Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

This beautiful mountainous state park is named after Julia Pfeiffer Burns, a well respected pioneer woman in the Big Sur country. Her father Michael Pfeiffer was one of the first homesteaders in the area. The Pfeiffer family children homesteaded so much of the surrounding land that it was often said "there was a Pfeiffer on every hill." Julia loved her family home by Pfeiffer Beach and stayed on to tend to her aging parents. However, she was no homebody. Julia could ride and run a ranch as well as any man. In 1915, she married John Burns a Scottish orphan who lived with the nearby Post family. They continued to live and ranch in the Big Sur country until Julia's death in 1928. The McWay Waterfall shown above was one of Julia's favorite places to sit and marvel at the natural beauty of the coast.

Between Partington Point and McWay Creek is the Julia Pfeiffer Burns Underwater Area, which was established in 1970 and is now a popular scuba diving area. During the 1880's John Partington operated a landing at Partington Cove for transferring lumber and tanback onto waiting ships. The rocky shoreline is the access to the underwater park.

Hiking trails throughout the park provide excellent vistas for viewing the wild Big Sur coastline. In December/January and again in March/April, the bench at the end of Overlook Trail is an excellent place to watch for migrating gray whales. The whales pass close to shore at this point and occasionally one will even come into the mouth of the cove.

Facilities include restrooms, parking, picnic areas, and walk-in environmental campsites. The campsites are a little over 1/4 of a mile from the parking lot. They offer spectacular views of the ocean and the rugged coastline. Reservations are required for camping and can be obtained by calling (800) 444-7275. For more information about the park, call (831) 667-2315.

Directions:

• The state park is 73 miles North of Cambria, and 33 miles South of Monterey off Hwy.1