Big Sur
1542
The first Europeans to see Big Sur were Spanish mariners led by Juan Cabrillo in 1542, who sailed up the coast without landing. When Cabrillo sailed by, he described the coastal range as "mountains which seem to reach the heavens, and the sea beats on them; sailing along close to land, it appears as though they would fall on the ships."
September 13, 1769
The name "Big Sur" has its origins in the area's early Spanish history. While the Portolá expedition was exploring Alta California, they arrived at San Carpóforo Canyon near present-day San Simeon on September 13, 1769. Unable to penetrate the difficult terrain along the coast, they detoured inland through the San Antonio and Salinas Valleys before arriving at Monterey Bay, where they founded Monterey and named it the provincial capital.
September 13, 1769
Two centuries passed before the Spaniards attempted to colonize the area. On September 13, 1769, an expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá were the first Europeans to enter the Big Sur region when they arrived at San Carpóforo Canyon near Ragged Point. While camping there, they were visited by six indigenous people who offered pinole and fish and received beads in exchange. They explored the coast ahead and concluded it was impassable. They were forced to turn inland up the steep arroyo. The march through the mountains was one of the most difficult portions of the expedition's journey. The Spanish were forced to "make a road with crowbar and pickaxe". Crespi wrote, "The mountains which enclose it are perilously steep, and all are inaccessible, not only for men but also for goats and deer." From a high peak near the San Antonio River, they could see nothing but mountains in every direction. They reached Monterey on October 1. When they attempted to explore further south, the scouts found their way blocked by "the same cliff that had forced us back from the shore and obliged us to travel through the mountains."
1770
After the Spanish established the California missions in 1770, they baptized and forced the native population to labor at the missions. While living at the missions, the aboriginal population was exposed to diseases unknown to them, like smallpox and measles, for which they had no immunity, devastating the Native American population and their culture. Many of the remaining Native Americans assimilated with Spanish and Mexican ranchers in the nineteenth century.
1821
Along with the rest of Alta California, Big Sur became part of Mexico when it gained independence from Spain in 1821. But, due to its inaccessibility, only a few small portions of the Big Sur region were included in land grants given by Mexican governors José Figueroa and Juan Bautista Alvarado.
1823
John Bautista Rogers Cooper, born John Rogers Cooper, was a Yankee from the British Channel Islands who arrived in Monterey in 1823. He became a Mexican citizen, converted to Catholicism, and was given a Spanish name at his baptism. He married Native American Encarnacion Vallejo and acquired considerable land, including Rancho El Sur, on which he had a cabin built in April or May 1861. The Cooper Cabin is the oldest surviving structure in Big Sur.
1834
Rancho Tularcitos, 26,581-acre (10,757 ha) of land, was granted in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Rafael Goméz. It was located in upper Carmel Valley along Tularcitos Creek.
July 30, 1834
On July 30, 1834, Figueroa granted Rancho El Sur, two square leagues of land totalling 8,949-acres (3,622 ha), to Juan Bautista Alvarado. The grant extended from the Little Sur River to what is now known as Cooper Point. Alvarado later traded Rancho El Sur for the more accessible Rancho Bolsa del Potrero y Moro Cojo in the northern Salinas Valley, owned by his uncle by marriage, Captain John B. R. Cooper. About one-half of Rancho El Sur is still an operating cattle ranch.
July 30, 1834
The first recorded use of the name el Sud (meaning 'the South') was on a map of the Rancho El Sur land grant given by Governor José Figueroa to Juan Bautista Alvarado on July 30, 1834. The first American use of the name 'Sur' was by the U.S. Coast Survey in 1851, which renamed a point of land that looked like an island and was shaped like a trumpet, known to the Spanish as Morro de la Trompa and Punta Que Parece Isla, to Point Sur.
1835
Rancho San Francisquito was a 8,813-acre (35.66 km ) land grant given in 1835 by Governor José Castro to Catalina Manzanelli de Munrás. She was the wife of Esteban Munrás (1798–1850), a Monterey trader, amateur painter, and grantee of Rancho San Vicente. The grant was located in the upper Carmel Valley, inland and east of Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito.
1838
Rancho Milpitas was a 43,281-acre (17,515 ha) land grant given in 1838 by governor Juan Alvarado to Ygnacio Pastor. The grant encompassed present-day Jolon and land to the west. When Pastor obtained title from the Public Land Commission in 1875, Faxon Atherton immediately purchased the land. By 1880, the James Brown Cattle Company owned and operated Rancho Milpitas and neighboring Rancho Los Ojitos. William Randolph Hearst's Piedmont Land and Cattle Company acquired the rancho in 1925. In 1940, in anticipation of the increased forces required in World War II, the U.S. War Department purchased the land from Hearst to create a troop training facility known as the Hunter Liggett Military Reservation.
