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…
Category: Travel
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…
La Ventana Loop: Kandlbinder – La Ventana – Ventana Double Cone
The La Ventana Loop is a tremendous route that was as difficult as it was beautiful. To my knowledge Kandlbinder, La Ventana (aka The Window), and Ventana Double Cone have never been climbed together as a day trip. It took Brian Robinson, Whit Rambach, Joey Cassidy and me a little over 13 hours to complete…
Into the Wild on the Big Sur Trail
The Big Sur Trail is a rugged, overgrown trail, but the reward for the arduous effort is passage through the remote north and south forks of the wild and scenic Big Sur River. We also visited Rainbow Falls along the South Fork Big Sur River, rock hopping through the spectacular stream bed to reach this…
Buckeye Loop
For our first visit to the Silver Peak Wilderness we did a great 13 mile loop out of Salmon Cove including the Cruickshank Trail, the Buckeye Trail, the Soda Springs Trail and a couple miles along Hwy 1. The Silver Peak Wilderness is located along the Southern big Sur Coast. It encompasses 31,555 acres and…
Prewitt Ridge
If Stone Ridge is the most striking, prominent ridge along the Big Sur Coast, and Boronda Ridge is the most elegant, Prewitt Ridge takes the award for the most outstanding views. The route features an unparalleled vantage of the Cone Peak region to the north and Pacific Valley to the south. We started by taking…
Limekiln to Big Sur via the Coast Ridge
A point-to-point is the best way to maximize covering and experiencing a lot of terrain. The complete Coast Ridge route is no exception with 39+ miles of amazing and constantly changing scenery for its entire length. This aesthetic route is a masterpiece and one of the “super” classics of Big Sur and the Ventana Wilderness….
2013 Adventure Recap
2013 was an awesome year of adventures! From the coast to the High Sierra, there was a lot of everything. Browsing through my posts from this year really makes me appreciate living in California where it’s possible to enjoy a diverse set of adventures and occupy my desire to explore wild and rugged places year…
Leor Pantilat's Adventures