48 |
MOLERA STATE |
DISTANCE: 8.0 miles round-trip
HIKING TIME: 4 hours
SEASON: year-round
DIFFICULTY: challenging
This loop around the western side of the park is easiest in summer, when the footbridge sits over the Big Sur River. Otherwise, you must take off your shoes and suffer through a cold ford over smooth, rounded rocks. Take the path from the west side of the parking lot and immediately cross the river. You’ll leave the crowds behind as you turn left (south) onto River Trail, then right onto Hidden Trail. Enjoy a healthy climb up to Ridge Trail, where you turn left and hike southward, paralleling the ocean. Ridge Trail is a wide fire road and rolls gently, heading gradually higher. You’ll have ocean vistas to the west and fine views inland of Big Sur’s rugged peaks.
After passing through a small redwood grove, Ridge Trail meets Panorama Trail at 3.5 miles. Turn right and switchback steeply downhill toward the ocean, enjoying wide views all the way. As you near the coast, you’ll meet Spring Trail. Turn left for a few hundred feet to a lovely, driftwood-laden beach, a perfect lunch stop. For your return, follow Bluffs Trail 2.5 miles north to Molera Beach, a stretch that offers long, beautiful looks at Molera Point and Point Sur Light Station. Take the trail from Molera Beach back to the parking lot.
From Carmel, drive 22 miles south on Hwy. 1 (or 2.0 miles north of Big Sur) to Andrew Molera State Park’s main entrance, on the west side of the highway. Trails begin at the parking lot.
