The South Big Sur Coast stretches from Pacific Valley to Ragged Point. Due to its remote location 1.5+ hours from Monterey Bay, it is the least visited portion of the Big Sur coast, but it is well worth the extra time. The centerpiece of this region is the Silver Peak Wilderness, established in 1992 and containing…
Month: March 2014
Pico-Little Sur Loop
If Cone Peak is the King of the Big Sur Coast and Ventana Double Cone is the Queen of the Ventana Wilderness, then Pico Blanco is the Prince of the Little Sur. The mountain rises steeply between deep, redwood filled canyons which contain the two major forks of the Little Sur River. Pico assumes a…
An Evening on Stone Ridge
An ascent of Cone Peak via Stone Ridge Direct is a tremendous route and worthy of the title “Sea to Sky.” Stone Ridge is easily the most impressive and prominent ridge along the entire Big Sur Coast. While there are a bevy of tremendous grassy ridges near the ocean that I have explored (Boronda, Prewitt, Shouey,…
Shouey-Plaskett Loop
The Shouey-Plaskett Loop is one of the best short loops (<15 miles) on the Big Sur Coast with excellent variety including a lush redwood forest, expansive coastal vistas, picturesque grassy ridges, and oceanside views of rugged beaches and sea stacks. In fact, I enjoyed this loop so much that I returned here a couple weeks…
Little Sur Circular Pools
The trek to the Circular Pools entails an adventure up the wild and trail-less Little Sur River to an otherworldly scene of clear pools, delicate waterfalls, and precipitous cliffs deep in a lush, redwood filled canyon. The most straightforward access to the pools begins from Bottcher’s Gap (notice a lot of excellent terrain for adventures…
Santa Lucia Three Peaks
The Santa Lucia Three Peaks is classic route that includes the summits of three major peaks in the Ventana Wilderness – Cone Peak, Twin Peak and Junipero Serra Peak. Along the way there are great views of both the Big Sur Coast and the interior Ventana Wilderness. While mostly utilizing trails, the route does feature…
Leor Pantilat's Adventures