Page 143 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021 DISCOVERING MENDOCINO

About 300 miles northwest from Ojai lies Big Sur
(www.bigsurcalifornia.org), one of California’s
most beloved landscapes for good reason. Big Sur
is surely one of the most scenic stretches of Pacific
Ocean coastline, and probably one of the most
scenic stretches of ocean coastline anywhere. It
covers roughly 90 miles along California Highway 1
between San Simeon to the south and Carmel to
the north.
This is the land of coastal redwood forests,
beaches littered with natural jade stones, and
magnificent views along the undulating, pastoral
coast where sometimes the fog paints the blue
sea with a fleeting veil of soft grays.
And this is where that waterfall empties into a
sandy cove on the beach.
The 1-mile round-trip trail that takes hikers to
McWay Falls is one of Big Sur’s shortest and easi-
est trails, making it especially popular. The trail
leads to the 80-foot cascade that lands right on
the beach in a pristine cove settled along a stun-
ningly beautiful coastline of rocky and grassy
cliffs.
About 30 miles to its south I found Jade Cove,
the longest stretch of sand on the Big Sur coast,
where I marveled at those beautiful green stones,
some as big as boulders, some as puny as pebbles.
Pfeiffer Falls Trail was another easy 1.4-mile
round-trip hike here that took me to a waterfall
deep in the ancient redwood forests of Pfeiffer
Big Sur State Park.
“Hiking in Big Sur is a chance to see the soul of
the place,” Stephen Copeland told me. He started
Big Sur Guides (bigsurguides.com) more than 40
years ago to share the striking beauty of this Cali-

I chose to hike on the Ventura River Preserve, lo- fornia coastline.
cated very close to town, where about 3 miles of the
river are protected with trails through its 1,600
acres. Once part of an old ranch, this preserve has At left: McWay Falls, an easy and popular
been relatively untouched for more than 300 years. destination in Big Sur;.
Well-marked trails lead to a dandy swimming hole
that attracts lots of locals during hot weather. When
I was there in late fall, yellow mustard blooms lined
the trails that were also dotted with patches of the
very happy-inducing matilija poppies. Rising on the
horizon were those mystical mountains that seem to
protect this very happy valley.

WINEDINEANDTRAVEL.COM 143