Things to do in Big Sur To San Luis Obispo
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Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant
This funkily decorated, warmly lit house has offerings that change through the day and season. Wood-fired pizzas and stellar burgers share the lineup with more refined - but just as satisfying - dishes like wild salmon with succotash. The bakery pours the best coffee in Big Sur and sells its own house granola. In the words of one local, 'their ham and cheese croissant is...mwa! Tasty shit.' Poke around the spirit garden next door.
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Partington Cove
From the western side of Hwy 1, a poorly marked steep dirt trail descends half a mile along Partington Creek to Partington Cove , a little visited but very beautiful section of Big Sur. On the 1-mile loop you cross a cool bridge and then walk through an even cooler tunnel.
During Prohibition it was a landing spot for rum-runners. The water in the cove is unbelievably aqua and within it grows incredible kelp forests. There�s no real beach access, but you can scamper on the rocks and look for tide pools as waves cuff ominously. The turnoff is inside a large hairpin turn 8 miles south of Nepenthe restaurant and 1.8 miles north of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.
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Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
The plaza is lorded over by the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa on Monterey St between Chorro and Broad Sts. The fifth of the California missions, it was established in 1772 and named for a French saint. Often called the 'Prince of the Missions,' its still-active church has an unusual L-shape with a flat open-beam ceiling and whitewashed walls decorated with the Stations of the Cross. An adjacent building contains an old-fashioned museum about daily life during the Chumash and mission periods.
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Big Sur Roadhouse
The Fosters opened this Roadhouse after working together at Sierra Mar, the Post Ranch Inn's posh eatery. Thankfully, they've chosen to share with us fresh, impeccable cuisine (like plantain tostones with tiger prawns) minus the haute attitude. Inside, the restaurant fairly glows from the corner fireplace and copper-top bar, not to mention the smiles from diners' faces. The front patio is more often than not covered in exuberant chalk drawings.
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Bishop's Peak Hike
A popular day hike. The trail (about 2.5 miles) starts in a beautiful grove of live oaks and then heads steeply along rocky, exposed switchbacks, home to many lizards. Scramble up boulders at the top for panoramic views of San Luis Obispo Bay and the surrounding ranch land. To get to the hike, go northwest from downtown on Santa Rosa St (Hwy 1) for 1.5 miles, turn west onto Highland Dr and after a little less than 1 mile the road ends at the trailhead.
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Bixby Bridge
About 13 miles south of Carmel, the much photographed landmark Bixby Bridge, spanning Rainbow Canyon, is one of the world's highest single-span bridges at 714ft long and 260ft high. Completed in 1932, it was built by prisoners eager to lop time off their sentences. There's a photo op pull-off just north of the bridge. Don't be tricked into thinking that the similar-looking Rocky Creek Bridge, just north of Bixby, is the real deal.
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Farmers Market
Thursday is a good day to visit SLO, when the famous Farmers Market turns Higuera St near Mission Plaza, the main drag, and adjacent lanes into a giant street party. Barbecues belching smoke, strolling families and live music and entertainment make this one of the liveliest evenings you'll have anywhere in California.
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Bubblegum Alley
SLO's weirdest sight is Bubblegum Alley, a narrow walkway off Higuera blanketed with thousands of wads of discarded chewing gum. The origin of this local fetish may be murky, but fans will say the result embodies a certain impressionist artistic flair while others will say it simply makes a bad impression.
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Pfeiffer Beach
Across the highway, detour onto the obscurely marked Sycamore Canyon Rd, which drops for two narrow, twisting miles to crescent-shaped Pfeiffer Beach, with its towering offshore sea arch and strong currents that make it too dangerous for swimming. Dig down into the sand - it's purple!
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Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
Named after Big Sur's first European settlers who arrived in 1869, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is the largest state park in Big Sur. There is miles of pristine hiking through redwoods in its 964 acres, though the popular trail to reach long and lean Pfeiffer Falls is only a 1.4-mile roundtrip walk.
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McWay Falls
California's only coastal waterfall, the 80ft McWay Falls drops straight into the sea - or onto the beach, depending on the tide. Dare you to take fewer than a dozen photos. To reach the waterfall viewpoint, take the short Overlook Trail heading west and cross beneath Hwy 1.
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Esalen Institute
About 10 miles north of Lucia is the new-agey Esalen Institute, famous for its esoteric workshops and ocean-view hot-springs baths. With a reservation you too can frolic nekkid in the latter - but only from 1am to 3am ($20, credit cards only). It's surreal.
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San Luis Obispo Art Center
Mission Plaza is bounded by the gentle San Luis Obispo Creek, which is lined with public art and is a nice spot for respite or a picnic. It leads straight to the San Luis Obispo Art Center, a showcase for local artists as well as visiting exhibits from around California.
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Art Cafe
Many of the good smells at this cute place come from the in-house bakery that produces treats such as spice white pepperjack bread and famous muffins. Omelettes, salads, sandwiches, steaks and such at night complete the menu. Art by patrons adorns the walls.
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Novo
Novo spins out hit-or-miss Mediterranean, Brazilian and Asian-inspired tapas, with an eye towards freshness and presentation. Pick from dozens of international beers, wines or sakes, and savor the view from creekside decks.
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SLO Brewing Co
A popular brewpub whose homemade beers go well with the burgers, barbecue and grilled seafood served upstairs for lunch Wednesday to Sunday, and dinner Tuesday to Sunday. Downstairs there's billiards and live music and DJs.
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Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park harbors California's only coastal waterfall, 80ft-high McWay Falls, which is reached via a quarter-mile stroll. Perched on a cliff are two walk-in campsites.
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Andrew Molera State Park
Visitors often overlook Andrew Molera State Park, but locals love this trail-laced pastiche of grassy meadows, waterfalls, ocean bluffs, rugged beaches and wildlife watching, including California condors.
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Molera Horseback Tours
A quarter-mile trail leads from the Andrew Molera State Park campground to a beautiful beach where the Big Sur River runs into the ocean. Molera Horseback Tours offers a variety of guided trail rides from around US$25.
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Day Hikes
There are plenty of good hikes around SLO, many of which start from Poly Canyon Rd on the Cal Poly campus. Hiking maps and parking information are available at the booth on the right as you enter the campus.
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San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum
For a comprehensive survey of local history, check out the San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum, just southwest of the mission. It's housed in the 1905 Carnegie Library, an imposing stone structure.
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Bon Temps Creole Cafe
Perfectly placed for hungry road-trippers, this locally loved café is the real deal with a long list of New Orleans classics from po boys to shrimp Creole. Locally owned, it's in the Ramada Inn.
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Linnaea's Cafe
A local institution, the short menu at this coffeehouse changes daily. The food is always spot-on fresh and at times whimsical (eg 'waffle night'). There's a good garden out back, wi-fi too.
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Point Sur Lightstation
Six miles before the famous Bixby Bridge, take a tour of 1889 Point Sur Lightstation. Meet your guide at the locked gate; arrive early as space is limited (no reservations).
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Big Sky Café
With the tagline 'analog food for a digital world, ' this ecoconscious café gets top marks for imaginative market-fresh breakfasts, but big-plate dinners can be bland.
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