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Ventana Wilderness

California, United States
 (3 votes, 3 reviews)

Trails

Summary
Difficulty
Distance
Junipero Serra Peak
11.3 mile trail near Greenfield, California
Moderate
11.3 mi/
18.2 km
Highway 1 to Cone Peak
Start from sea level and summit the highest coastal mountain in the contiguous 48 states.
Difficult
22 mi/
35 km

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park

Summary
Difficulty
Distance
Nature Trail at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
A short self-guided nature trail to explore the native plans and surrounding habitat of Pfeiffer Big Sur
Easy
0.3 mi/
0.5 km
Pfeiffer Fall and Valley View Trail
Take a nice hike through the redwoods to Pfeiffer Fall followed by a walk to a stunning view of the Big Sur valley below
Easy
2.0 mi/
3.2 km
Pine Ridge Trail to Sykes Hot Springs
A popular 10-mile hike through the Big Sur wilderness with a relaxing finish
Difficult
20 mi/
32 km

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

Summary
Difficulty
Distance
Overlook Trail to McWay Falls
A short hike with amazing views of the Big Sur coast with a stunning waterfall falling to the sandy beach below
Easy
0.5 mi/
0.8 km
Tanbark Trail
A strenuous loop into the hills above Big Sur with amazing views along the coast as far as the eye can see
Difficult
6.4 mi/
10.3 km
Guides
Tanbark Trail
Tanbark Trail
Big Sur, California, United States
 
Difficult: 6.4 miles, Half day
A strenuous loop into the hills above Big Sur with amazing views along the coast as far as the eye can see
Pfeiffer Fall and Valley View Trail
Pfeiffer Fall and Valley View Trail
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, California, United States
 
Easy: 2.0 miles, 1 hour or less
Take a nice hike through the redwoods to Pfeiffer Fall followed by a walk to a stunning view of the Big Sur valley below
Overlook Trail to McWay Falls
Overlook Trail to McWay Falls
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, California, United States
 
Easy: 0.5 miles, 1 hour or less
A short hike with amazing views of the Big Sur coast with a stunning waterfall falling to the sandy beach below
Pine Ridge Trail to Sykes Hot Springs
Pine Ridge Trail to Sykes Hot Springs
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, California, United States
 
Difficult: 20 miles, Multiple days
A popular 10-mile hike through the Big Sur wilderness with a relaxing finish
Nature Trail at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
Nature Trail at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, California, United States
 
Easy: 0.3 miles, 1 hour or less
A short self-guided nature trail to explore the native plans and surrounding habitat of Pfeiffer Big Sur
Highway 1 to Cone Peak
Highway 1 to Cone Peak
Lucia, California, United States
 
