Big Sur

[ataim]

On the north side of Golden Gate is Rodeo Cove. It has some interesting rock formations. In in the GGNRA has some vistas of Downtown

[SamReeves]

On the north side of Golden Gate is Rodeo Cove. It has some interesting rock formations. In in the GGNRA has some vistas of Downtown

LOL, that's 2 hours away from here.

[Drew Wiley]

John - if you like the Fish Market, you should try the Fishwife in Pacific Grove. It's right
up the street between the last white sand beach and the turnoff to 17-mile drive. Real
friendly place with great seafood at reasonable prices.

[Ivan J. Eberle]

The North side of Garrapata State Park has been aptly described as "The Most Beautiful Coastline in North America" by one of my photographer friends. But it's more like a set of turnouts with rocky bluffs. Ticks are mostly done by then (garrapata being Spanish for tick). Bring high topped boots and wear long pants anyway, particularly if you're prone to catching poison oak. Watch your footing, and bring along a set of hiking poles.
There are relatively few places that get morning light on the coast but the afternoons and evenings can be a challenge for LF photography. It's often howling 25-30 mph or more at Pt. Sur in the afternoon. But if you get there early enough, there's a turnout heading S. just as you get there where the morning sun can catch the lighthouse while the rotating light is still visible, just at dawn. (Mornings sometimes/often dawn fog free-- the fog being drawn in by inland heating soon after in summer.)
Try the potatos au grautin with a Pt. Sur omelet at Ripplewood.

[Kevin Crisp]

I've always liked Andrew Molero State Beach/Park. If it is still open....

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=582

[DolphinDan]

Yes, Andrew Molero State Park is still open and a little bit of a hike to the beach :-) Very beautiful.

A couple of obscure places that you might like for photography: the Post Ranch Lodge and Ventana Inn. Both are expensive hotels/resorts. Go to the Post Ranch Lodge for dinner, order a bottle of water or something cheap (relatively speaking), then go out and watch the sunset on the ocean. An amazing view. We were there (for dinner only) about 3 weeks ago, and the sunset from the restaurant was awesome. The best sunset view that we saw in the Big Sur area.

Around Ventana Inn are some beautiful redwoods and oaks and a few sycamores. Technically you have to be a guest (we were) to walk the loop around the resort and see these trees. However, I think that you could get to the loop from the campground (the campground is at the turnoff from HWY 1 for the resort and was closed when we were there). The side of the loop closest to the campground has 2 rings of redwoods; Fairy/Faerie Rings I think they are called.



On the hotel loop behind some of the rooms.



Near the campground before you get to the hotel loop. Hard to see from this image, but the redwoods form almost a complete ring/circle.

Some locals told us that we could see some cool redwoods at Henry Cowell State Park just outside of Santa Cruz:

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=546

We did not have time to visit, so I cannot tell you anything about it.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your visit to Big Sur; we sure did.

Namaste
Daniel

[David_Senesac]

Point Lobos Point Lobos Point Lobos Point Lobos Point Lobos

Point Lobos is to the Monterey Coast what Yosemite Valley is to Yosemite National Park.

http://www.davidsenesac.com/images/print_05-w2-4.html

[urs0polar]

Thanks guys I'm noting down all these suggestions! Yeah I'm definitely going to shoot shoot shoot!! DolphinDan, I think we have a reservation for the Post Ranch already; so that's a go! Definitely checking out Point Lobos too! This is awesome thanks again!

[John Kasaian]

Coastal redwoods reproduce with pups or suckers, so some ancient sprouted pups around the base of its trunk. The pups grew to be mature trees and when the "mother" was gone, it's "children" sprouted pups of thier own, and so on and so on. Thats what causes the coastal redwood "fairy circles." Standing in the middle of one of these and looking up at the sky is quite an experience!
In the Sierras, redwoods come from seeds.

[jp]

I just got back from this area. I was in silicon valley for a day of meetings with a vendor, then had a day to explore. I thank everyone who has shared a photo or story from this area, as it helped me prepare and have a wonderful day with my camera and car.

I took 17 down into Santa Cruz and stuck on route 1 down through monterey, carmel, point lobos, bixby bridge, etc... Then turned around and went 101 somewhere just north of Carmel back to San Jose. 101 here is a small fast road going through a beautiful agricultural area with lots of golden rolling hills. Nice in the evening. Route 1 north of Carmel had lots of dunes I wouldn't mind photographing more up close.

Carmel... I visited the weston gallery, but was disappointed. Not much on display for the number of artists they claim to represent. Perhaps I'm spoiled. The town seemed very oriented to "affluent older tourists", and I'm not old enough or showy enough to shop for the clothes or paintings that comprise the area around weston gallery or the little mall on the other side of route-1. Lots of nice cars seen though. Between the money and the proximity to Laguna Seca racetrack, the cars redeem the place for me. If there was something cool happening at Laguna Seca, I'd be there because it's perhaps the most famous track on the west coast if you're into certain types of racing.

Point Lobos. I spent a few hours there and only got to see about 1/3 of it. Yes, the parking lot was full, but it's not a far walk from the road. Don't let that stop you. The distances aren't huge and the trails are nice (favorable for tripod transport), but the park slows you down to observe and take things in. So much variety of land and sea coming together, I think I shot a roll of 120 before I even got to the beach views. If I lived in the area, I'd come back regularly for more in different lighting and weather. If I visited again, I'd spend a whole day here easily.

I drove down a ways further along the coast. Nice areas, lots of places to stop and take in views. On the web, bixby bridge looks massive, but it's not really. The drop off is massive though. Not used to that from the east coast. It's a nice area of coastline to visit. I was there late afternoon. Fog was just off shore and some was curled around the highest hilltops. Sunny on the road and coast. I suspect the fog probably returns at night? I wished I had more time to continue south, but my rental car needed to be returned in San Jose < 8pm, so a little after 5pm, I had to turn around and head back. I didn't need 3 hours to get back, but I didn't know where I was going or what I was going to see for traffic, so I played it safe.

I didn't take LF with me this adventure, just a TLR loaded with B&W film, and a DSLR.