1839
In 1839, Alvarado granted Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito, also about two square leagues of land totalling 8,876-acre (3,592 ha), to Marcelino Escobar, a prominent official of Monterey. The grant was bounded on the north by the Carmel River and on the south by Palo Colorado Canyon.
1840
Two schools are available to students in Big Sur. To the north, the Captain Cooper School serves 52 students from grades K-5 who live in the vicinity of Palo Colorado Canyon, Big Sur Village, Posts, and Slates Hot Springs. The land for the school was donated in 1962 by Frances Molera. She stipulated that it be named after her pioneer grandfather, Juan B. R. Cooper, who bought Rancho El Sur in 1840. The school was built by community members without assistance from the Carmel Unified School District, who assumed management of the school once it was complete. Older students take a bus to Carmel schools.
1848
In 1848, two days after the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill, Mexico ceded California to the United States as a result of the Mexican–American War.
1848
William B. Post arrived in California in 1848 and was the foreman of the Soberanes Ranch when he built a single-room cabin in 1867. His son added to it in 1877, when the family moved there full-time. The Post House is a historic landmark and is on the grounds of the Ventana Inn resort.
1853
The first known European settler in Big Sur was John Davis who in 1853 built a cabin near the present-day site of the Mount Manuel Trail trailhead. In 1868, Native Americans Manual and Florence Innocenti bought Davis' cabin and land for $50.
1862
After the passage of the federal Homestead Act in 1862, a few hardy settlers were drawn by the promise of free 160-acre (65 ha) parcels. After the claimant filed for the land, they had gained full ownership after five years of residence or by paying $1.50 per acre within six months. Each claim was for 160 acres, a quarter section of free government land.
1867
Big Sur's first post office was named "Posts" after William Brainard Post, in whose home it was located. He had obtained a patent to land at the top of the grade south of the Big Sur River, where he built a home in 1867. Confusion ensued when mail intended for the Presidio was sent to Big Sur, and mail for the local residents was sent to the military post. The residents changed the name of the post office to Arbolado ('woodland'), but that was confused by the post office for Alvarado, a street in Monterey. The post office operated at Posts from 1889 to 1910; it was moved in 1905 several miles northwest to Big Sur Village. The English-speaking homesteaders petitioned the United States Post Office in Washington D.C. to change the name of their post office from Arbolado to Big Sur, and the rubber stamp using that name was returned on March 6, 1915, cementing the use of Big Sur as the place name.
1869
Michael Pfeiffer, his wife, and four children arrived in Big Sur in 1869 to settle on the south coast. After reaching Sycamore Canyon, they found it to their liking and decided to stay. He filed a land patent on January 20, 1883, claiming two sections of land he already resided on near and immediately north of the mouth of Sycamore Canyon. They had six more children later on.
1869
William and Sarah (Barnes) Plaskett and their family settled in Pacific Valley in 1869. They built several homes and a saw mill. Homesteader John Junge built a one-room redwood cabin in 1920. The John Little State Natural Reserve straddling the mouth of Lime Creek preserves the original 1917 cabin of conservationist Elizabeth K. Livermore.
July 04, 1874
The Monterey Herald noted on July 4, 1874:
1880
To the south, the Pacific Valley School was founded by the Plaskett family in 1880. It serves 22 students in grades K–12 in the areas near Plaskett, Lucia, and Gorda. Closed repeatedly due to low or no enrollment, it reopened in the 1950s. Pacific Valley School is one of two schools in the Big Sur Unified School District. It has a 3:1 student/teacher ratio. They engage in collaborative learning between age groups.
1885
Many other local sites retain names from settlers during this period: Bottcher, Cooper's Point, Gamboa, Anderson, Partington, Dani, Harlans, McQuades, Ross, and McWay are a few of the place names. Wilber Harlan, a native of Indiana, homesteaded near Lucia in 1885. His family descendants are as of 2017 still operating the Lucia Lodge.
1886
During the first survey of the coast conducted by the U.S. Coast Survey in 1886, the surveyor reported:
1889
The 30 mi (48 km) trip from Monterey to the Pfeiffer Ranch usually took all day by wagon. If the road was in bad shape, the stage driver only took a lightweight spring wagon. The rough road ended at the Pfeiffer Resort on the Big Sur River. It could be impassible in winter. Notley constructed a dog-hole port at the mouth of the Palo Colorado River, and a small village grew up from 1898 to 1907 around at what is known today as Notley's Landing. Bixby built a sawmill on his property, and to get the lumber and lime to market, built a similar doghole port at the mouth of what was then known as Mill's Creek, today as Bixby Creek. The tanbark was loaded by cable and a chute onto waiting vessels anchored offshore. In 1889, as much as 50,000 cords of tanbark were hauled out from the Little Sur River and Big Sur River watersheds. A cable hoist and chute were used to move goods to and from schooners anchored just offshore. Near the start of the 20th century, the tan oak trees were becoming seriously depleted, which slowly led to the demise of the industries they had created. Only the foundations of the doghole ports remain today.
