Pfeiffer Beach, Big Sur California

Pfeiffer Beach, CA

I looked up dog friendly beaches in the Big Sur area and came across Pfeiffer Beach.  I didn't look into the beach at all, just saw DOG FRIENDLY and BEACH in the same sentence, did a happy dance, and put it on my GPS.  

Well, this beach FAR exceeded any expectations I had for West Coast Beaches.

USA Today readers chose Pfeiffer Beach to be in the Top 10 Beaches in California.  And I totally see why.   "Private property and Big Sur's steep terrain makes most of its coastline inaccessible to the public. Fortunately for the visitor, however, several State Park and U.S. Forest Service beaches are open to the public all year. Pfeiffer beach is one of them". Despite its popularity it was still relatively quiet. 

Sign at the top of the entrance.  Stop and talk to the guard to see if there is parking down below. 

"Pfeiffer Beach is located in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, which is off the Pacific Coast Highway about 37 miles south of Carmel, down a narrow, one-lane dirt road. If you have an overly large or overly small vehicle, you might have issues navigating this road, especially if your vehicle is large and there’s oncoming traffic. At the end of the road is a paved parking area with restrooms, and from there, the beach itself is a leisurely 10 minute walk."

Pfeiffer Beach is a Day Use Area, and no overnight camping is allowed.  Hours are 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM 7 days a week.  There is a $10.00 entrance fee to access the park and beach.   Parking can be an issue and there is a guard at the top and bottom of the road to let you know if there are spaces down by the beach. If not, it is a long walk down the dirt road to access the beach.  It was a long drive down this bumpy dirt road. 

The best part, it is a dog friendly beach (on leash). 

Fido can come relax on the beach with you as long as he is on leash. 

Dirt road to get to Pfeiffer Beach 

The worst part? It is a long windy drive down a dirty road that really only has room for cars one way. Drive slow and be patient as there will be a lot of walkers on the road, and cars coming in both directions that you will have to pull over and let pass by at times. 

Finally at the end of the dirt road (I felt a little bad for everyone walking) you will see the parking area, bathrooms, and the welcome sign 

Arches at Pfeiffer Beach 

But when you get there, you are in for a surprise.  The views are phenomenal.  Wide perfect sandy beaches, and these amazing arches and caves. 

Napping Sea Lion on the beach 

Oh, and an extra surprise.  This sea lion decided he was going to haul out and take a nap on the beach.  He ignored everyone around him (his area was coned off) and scooted up on the beach whenever the waves came in too close.  This marine mammal lover was pretty happy at another critter sighting.

That face though! 

Kids watching the napping Sea Lion on the beach 

It was a really fun experience for the kids even though  A: they were farrrr too close and B:  they all thought he was dead or dying.  I am pretty sure he was just hauled out and sunbathing.  I took the time to give a quick lesson on seals vs sea lions.  Everyone should know. 

Arches at Pfeiffer Beach

The caves and arches off these beach are beautiful.  Like holy moly we don't have this stuff back at home.  Watching the wave roll through theses caves was so calming and peaceful.  It was the perfect treat after a long day in the car. 

Arches at Pfeiffer Beach

The beach area was also really nice and relatively empty.  Of course, being the Pacific, the water is quite chilly, and there was an adorable family playing in the surf, all wearing matching wet suits. 

Olive on Pfeiffer Beach 

I wasn't the only one enjoying the day.  Sometimes you just need to feel the sand under your paws and the wind in your ears.  She was so happy sitting on the beach.  This girl loves scampering along the beach and dipping into the water (we did keep her on leash as it is an on leash only area). 

Keyhole Arch, Pfeiffer Beach 

One of the most beautiful (and popular) features on this beach is Keyhole Arch.  This beautiful arch just sitting in the surf zone.  Waves rolling through the key hole and spilling onto the beach.  This picture doesn't do it justice. This is a beach and arch you need to see for yourself. 

Keyhole Arch, Pfeiffer Beach 

It is a really well known feature along the Pacific Coast, and well documented/photographed feature.  I mean, I knew Pacific had great beaches but this beach was really fully of surprises.   Pacific you are soooooooooo beautiful.

This article talks about the special time of year when photographers swarm the beach to get the perfect light through Keyhole Arch.

