California’s Big Sur Region extends nearly 100 miles southward from Carmel, a land dominated by the coastal Santa Lucia Mountains. This area, well known for its grand scenery, was sparsely populated until U.S. Highway 1 arrived in 1937. It took another ten years before the area was connected to a power grid. One resident, Christopher McWay, took full advantage of this quiet sanctuary and Big Sur views from his Saddle-rock Ranch. Lathrop and Helen Hooper Brown, a former New York Congressman and his wife, purchased the Saddle-Rock Ranch and built their home at today's Waterfall Overlook. Friend of neighboring Julia Pfeiffer Burns, Mrs. Brown eventually donated her 1800 acre ranchland to the state as a park, ensuring a lasting tribute to Julia’s memory.
   Here at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park the park's land stretches from the shoreline to 3000 foot ridges in the Coastal Mountains. Just above the beach, the Big Sur’s dramatic cliffs drop hundreds of feet to the sea. McWay Falls, the only waterfall to drop directly into the Pacific Ocean, plummets 100 feet into McWay Cove below. While the beach is inaccessible, a trail leads out to McWay Falls Overlook providing visitors with a remarkable view.
   Due to a lightning strike, which ignited a 125,000 acre wildfire in 2008, the Big Sur trail was closed to all park-goers. More natural disasters struck in subsequent years diverting crews from trail repairs. Fast forward 12 years, the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park reopened on June 18, 2021. Thanks to the efforts of Save the Redwoods League and California State Parks, a 70-foot pedestrian bridge, which spans the Pfeiffer Redwood Creek ravine, was installed. While using redwood for the handrails and decking, the actual bridge structure utilized fiberglass, making it much easier for the crew to lift it into place without the use of heavy equipment. The trail was moved to a new location, saving a fragile ecosystem in the redwood forest. The 1.5-mile loop trail provides views of the waterfall, and distant views of the Big Sur River Valley, Point Sur and Andrew Molera State Park,.

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