1891
Other settlers included William F. Notley, who homesteaded at the mouth of Palo Colorado Canyon in 1891. He began harvesting tanoak bark from the canyon, a lucrative source of income at the time. Notley's Landing is named after him. Isaac Swetnam worked for Notley and built a house at the mouth of Palo Colorado Canyon, which as of 2018 is still a residence. Sam Trotter, who also worked for Notley, later bought Swetnam's house. He married Adelaide Pfeiffer, the daughter of Micheal Pfeiffer, and they raised a family there from 1906 to 1923.
1894
Following the depopulation of the Native Americans from the region in the late 1800s, there have been several very large fires in the Big Sur area. In 1894, a fire burned for weeks through the upper watersheds of all of the major streams in the Big Sur region. Another large fire in 1898 burned without any effort by the few residents to put it out, except to save their buildings. In 1903, a fire started by an untended campfire near Chews Ridge burned a path 6 miles (9.7 km) wide to the coast over three months. In 1906, a fire that began in Palo Colorado Canyon from the embers of a campfire burned 150,000 acres (61,000 ha) over 35 days and was finally extinguished by the first rainfall of the season. The number of fires declined when the U.S. Forest Service began managing the land in 1907.
1894
Residents also received supplies by steamship that would make a trip once a year in the fall from San Francisco to Big Sur to drop off supplies that could not be transported by wagon. In 1894, ranch owners Post, Pfeiffer, and Castro hired the Pacific Coast Steamship Company's 180 feet (55 m) steamer Bonita to bring lumber and seed oats to the mouth of the Big Sur River and Big Creek, north of Lucia. Lightering was used to transport freight to and from the beach. A large crowd gathered to receive supplies from and to load butter, honey, beans, wool, hides, and other products onto the ship.
April 21, 1894
The highway was first proposed by Dr. John L. D. Roberts, a physician who was summoned on April 21, 1894, to treat survivors of the wreck of the 493 tons (447 t; 440 long tons) S.S. Los Angeles (originally USRC Wayanda), which had run aground near the Point Sur Light Station about 25 miles (40 km) south of Carmel-by-the-Sea. The ride on his two-wheeled, horse-drawn cart took him .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}3+1⁄2 hours, a very fast trip for the day. Construction began in 1921, ceased for two years in 1926 when funding ran out, and after 18 years of construction, the Carmel–San Simeon Highway was completed in 1937. The route was incorporated into the state highway system and re-designated as Highway 1 in 1939.
1900
Big Sur is sparsely populated. There are about 1,800 to 2,000 year-round residents, only a few hundred more residents than found there in 1900. Big Sur residents include descendants of the original ranching families, artists, writers, service staff, along with homeowners. The mountainous terrain, restrictions imposed by the Big Sur Coastal Use Plan, limited availability of property than can be developed, and the expense required to build on available land has kept Big Sur relatively undeveloped. According to the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce, about half the businesses derive their income from the hospitality industry, and they in turn produce about 90 percent of the local economy.
1904
The arrival of Bay Area artists in Carmel-by-the-Sea beginning in 1904 was the beginning of a literary and artistic colony on the northern edge of Big Sur. Robinson Jeffers moved to Carmel in September 1914, and over his lifetime wrote many evocative poems about the isolation and natural beauty of Big Sur. Beginning in the 1920s, his poetry introduced the romantic idea of Big Sur's wild, untamed spaces to a national audience, which encouraged many of the later visitors.
1904
The various informal boundaries applied to the region have gradually expanded north and south over time. Esther Pfeiffer Ewoldson, who was born in 1904 and was a granddaughter of Big Sur pioneers Michael and Barbara Pfeiffer, wrote that the region extended from the Little Sur River 23 miles (37 km) south to Slates Hot Springs. Members of the Harlan Family, who homesteaded the Lucia region 9 miles (14 km) south of Slates Hot Springs, said that Big Sur was "miles and miles to the north of us." Prior to the construction of Highway 1, residents on the south coast had little contact with residents to the north of them.
1909
In 1909, forest supervisors reported that three Indian families still lived within what was then known as the Monterey National Forest. The Encinale family of 16 members and the Quintana family with three members lived in the vicinity of The Indians (now known as Santa Lucia Memorial Park west of Ft. Hunger Liggett). The Mora family consisting of three members was living to the south along the Nacimiento-Ferguson Road.