Yoga on the beach 

This guy was sitting on the rock, in total zen mode.  What a spot to watch the sunset and reflect.   Big Sur was more beautiful than I could have imagined.  The drive down Highway One, to walking along Pfeiffer Beach, watching the waves roll through caves and arches.  We even spotted some dolphins playing in the surf off the beach

Footprints at Pfeiffer Beach 

 If you are heading to Big Sur and want a beach you can relax on,

 and even bring your dog, this is it.  

Driving California's Pacific Coast Highway

Driving along the California Coast, with steep cliffs and the Pacific to your right, and farms to your left. Driving with this scenery, the windows down and the radio on is nothing short of magical. It is one of the best feelings, that salty spray, a cool breeze, seagulls overhead, and the radio on. Oh, how I missed that feeling of a salty sea breeze. You know, the one that makes your hair tangled and clothes dewy.  This is a road trip best done in an old convertible or for the more practical traveler, a locally rented RV or camper van.   No need to find hotels or stick to a strict itinerary when you have your hotel behind the driver's seat.

This is in almost every MUST SEE Road Trip Book 

and is rated as America's Most Popular Road Trip.

Let's find out why.

We left the San Francisco area and started off in Half Moon Bay. 
The trip was about 113 miles to Big Sur along 1.

Half Moon Bay, Pescadero, Santa Cruz, Capitola, Moss Landing, Monterey, Carmel By The Sea, over the Bixby Bridge, and to Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur.  You travel through some iconic California towns with some of the most gorgeous views I have ever seen.  Monterey and Pfeiffer Beach are getting their own posts later in the week, so today, let's talk about some of these smaller towns and the drive itself. 

Pebble Beach was one of our first stops.  The beach was made of all of these beautiful little pebbles.  There were also tidal pools and some amazing coastal geography. 

We continued along, stopping to gawk along the way and take a ton of pictures. 

We decided to stop in Santa Cruz for lunch.  I needed tacos, and saw a spot with good reviews along the way, Taqueria Los Pericos.  I was in Santa Cruz California, I was not leaving without fish tacos.  These were some of the best fish tacos I have ever eaten.   Divey spot with great prices and amazing food.  We ended up getting ax extra burrito... for the road.  

After the tacos, it was time to keep driving towards Big Sur.  One of the most surprising things about the drive along Highway One was all of the farms.  All along the coast, you have these gorgeous farms.  You could see workers out there picking the crops in the sunshine, and with views like this, that job did not look so shabby.  

You will find many farm stands along Highway 1 and we stopped at a few.  We ended up getting strawberries, figs, peaches, garlic, and avocados.  The strawberries were so sweet and it reminds you what strawberries are supposed to taste like. 

The avocados were 8 for 1$.  Yes, you read that right EIGHT for ONE DOLLAR.  Yes, they were small, but they were soooo yummy.  I got a mix of ripe and non ripe avocados to bring home and enjoy. 

This is how I spent most of the drive.  We go out and stopped (a lot) but I still snapped so many pictures while driving along, please excuse the blurriness of some of them. 

I loved Moss Landing.  It was all docks, and boats.  And then tons of Sea Lions hauled out in the sunshine.  Seeing the wild marine life just got better and better this trip.  Is this really the U.S? How it the Pacific SO AMAZING. 

Another amazing asset of Highway 1 is all of the gorgeous perfect sandy beaches.  Some had a fee, some did not.  But each one was relatively empty and absolutely beautiful.  Pacific, you have some pretty awesome beaches. 

As you get closer to Big Sur itself, the views just get better, and better and better.  You go from sandy beaches to amazing cliffs.  The Big Sur section of Highway 1 is hands down the most spectacular.  I mean, its all beautiful but the Big Sur section is out of a movie. Well, I am sure it is in a ton of movies-  you get it, it's crazy beautiful. 

We finally made it to the famous Historic Bixby Bridge.  The driving in this area is a bit hairy and the views are out of this world.  Once you pass over the bridge (white knuckles on the steering wheel), make sure you pull over at one of the lookout spots to take in the view of the bridge along the coast. " It is one of the tallest single-span concrete bridges in the world and one of the most photographed bridges along the Pacific Coast due to its aesthetic design and location." Source

There are so many pull-off areas along the Pacific Coast Highway so you will have plenty of chances to snap pictures when driving down the coast. 

