the best shot of Bixby

The bridge runs 714 feet with a 330-foot main span, and it’s one of the most photographed bridges in California for good reason.

There’s no pedestrian walkway on the bridge itself, so you can’t walk across it.

The pullout on the north end, just before you reach the bridge, is where most people set up. It’s the safest spot and gives you the full arch with the canyon and coastline behind it.

Pull in early, especially on weekends, because that little lot fills up fast.

Highway 1 is open again after three years

If you tried to drive this stretch of coast in 2023 or 2024, you hit a wall. A landslide at Regent’s Slide shut down Highway 1 for nearly three years.

The road fully reopened Jan. 14, 2026, restoring the full run from Carmel to Cambria for the first time since early 2023.

As of May 2026, there’s one-way controlled traffic for maintenance between 5.3 and 6.3 miles north of Big Sur, running around the clock through July 31, 2026.

Check the Caltrans QuickMap before you leave.

Garrapata State Park sits quietly off the highway

Most people drive right past Garrapata because it doesn’t announce itself.

The entrances are small numbered turnout gates along Highway 1, and there’s no big sign telling you to stop. That’s exactly why it stays less crowded than the parks further south.

It’s the northernmost state park in Big Sur, just south of Carmel Highlands, and it covers two miles of rocky coastline.

The park opens at 8 a.m. and closes at sunset, and there’s no admission fee to get in.

Walk the point, watch for whales, find the lilies

The Soberanes Point Trail gives you a three-mile coastal loop around the point with a spur up to Whale Peak, where a bench sits at a hilltop overlooking the Big Sur coast.

In winter, migrating whales pass offshore, and Soberanes Point is a solid spot to catch them. Come in spring and you’ll find Calla Lily Valley near Gate 18 in full bloom, with flowers lining a creek that runs all the way to the ocean.

Garrapata Beach at the south end of the park is dog-friendly, though leashes are required.

The lighthouse that’s been lit since 1889

Point Sur Lightstation sits 361 feet above the Pacific on a volcanic rock, 19 miles south of Carmel. It first lit up Aug. 1, 1889, and has been running ever since.

It’s the only complete lighthouse from that era still open to the public in California, and it’s on the National Register of Historic Places.

Keepers and their families lived out here from 1889 until the lighthouse automated in 1974. Walking the grounds, you get a real sense of what an isolated posting on this coast looked like for 85 years.

Tour the tower and walk the catwalk

Guided tours run three hours on Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Wednesdays at 1 p.m.

The walk is about a half mile with a 360-foot rise in elevation and two stairways, so wear comfortable shoes.

You can climb the lighthouse tower and walk the catwalk with the coastline spread out around you. Space fills up quickly, so arrive early.

The former Cold War Naval Facility next door runs its own Saturday tours at 10:30 a.m. The point is windy and cold most of the year, even in July, so bring a jacket.

Andrew Molera is Big Sur’s biggest and least crowded park

At roughly 4,800 acres, Andrew Molera State Park is the largest state park in Big Sur, and because it’s largely undeveloped, it draws far fewer people than the parks with famous waterfalls.

About 15 miles of trails run through meadows, redwood groves, bluffs and coastal terrain. Molera Beach stretches more than 2.5 miles.

The easy route to get there is the Creamery Meadow Trail, a 2-mile round trip along the Big Sur River. A footbridge goes in around mid-June and comes out in October.

Outside that window, you wade.

McWay Falls drops 80 feet onto a beach it helped create

Inside Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, about 37 miles south of Carmel, an 80-foot waterfall comes off granite cliffs and lands on a sandy cove.

That beach didn’t exist before 1983. A landslide that year deposited the sand where there was none. The waterfall now reaches the ocean at high tide.

The beach and cliffs are completely off limits, no exceptions. California condors often circle above the cliffs or perch in the eucalyptus trees nearby.

Entry to the park costs $10 per vehicle.

The falls overlook is closed, but the park still delivers

As of March 2026, the Overlook Trail to McWay Falls is closed for a retaining wall repair project expected to run through the end of 2026.

You can still see the falls from a small pullout on the side of Highway 1. Inside the park, the Ewoldsen Trail stays open and takes you through redwoods.

About two miles north of the park, Partington Cove is worth the detour. A short trail goes through a tunnel cut into the cliff and drops down to a rocky cove at the water.

Pfeiffer Beach has purple sand and a rock with a hole in it

Turn off Highway 1 onto Sycamore Canyon Road, the only paved, ungated road on the west side of the highway in that stretch, and it takes you down to Pfeiffer Beach.

The sand gets its color from manganese garnet deposits mixing with quartz washed out of the hills. Up close, you’ll see streaks of violet and lavender running through the shore.

The beach is open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Don’t go in the water. There are no lifeguards and the surf is too rough for swimming or even wading.

Keyhole Arch and the December sunset that draws photographers everywhere

Keyhole Arch is a rock formation at the edge of the beach with a hole worn through it by the sea. Waves push through it all day.

In mid-December, the sun lines up perfectly through the arch at sunset and floods the opening with golden light.

Photographers plan trips around that alignment.

The beach sits inside Los Padres National Forest, not a state park, so the rules and management are a little different.

Parking is limited and weekends get crowded. Come on a weekday if you can, and give yourself time to walk the whole shore.

Drive the Bixby Creek Bridge corridor in Big Sur, California

The corridor runs along Highway 1 from Garrapata State Park in the north to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park in the south, and most stops fall within an hour’s drive of Monterey.

Bixby Creek Bridge sits about 13 miles south of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Summer mornings bring coastal fog that usually burns off by midday, so a late morning start often works in your favor. Dress in layers no matter the season.

The wind shifts fast out here, and what feels mild at the bridge can feel like winter by the time you reach the lighthouse.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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