1909
In the 1880s, gold was found in the Los Burros District at Alder Creek in the mountains east of present-day Gorda. The gold rush town of Manchester at 35°52′48″N 121°23′31″W / 35.880°N 121.392°W / 35.880; -121.392 existed for a few short years. The town boasted a population of 200, four stores, a restaurant, five saloons, a dance hall, and a hotel, but it was abandoned soon after the start of the twentieth century and burned to the ground in 1909. Miners extracted about $150,000 in gold (about $5.28 million in 2022) during the mine's existence.
1910
The redwood trees in Big Sur are the remnant of much larger groves. Many old-growth trees were cut by the Ventana Power Company which operated a sawmill near present-day Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park from the late 1800s through 1906 when its operations were bankrupted by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. When John and Florence Pfeiffer opened Pffeifer's Ranch Resort in 1910, they built guest cabins from lumber cut using the mill. The mill was resurrected when Highway 1 was constructed during the 1920s. It supplied lumber for housing built for workers.
1911
Before the construction of California State Route 1, the California coast south of Carmel and north of San Simeon was one of the most remote regions in the state, rivaling at the time nearly any other region in the United States for its difficult access. At the turn of the 19th century, the 30 mi (48 km) trip from Monterey to the Pfeiffer Ranch in the Big Sur valley could take three days by wagon. It was a rough road that ended in present-day Big Sur Village and could be impassible in winter. There was no road beyond the Pfeiffer Ranch, only a horseback trail connecting the homesteads to the south. The ride from Pfeiffer Ranch to San Carpóforo canyon was about 60 miles (97 km) in a direct line, but about three times that by horseback. J. Smeaton Chase, who traveled on horseback up the coast in 1911, reported that a stagecoach carried passengers from Posts (then named Arbolado) to the Everett Hotel in Monterey on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
November 18, 1921
While many trees were harvested, several inaccessible locations were never logged. A large grove of trees is found along the north fork of the Little Sur River. William Randolph Hearst was interested in preserving the uncut redwood forest, and on November 18, 1921, he purchased about 1,445 acres (585 ha) from the Eberhard and Kron Tanning Company of Santa Cruz for about $50,000. He later donated the land to the Monterey Bay Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, who completed the construction of Camp Pico Blanco in 1954.
1924
European settlers paid bounties on the bears who regularly preyed on livestock until the early 20th century. Absolom (Rocky) Beasley hunted grizzly bears throughout the Santa Lucia Range and claimed to have killed 139 bears in his lifetime. The Pfeiffer family would fill a bait ball of swine entrails with strychnine and hang it from a tree. They wrote that the last grizzly bear was seen in Monterey County in 1941 on the Cooper Ranch near the mouth of the Little Sur River. Other sources report that last California grizzly was seen in 1924.
1933
The state parks in Big Sur grew out of the original residents' desire to protect and preserve the land they admired. "The early settlers considered land stewardship their obligation to the community." The first was Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. John Pfeiffer, son of pioneers Michael Pfeiffer and Barbara Laquet, was offered $210,000 for his land near Sycamore Canyon by a Los Angeles developer, who wanted to build a subdivision on the land. Instead, Pfeiffer sold 700 acres (2.8 km2) to the state of California in 1933.
1937
Big Sur Village is a collection of small roadside businesses and homes. The larger region known as Big Sur does not have specific boundaries but is generally considered to include the 71-mile (114 km) segment of California State Route 1 between Malpaso Creek near Carmel Highlands in the north and San Carpóforo Creek near San Simeon in the south, as well as the entire Santa Lucia range between these creeks. The interior region is mostly uninhabited, while the coast remains relatively isolated and sparsely populated, with between 1,800 and 2,000 year-round residents and relatively few visitor accommodations scattered among four small settlements. The region remained one of the most inaccessible areas of California and the entire United States until, after 18 years of construction, the Carmel–San Simeon Highway (now signed as part of State Route 1) was completed in 1937. Along with the ocean views, this winding, narrow road, often cut into the face of towering seaside cliffs, dominates the visitor's experience of Big Sur. The highway has been closed more than 55 times by landslides, and in May 2017, a 2,000,000-cubic-foot (57,000 m ) slide blocked the highway at Mud Creek, north of Salmon Creek near the San Luis Obispo County line, to just south of Gorda. The road was reopened on July 18, 2018.
1937
During most summer weekends and on all major holidays, Big Sur is overwhelmingly crowded. Although some Big Sur residents catered to adventurous travelers in the early twentieth century, the modern tourist economy began when Highway 1 opened the region to automobiles in 1937, but only took off after World War II-era gasoline rationing and a ban on pleasure driving ended in August 1945. Big Sur has become a destination for travelers both within the United States and internationally.
1939
Author Lillian Ross wrote about life in Big Sur in several books. She and her husband Harry Dick Ross lived in southern Big Sur near Lime Creek beginning in 1939. Harry, a wood sculptor, worked at Hearst's estate in San Simeon as a tile-setter. She famously described Big Sur as "not a place at all but a state of mind."