After spending the day at Pfeiffer Beach (check back tomorrow for that post!) we headed back up the coast towards Monterey as the sun was setting.   We had a short itinerary but if you keep traveling past Pfeiffer Beach: 

"Nepenthe (an indoor-outdoor restaurant perched 800 feet above the sea and famous for its views- and according to my friend Sarah, its pies!). Also stop 8 miles farther at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park whose terrain ranges from 3,000-foot-high (914-meter-high) ridges to an underwater preserve. Do walk the short trail along the seaside bluff to see McWay Falls pour 100 feet into a picturesque cove". We wanted to see McWay Falls but be warned, this park and trail to the Falls is not dog-friendly. So we turned around after Pfeiffer Beach.

The Navy Base along highway one was also a gorgeous picture along the coast.  We stopped at Monastery Beach to enjoy the views one more time, and eat our "road burrito".  Yes, we grabbed an extra burrito to enjoy later in the day.  And it was a good decision. 

This was a great way to end a beautiful day driving the California Coast.  A burrito, sunshine, and some of the best company.  These pictures do not do this area justice.  It is a spot you need to experience in person and see with your own eyes.  This road trip needs to be on everyone's list.  Driving down this coast was a memory I will hold on to for a while. 

   

If you can't get enough of this drive, skip ahead to the rest of the trip. 
Pier 39
Pfieffer Beach
Monterey
Napa Valley

Pier 39 Sea Lions, San Francisco

Sea Lions of Pier 39

A lot of people probably don't know that I have a B.S. in Marine Biology. They probably also don't know that I spent most of my life obsessed with the idea of being a marine animal trainer/researcher. I owned just about every book on what you have to do to work in an aquarium, and train marine mammals. 

Well, all of these books talked about how important it was to volunteer at an aquarium. So, I spent a lot of my time volunteering, and later interning with the Mystic Aquarium down in Connecticut. I was very lucky and got to work with the aquariums collections of Beluga Whales, African Penguins, Fur Seals, Harbor Seal and Stellar Sea Lion. 

I really miss my experiences at the aquarium, and I am so thankful for that opportunity and the years I was able to spend there. To say I have always been infatuated with marine life is an understatement. So when I planned my trip to San Francisco, stopping at Pier 39 was a must. I have never seen wild sea lions and this was really a trip highlight for me.

Pier 39 is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the area. Home to restaurants, aquariums, shops, and the famous California Sea Lions that haul out on one of the piers. So why do these sea lions hang out here?

Pier 39 

Sea Lions and The Sea Lion Story 

(www.Pier39.com)

"A few California sea lions began “hauling out” on PIER 39′s K-Dock shortly after the Loma Prieta earthquake hit San Francisco in October 1989. By January 1990, the boisterous barking pinnipeds started to arrive in droves and completely took over K-Dock, much to the exasperation of PIER 39′s Marina tenants. The Marina Staff turned to The Marine Mammal Center, an organization devoted to the rescue and rehabilitation of marine mammals, for advice about their new slippery tenants. After much debate and research, the experts from The Marine Mammal Center recommended that the sea lions stay in their new found home.

With a plentiful supply of food from the Bay and an environment protected from predators, the PIER 39 Marina proved to be an ideal living situation for the sea lions. Within a few short months, the number of sea lions grew to more than 300 and hit an all-time record of 1,701 in November 2009.

Pier 39 Viewing Dock 

Pier 39 Viewing Dock 

While the number of sea lions at K-Dock rise and fall with the seasons, available food supply and natural migration patterns, the world famous sea lions always have a home at PIER 39.

During the summer months, it’s not uncommon to see few or no sea lions at PIER 39’s K-Dock. California sea lions travel south to give birth and breed on offshore island rookeries, ranging from Southern California’s Channel Islands south to Mexico. All sea lions share the instinct to return to rookery islands during this time; however, some non-breeding animals will linger along the coast. The first pups are born by May 25th and the breeding season is over by July 20th. Adult females often remain near rookeries year-round, whereas males and juvenile females move north after the breeding season. The number of sea lions at PIER 39 typically increases after the first week of August."

Source

Pier 39 Sea Lions 

With the large number or sea lion pups showing up starving and emaciated on our beaches, I was really excited that there were a number of sea lions on the pier.  If you want to read more about the sea lion pups, Read More Here

My pet peeve is when people call them seals.  These are sea lions.  You can tell by that long front flipper sea lions walk on.  Seals just have those short stubby T Rex like arms.  Sea Lions not Seals :) 

Pier 39 Sea Lions 

Click Here to see the Live Web Cam for K Dock 

and see how many sea lions are at the pier today!