Colorful hillsides welcome hikers in Big Sur
Everyone who’s had a rough night or two knows it takes extra time to spruce up in the morning. Big Sur, which has had a rough few years with giant fires, devastating mudslides and downed bridges, took more than a morning, but spruced up she is. Take, for example, Garrapata State Park, which is a hunk of hillsides north of Big Sur proper, but which exemplifies the effort it takes to polish up after hard times.
The striking trails on the east side of the park have been closed for almost two years, due to the Soberanes fire and later slides. The high-climb Rocky Ridge trail remains closed, but the Soberanes Canyon trail partially opened a couple of months ago, and it’s a beauty, particularly after late winter rains made for some eyepopping spring wildflowers.
We took a sweet canyon stroll in late May, and what’s great about this trail is its palette of colors, moods and sensations. You pass through a sun-strewn canyon, flanked by glowing green — at least right now — hillsides dotted with trees, brush, cactus and wildflowers, before heading up into the dappled, narrow coolness of redwood groves, with a burbling creek making melodies.
The narrow dirt trail starts fairly flat but gradually ascends into the trees, and you’ll appreciate the work the crews have done to shore up the occasional rustic wood stairs. There’s a turnaround about 1.4 miles in (the sign says 1.25, but my GPS watch disagrees), so it’s not a huge hike. But if you want more spectacular strolling, cross the highway over to the west side, where there are other handsome trails that offer big-time ocean views.
Speaking of sprucing, the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge closure gave Ventana Big Sur some serious time to fluff the pillows, so its crew refurbished all 59 guest rooms and added plush glamping tents in its 20-acre canyon. They also glammed up the Sur House restaurant, expanding the terrace that overlooks its big-gulp ocean view and adding outdoor fireside heating and roll-top scaffolding to open tables to the sun.
A fizzy Aperol Spritz helped buzz away my hiking legs, while my girlfriend, Alice, had a rye-high sturdy Old-Fashioned to accompany her chipotle
deviled eggs with mussels and oyster-lettuce wraps with a chile aioli, mango and pickled carrot. (The oyster wraps were served in a wedge-cut log that the “Twin Peaks” Log Lady would admire.) My gulf shrimp were tucked inside a tasty toasted brioche roll with lemon aioli, swamp dust (perky!) and roasted tomatoes.
Big Sur prices are pretty lively too, but an additional prosecco helped ease the pain. We hung out on the terrace, appreciating the warm service and the spring sun, while the beguiling ocean hid in foggy
mists below.
The new Glass House Gallery near the Sur House was closed, unfortunately. It looks like a converted shipping container with a view through its glasssided center to the water in the distance. The shop offers local artwork — and that view offers the timeless Big Sur artwork of mountains and sea.
We did a quick stop at the reliably good Big Sur
Bakery on the way back for outstanding cookies and strong coffee. Even though the traffic was brutal going home (why did we go on Memorial Day?), we’ll be back again soon.