1940
Besides sightseeing from the highway, Big Sur offers hiking and outdoor activities. There are a large number of state and federal lands and parks, including McWay Falls at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, one of only two waterfalls in California that plunge directly into the ocean. The waterfall is located near the foundation of a grand stone cliffside house built in 1940 by Lathrop and Hélène Hooper Brown which was the region's first electrified home. However, parking is very limited and usually unavailable on summer weekends and holidays.
1941
A number of well-known films are set in Big Sur, including The Sandpiper (1965), starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Eva Marie Saint and Charles Bronson. The 1974 film Zandy's Bride, starring Gene Hackman and Liv Ullmann, was also based in the region. In 2013, Jack Kerouac's novel Big Sur was adapted into a film of the same name, starring Kate Bosworth and directed by the actress' husband, Michael Polish. As of 2017 , 19 movies had been filmed in the Big Sur region, beginning with Suspicion in 1941.
1944
The area's increasing popularity and reputation for beauty have attracted the attention of movie and television personalities and producers. Orson Welles and his wife at the time, Rita Hayworth, bought a Big Sur cabin on impulse during a trip down the coast in 1944. The couple never spent a single night there, and the property is now the location of a popular restaurant, Nepenthe.
1945
Henry Miller moved to Big Sur at the invitation of the Greco-French artist Jean Varda, uncle of filmmaker Agnès Varda. He lived in Big Sur for almost 20 years, from 1944 to 1962. When he first arrived, he was broke and novelist Lynda Sargent was renting a cabin from a local riding club. She allowed Miller to live rent-free for a while. But when the cabin was sold to Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth in 1945, Miller moved several miles south to a wood cabin on Partington Ridge that had been owned by his friend Emil White.
1947
While in Big Sur, Miller, avant-garde musician Harry Partch and Jean Varda were part of a local group of bohemians known as the Anderson Creek Gang, many of whom lived at the former highway work camp near the mouth of Anderson Creek. Miller lived in a shack there during 1946 before moving back to the cabin on Partington Ridge in 1947. In his 1957 essay/memoir/novel Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch, Miller described the joys and hardships that came from escaping the "air-conditioned nightmare" of modern life.
December 1955
The month with the greatest rain fall total was December 1955 when it rained a record 27.21 inches (691 mm). At Pfeiffer–Big Sur State Park on the coast, rainfall averaged about 43 in. (109 cm) annually from 1914 to 1987. In 1975–1976, it rained only 15 in. (39 cm) at the park, compared to 85 in. (216 cm) in 1982–1983.
1957
Big Sur is also the location of a Catholic monastery, the New Camaldoli Hermitage. The Hermitage in Big Sur was founded in 1957. It rents a few simple rooms for visitors who would like to engage in silent meditation and contemplation. Normally all retreats are silent and undirected.
Early 1960
Other writers and artists were also attracted by Big Sur, including Edward Weston, Richard Brautigan, Emile Norman and Jack Kerouac. Big Sur acquired a bohemian reputation with these newcomers. Kerouac followed Miller to Big Sur and included the rugged coast in large parts of two of his novels. He spent a few days in early 1960 at fellow poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti's cabin in Bixby Canyon and based his novel Big Sur on his time there.
1961
Hunter S. Thompson worked as a security guard and caretaker at a resort in Big Sur Hot Springs for eight months in 1961, just before the Esalen Institute was founded at that location. While there, he published his first feature story in the nationally distributed men's magazine Rogue about Big Sur's artisan and bohemian culture. In the article, he described how the Bohemian image attracted people who annoyed residents:
1962
In 1962, famous Beat author Jack Kerouac released the novel Big Sur, which prominently features the location throughout the narrative. It became one of Kerouc’s most prolific works.
February 1963
The Henry Miller Memorial Library is a nonprofit bookstore and arts center that opened in 1981 as a tribute to the writer. Miller lived in Big Sur from 1944 to February 1963 and wrote about Big Sur in his book Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch. It is a gathering place for locals and has become the focal point of individuals with a literary mind, a cultural center devoted to Miller's life and work, and a popular attraction for tourists.
June 1964
The Big Sur Folk Festival was held from 1964 to 1971. It began unintentionally when Nancy Carlen, a friend of singer Joan Baez, organized a weekend seminar at the Esalen Institute in June 1964 titled "The New Folk Music". On Sunday afternoon, they invited all the neighbors for a free, open performance. This became the first festival. The festival was held yearly on the grounds of the Esalen Institute, except for 1970, when it was held at the Monterey County Fairgrounds. Even when well-known acts like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young or the Beach Boys performed, the event was purposefully kept small with no more than a few thousand in attendance.
