Why now is the best time to explore the peaceful, beautiful Big Sur in California
With Big Sur’s coastal highway closed for repairs after a landslide, lower prices and a lack of crowds make the area perfect for a visit
Sometimes, the best place you can go is a dead end, especially when that dead end is surrounded by crashing surf on empty beaches, dramatic cliffs and lonely trails through forests thick with redwoods.
That is the situation along Big Sur’s South Coast, in the US state of California, right now.
A chunk of the cliff-clinging highway has been closed for landslide repairs since January 2023, and the classic, coast-hugging, 98-mile (158-km) San Simeon-Big Sur-Carmel route is not expected to reopen until the end of March 2026, if weather permits.
That means the 44-mile stretch from San Simeon to Lucia is likely to be lonely for at least six more months. For travellers and tourists alike, the coming months are a chance to drive, hike or cycle in near solitude among tall trees, steep slopes and sea stacks. The weather is cooler and wetter – the road is quieter.
Moreover, those who make the trip will be supporting local businesses, which remain open, some with reduced prices. Autumn rates at the Ragged Point Inn, 15 miles north of Hearst Castle, for example, start at about US$149 per night – US$100 less than when the road was open.
“It’s kind of perfect,” said Claudia Tyler, on her way from Salmon Creek Falls to Plaskett Creek in Los Padres National Forest for two nights of camping. “I am sorry for the businesses, but it’s good for the traveller.”
The closed area, known as Regent’s Slide, begins about 26 miles north of Ragged Point, towards the south end of Big Sur, and covers 6.8 miles. You would need to detour inland via the US 101 route to reach most of Big Sur’s best-known attractions, including the Bixby Creek Bridge, Pfeiffer Beach, Nepenthe restaurant, Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn, McWay Falls and Esalen Institute.