BigJ
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JoyJoy and I spent the afternoon running up down and around Highway 1, between Monterey and Big Sur. This stretch of Hwy1 is some of the prettiest, in our opinion. If you've never been, it alone is worth the trip.
"Coast Road" begins and ends on Hwy1. The trail begins 2.5 miles north of Big Sur, opposite the entrance to Andrew Molera State Park. It immediately begins to climb up a graded dirt road, passing through patches of thick trees and open ranchland. Along the early stretch of the trail, you can look west to see the highway, coast, and ocean. The views along this section are amazing. We found ourselves stopping along the way, and just staring.
The Coast Road goes through private property, passing a number of ranch access roads and private buildings, heads into and out of forested regions complete with some ancient Redwoods. The Road crosses Little Sur River before traveling along Sierra Creek.
Over the 10 mile run, you climb from sea level to the 1500 food summit, then back down to sea level, finishing at the world famous Bixby Creek Bridge. The trail itself is steep; if wet it could pose a serious challenge for any 4x4 and may be impassable (signs warn that it is impassible when wet; given the abrupt dropoffs in several places I doubt I'd try it when slippery). When dry, 4x2 was plenty good, although I would not try this in a passenger car as the route is seriously rutted in many places, sometimes nearly a foot deep and two feet wide. We took our time and finished the 10 miles in around 90 minutes.
We'll definitely be making this trip again, and maybe run it in reverse to see the opposite views. There are two other trails close to this one, both of similar distance and elevation change. You could make a day out of combining the three and a picnic lunch.
Here are a handful of pics we took today. Sorry for the quality... we had to use our iPhones.
"Coast Road" begins and ends on Hwy1. The trail begins 2.5 miles north of Big Sur, opposite the entrance to Andrew Molera State Park. It immediately begins to climb up a graded dirt road, passing through patches of thick trees and open ranchland. Along the early stretch of the trail, you can look west to see the highway, coast, and ocean. The views along this section are amazing. We found ourselves stopping along the way, and just staring.
The Coast Road goes through private property, passing a number of ranch access roads and private buildings, heads into and out of forested regions complete with some ancient Redwoods. The Road crosses Little Sur River before traveling along Sierra Creek.
Over the 10 mile run, you climb from sea level to the 1500 food summit, then back down to sea level, finishing at the world famous Bixby Creek Bridge. The trail itself is steep; if wet it could pose a serious challenge for any 4x4 and may be impassable (signs warn that it is impassible when wet; given the abrupt dropoffs in several places I doubt I'd try it when slippery). When dry, 4x2 was plenty good, although I would not try this in a passenger car as the route is seriously rutted in many places, sometimes nearly a foot deep and two feet wide. We took our time and finished the 10 miles in around 90 minutes.
We'll definitely be making this trip again, and maybe run it in reverse to see the opposite views. There are two other trails close to this one, both of similar distance and elevation change. You could make a day out of combining the three and a picnic lunch.
Here are a handful of pics we took today. Sorry for the quality... we had to use our iPhones.
I guess I'm just going to have to make a return trip to the Red Woods. 