1965
A US fisheries service report estimates that the number of trout in the entire south-central coast area—including the Pajaro River, Salinas River, Carmel River, Big Sur River, and Little Sur River—have dwindled from about 4,750 fish in 1965 to about 800 in 2005.
1965
The section of Highway 1 running through Big Sur is widely considered one of the most scenic driving routes in the United States, if not the world. The views are one reason that Big Sur was ranked second among all United States destinations in TripAdvisor's 2008 Travelers' Choice Destination Awards. The unblemished natural scenery owes much of its preservation to the highly restrictive development plans enforced in Big Sur; no billboards or advertisements are permitted along the highway and signage for businesses must be modestly scaled and of a rural nature conforming to the Big Sur region. The state of California designated the 72-mile (116 km) section of the highway from Cambria to Carmel Highlands as the first California Scenic Highway in 1965. In 1966, First Lady Lady Bird Johnson led the official scenic road designation ceremony at Bixby Creek Bridge. In 1996, the road became one of the first designated by the federal government as an "All-American Road" under the National Scenic Byways Program. CNN Traveler named McWay Falls as the most beautiful place in California.
1971
Civic leaders in Big Sur stage a run each year in October to raise funds for the Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade and the Big Sur Health Center. Since the race, known as the Big Sur River Run, was founded in 1971, more than $1,025,104 has been donated to the two organizations. The run through the redwoods was canceled in 2016 due to the Soberanes Fire and in 2017 due to winter storms.
1972
In recent history, the area was struck by the Molera Fire in 1972, which resulted in flooding and mud flows in the Big Sur River valley that buried portions of several buildings the following winter. The area was burned by Marble Cone Fire in 1977, the Rat Creek Gorda Complex Fire in 1985, the Kirk Complex Fire in 1999, the Basin Complex Fire in 2008, the Pfeiffer Fire in December 2013, and the Soberanes Fire in 2016.
August 01, 1974
The volunteer Big Sur Fire Brigade was founded by Gary Koeppel on August 1, 1974. He persuaded Walter Trotter, a member of a pioneer Big Sur family, to become the first fire chief. Trotter was enormously well-known and influential, and he very quickly appointed a number of volunteers. The brigade provides emergency response from mile marker 58.3 north of the Little Sur River bridge on Highway 1 to the San Luis Obispo County Line. The department has two stations. Station 1 is located south of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park at the Post Ranch. Station 2 is located near Gorda.
1977
In 1977, there were 1,813 residents and 846 dwelling units. In 2018, the Census Bureau estimated there were 1,728 residents, (1,125 white, 525 Latino or Hispanic), 892 housing units, 639 households, 253 vacant or rental housing units; the median value of owner-occupied housing units was $877,100. Per capita income was $34,845; median income $63,843; mean income $81,766.
1978
Residents began discussing the potential necessity of shuttle buses, tollgates along Highway 1, and limits on the number of private autos allowed on the highway in 1978. One of the reasons for Big Sur's popularity is that it is only a one-day drive for about 7 million people. With the advent of social media, hashtags like "#sykeshotsprings" and "#pineridgetrail", two popular destinations within Big Sur, encourage more visitors. Visitors must pay $15 for a parking spot at a trailhead parking lot and take a 14-passenger van to Pfeiffer Beach. In response to visitor abuses, an anonymous Big Sur resident began an Instagram account in May 2019 named BigSurHatesYou intended to shame visitors into treating the Big Sur region better.
1978
The number of visitors to Big Sur has risen from about 1.5 million in 1978, to about 3 million in 1980, to an estimated 4 to 5 million during 2014 and 2015, comparable to or greater than the number of visitors to Yosemite National Park. Unlike Yosemite, which is managed by a single federal entity, about one-quarter of the land in Big Sur is privately owned and the remainder is managed by a conglomeration of federal, state, local, and private agencies. Yosemite offers 5,400 parking spots and a free, daily, park-wide bus service. In Big Sur during the summer, there is a single public bus that runs three times daily and a single shuttle van that operates on Thursday through Sunday from the Big Sur Station to Pfeiffer Beach. The owner of the Nepenthe restaurant estimated in 2017 that the number of visitors had increased by 40% since 2011. Big Sur residents and business owners are concerned about the impact visitors are having on the region. Traffic and parking is consistently bad during summer and holidays weekends and some visitors don't obey the laws.
1981
Despite its popularity, the region is heavily protected to preserve the rural and natural character of the land. The entire Big Sur coast is located within the protected coastal zone established by the 1976 California Coastal Act. This includes land use within a defined "coastal zone" extending inland from 3,000 ft (910 m) up to 5 mi (8.0 km). The California Coastal Commission has the authority to control the construction of any type, including buildings, housing, roads, as well as fire and erosion abatement structures, and can issue fines for unapproved construction. The Coastal Zone is specifically defined by law as an area that extends from the State's seaward boundary of jurisdiction, and inland for a distance from the Mean High Tide Line of between a couple of hundred feet in urban areas, to up to five miles in rural areas. The Big Sur Local Coastal Plan, approved by the Monterey County Supervisors in 1981, states that the region is meant to be an experience that visitors transit through, not a destination. For that reason, development of all kinds is severely restricted.