Difficult: 22 miles, Multiple days
Start from sea level and summit the highest coastal mountain in the contiguous 48 states.
Junipero Serra Peak
Greenfield, California, United States
Moderate: 11.3 miles, Full day
11.3 mile trail near Greenfield, California
Community Trips
Starting the hike Video
Moss Photo
Banana slug Photo
Wet leaf Photo
Big Sur to Sykes Hot Springs
by chris on Jan 30, 2010
Pfeiffer Big Sur, California, United States
26 miles
David and I were ready to try some snow camping in Yosemite this weekend, but the weather report had other plans.  It was set to rain on the first day in Yosemite, and we decided that camping in snow while being rained on did not sound like a good use of a weekend (hopefully we will get some clear skies soon!).  Since we had psyched ourselves up for a backpacking trip for...
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Tan Bark Loop
by chris on Mar 30, 2008
Slates Hot Springs, California, United States
8.6 miles
Day hike along the Tan Bark trail. It was 3.2 miles up to "The tin house" which was abandoned and have amazing views of the coast line. We then decided to hike down to the water and walk along the rocks for a bit.
Pine Ridge Trail sign Photo
Pine Ridge Trail Photo
Pine Ridge Trail Photo
Morteros in Pine Valley Photo
Pine Valley, Ventana Wilderness
by calipidder on Apr 10, 2010
Tassajara Hot Springs, California, United States
12.4 miles
Pine Valley in Ventana Wilderness is a great place for both dayhiking and backpacking. The valley is filled with large pine trees and rock that remind you more of Sierra meadows than typical coastal ranges. There is a 5 acre parcel of private property in the valley belonging to Jack English, a friendly and welcoming 90+ year old man who will invite you in and tell you the amazing stories of his...
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Short Walk to the Cliff
by chris on Mar 30, 2008
Slates Hot Springs, California, United States
0.6 miles
Just a short little walk to the cliffs above the water in Big Sur. Great views of the little cove and a waterfall.
Monterey Coast Photo
Packing the Car Photo
hdrIMG_0347 Photo
Framing Photo
Big Sur to Sykes Hot Springs
by oruwu on Jan 30, 2010
Big Sur, California, United States
26 miles
Chris and I set off to explore the wilderness that is Big Sur, in hopes of camping near the Sykes hotsprings. However, we encountered a couple problems.Before we left on our journey, the area had seen relentless rain for two straight weeks. Fortunately for our outing, the rain let up while we were out and about. The hills were very moist and brooks were plentifully racing down towards Big Sur River and...
Pfeiffer Falls Trailhead Photo
Pfeiffer Falls Trail Photo
Pfeiffer Falls Trail Photo
Pfeiffer Falls Trail Photo
Pfeiffer Fall and Valley View Trail
by chris on Nov 12, 2010
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, California, United States
2.0 miles
This short hike combined two of the more popular trails in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park: Pfieffer Falls and Valley View.  Unfortunately, due to fire damage from 2008, part of the Pfeiffer Falls loop was closed for rehabilitation and reconstruction, but luckily the waterfall was still reachable.When I got to Peiffer Fall the water was barely trickling down, and my guess is that late spring may be a better time for this...
First Deep Pool (Tassajara Hot Springs, California, United States) Photo
Lunch Time (Tassajara Hot Springs, California, United States) Photo
Doggy Paddle (Tassajara Hot Springs, California, United States) Photo
Water Walking (Tassajara Hot Springs, California, United States) Photo
Arroyo Seco River Adventure
by victor on Aug 04, 2007
Tassajara Hot Springs, California, United States
19.1 miles
A fun little adventure that started at midnight when we started hiking 14mi down Indians Rd to Escondido campground. There we had a chance to sleep for a couple of hours before starting the Arroyo Seco river adventure. The Arroyo Seco water level varied from the trecherous ankle deep to full on swimming. We deveoped new techniques for swimming with a backpack on, such as the "bicycle" and the "crawdad".The highlight of the hike was definitely...
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Sykes Hot Springs Big Sur
by EwaSkB on Aug 26, 2010
Big Sur, CA
9.7 miles
It is a trip that in summer month will challenge your sanity for hiking 10 miles to hot springs when during the hike all you can think of is a cold bath.It is a medium to strenuous hike with views to kill for. There are a lot of signs of 2008 fire but also amazing examples of rebirth. We made frequent stops to soak our feet in cold creeks and enjoy the...
David is ready Photo
Josh is ready Photo
Ventana WIlderness Photo
Ventana WIlderness Photo
Backpacking to Jackson Camp
by chris on Jul 02, 2011
Notleys Landing, California, United States
10.4 miles
Over the long 4th of July weekend David, Josh and I were looking for a backpacking trip.  Unfortunately, literally everything in the Sierra's was either full or covered in snow, and we decided to stay a bit closer to home.We eventually decided on Big Sur and left Friday after work to spend the night in Monterey to get an early jump on the next day.  The jump was most of a slow...
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Limekiln Trails
by larrygu on Jul 13, 2012
Lucia, California, United States
2.4 miles

Reviews
erin_said
BEAUTIFUL! Please practice Leave No Trace if you are hiking/backpacking here.
Visited on Mar 15, 2013

by erin_said on Mar 26, 2013
chris
I was in the northern section near Bottchers gap. The area was nice, but very hot this weekend. Fortunately, we backpacked to a river, so we were able to keep out of the heat for much of the trip. A few parts of the trails were washed away or overgrown, but other than that it wasn't too bad.
Visited on Jul 02, 2011

by chris on Jul 08, 2011
Touchstone
One of my favorites. Beautiful scenery and great hiking possibilities.
Visited on Jun 20, 2011

by Touchstone on Dec 27, 2011

Favorite Destination

What people are saying...

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