1986
The Big Sur International Marathon is an annual marathon that begins south of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and ends at the Crossroads Shopping Center in Carmel-by-the-Sea. The marathon was established in 1986 and attracts about 4,500 participants annually.
1986
The region is protected by the Big Sur Local Coastal Plan, which preserves it as "open space, a small residential community, and agricultural ranching." Approved in 1986, the plan is one of the most restrictive local-use programs in the state, and is widely regarded as one of the most restrictive documents of its kind anywhere. The program protects viewsheds from the highway and many vantage points, and severely restricts the density of development. About 60% of the coastal region is owned by governmental or private agencies which do not allow any development. The majority of the interior region is part of the Los Padres National Forest, Ventana Wilderness, Silver Peak Wilderness or Fort Hunter Liggett.
1987
The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is a critically endangered species that was near extinction when the remaining wild birds were captured. A captive breeding program was begun in 1987. The Ventana Wildlife Society acquired 80 acres near Anderson Canyon that it used for a captive breeding program. After some success, a few birds were released in 1991 and 1992 in Big Sur, and again in 1996 in Arizona near the Grand Canyon.
1995
In 1995, prominent environmentalist David Brower published Not Man Apart: Photographs of the Big Sur Coast, featuring Jeffers' poetry and photography of the Big Sur coast. In the posthumously published 2002 book Stones of the Sur, Carmel landscape photographer Morley Baer combined his classical black-and-white photographs of Big Sur with some of Jeffers' poetry.
1997
In 1997, the Ventana Wildlife Society began releasing captive-bred California Condors in Big Sur. The birds take six years to mature before they can produce offspring, and a nest was discovered in a redwood tree in 2006. This was the first time in more than 100 years in which a pair of California condors had been seen nesting in Northern California. The repopulation effort has been successful in part because a significant portion of the birds' diet includes carcasses of large sea creatures that have washed ashore, which are unlikely to be contaminated with lead, the principal cause of the bird's mortality.
2000
The racial makeup of this area was 87.6% White, 1.1% African American, 1.3% Native American, 2.4% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 5.5% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 9.6% of the population. In the 93920 ZCTA, the population age was widely distributed, with 20.2% under the age of 20, 4.5% from 20 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 37.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.2 years. The median income in 2000 for a household in 93920 ZCTA was $41,304, and the median income for a family was $65,083.
2003
The Dharma at Big Sur, by John Adams, for electric violin and orchestra, was composed in 2003 for the opening of Disney Hall in Los Angeles.
2008
In 2008, scientist J. Michael Fay published a map of the old growth redwoods based on his transect of the entire redwood range. The southernmost naturally occurring grove of redwoods is found within the Big Sur region in the Southern Redwood Botanical Area, a 17 acres (6.9 ha) reserve located in the Little Redwood Gulch watershed adjacent to the Silver Peak Wilderness. It is just north of the Salmon Creek trailhead. The southernmost tree is about 15 feet (4.6 m) from Highway 1 at the approximate coordinates 35°49′42″N 121°23′14″W / 35.82833°N 121.38722°W / 35.82833; -121.38722
July 04, 2008
The Basin Complex Fire forced an eight-day evacuation of Big Sur and the closure of Highway 1, beginning just before the July 4, 2008 holiday weekend. The fire, which burned over 130,000 acres (53,000 ha), represented the largest of many lightning-caused wildfires that had broken out throughout California during the same period. Although the fire caused no loss of life, it destroyed 27 homes, and the tourist-dependent economy lost about a third of its expected summer revenue. The Pfeiffer Fire from December 17 to 20, 2013 burned 917 acres (371 ha)and destroyed 34 homes in an area near Pfeiffer Ridge Road and Sycamore Canyon Road.
February 09, 2009
The record maximum temperature was 111 °F (43.9 °C) on September 7, 2020, and the record low was 26 °F (−3.3 °C), recorded on February 9, 2009.
2014
Alanis Morissette released the song Big Sur as her "ode to Big Sur with all its majesty" as exclusive bonus track on the Target edition of her 2012 Havoc and Bright Lights album. The song was released as single in 2014.
2014
The drive along Highway 1 has been described as "one of the best drives on Earth", and is considered one of the top 10 motorcycle rides in the United States. Highway 1 was named the most popular drive in California in 2014 by the American Automobile Association. The region receives as many and sometimes more visitors than Yosemite National Park. Unlike the national park managed by a single entity, the Big Sur region is ruled over by multiple government and private land owners, offers only occasional bus service, limited parking, few restrooms, and a single, narrow two-lane highway that for most of its length clings to the steep coastal cliffs. North-bound traffic during the peak summer season and holiday weekends is often backed up for about 20 miles (32 km) from Big Sur Village to Carmel Highlands. Due to the large number of visitors during the summer, congestion and slow traffic between Carmel and Posts is becoming the norm. However, during the winter, the road is frequently closed due to washouts and slides.
July 2014
As of July 2014 , the Ventana Wildlife Society managed 34 free-flying condors. There were part of a total population of 437 condors spread over California, Baja California and Arizona, of which 232 are wild birds and 205 are in captivity.
July 2016
The July 2016 Soberanes Fire was caused by unknown individuals who started and lost control of an illegal campfire in the Garrapata Creek watershed. After it burned 57 homes in the Garrapata and Palo Colorado Canyon areas, firefighters were able to build lines around parts of the Big Sur community. A bulldozer operator was killed when his equipment overturned during night operations in Palo Colorado Canyon.
July 2016
The Pine Ridge Trail (USFS 3E06) is the most popular hiking route into the Ventana Wilderness. Hikers can use it to access many campsites in the backcountry, including Ventana Camp, Terrace Creek, Barlow Flats, Sykes, and Redwood camps. When open, it is accessible from the Big Sur Station. The trail, connecting trails, and the campsites along its route were closed during the Soberanes Fire in July 2016. They were damaged by the fire itself and further damaged by the heavy rains during the following winter. As of August 2017 , the trail was blocked by four major washouts and more than 100 fallen trees across the path. Reopening the trail will require an environmental assessment, and perhaps re-routing the trail entirely.
July 22, 2016
On July 22, 2016, an illegal campfire within Garrapata State Park, where camping is not permitted, got out of control. The resulting Soberanes Fire burned 132,127 acres (53,470 ha), 57 homes and 11 outbuildings, and killed a bulldozer operator. It took almost three months to extinguish and cost about $236 million to suppress. In October, 2017, a visitor from Florida was arrested for starting an illegal campfire that grew out of control.
2017
The Community Association of Big Sur (formerly the Big Sur Property Owners Association) is proposing some solutions. They want to close the parking lot at Bixby Creek for a year to encourage visitors to take public transportation. They are considering asking community volunteers to keep tourists from walking onto the bridge, which is both dangerous and illegal. Tourists who want to get to Pfeiffer Beach over the current mile-long, one-lane road to a small 65-car parking lot would be required to reserve and pay for parking ahead of time or take a shuttle. Parking on the highway shoulder at popular McWay Falls to avoid a $10 parking lot fee would be prohibited. Another idea under consideration is a ban on dispersed camping in the national forest during fire season "until proper backcountry monitoring and enforcement exists." An illegal campfire in 2017 burned 57 homes and killed one firefighter. The Forest Service used to have several backcountry rangers but now has none.
May 2017
The highway has been closed more than 55 times by landslides, and in May 2017, a 2,000,000-cubic-foot (57,000 m ) slide blocked the highway at Mud Creek, north of Salmon Creek near the San Luis Obispo County line, to just south of Gorda. The road was reopened on July 18, 2018, but is subject to closure during heavy storms.
June 22, 2020
Apple's desktop operating system, macOS Big Sur, announced on June 22, 2020, during WWDC, is named after this region.
August 18, 2020
In April, 2022, Ivan Gomez was convicted of 16 felony counts including arson for purposefully starting a fire near Lime Creek on August 18, 2020. The Dolan Fire killed a dozen Critically Endangered California Condors when it burned through the 80 acres (32 ha) Big Sur Condor Sanctuary operated by the Ventana Wildlife Society of Monterey. The 125,000 acres (51,000 ha) fire was not fully contained until December 31, more than four months after it started.
September 08, 2020
Two local volunteer fire departments provide emergency services in the region. CalFire's nearest station is located in Carmel 33 miles (53 km) north of Big Sur Village. The United States Forest Service's Nacimiento Ranger Station is located on Nacimiento-Fergusson Road 7 miles (11 km) from the coast highway. It was destroyed by the arson-set Dolan Fire on September 8, 2020 and is to be rebuilt.
January 2022
During winter storms following the 2020 Dolan Fire, entire sections of the Nacimiento-Fergusson Road were washed away, and it has remained closed since then. In January 2022, U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta announced that he had obtained $126 million in Federal Highway Administration funds to repair the road and rebuild the USFS Nacimiento Ranger Station destroyed in the blaze. This includes replacing the fire station, barracks, engine garage and pumphouse, along with some site utilities, such as a water well, solar connections and access roads.
