McWay Falls

McWay Falls is just absolutely stunning. It is just as beautiful as it looks on pictures. My friends and I took a road trip from Oxnard to San Francisco, and stopped by McWay Falls on our way. The drive along the PCH is similar to the PCH near Malibu. It is a small hike from the street (no need for hiking boots). We parked along the side of the street, no fees, but but sure to be careful with oncoming traffic. Be sure to time yourself, because you can easily miss this park especially since there is NO RECEPTION THERE. There is a tunnel where you can also take cute IG pictures!

This was definitely bucket list worthy, especially if you like nature and pretty things!
Some words to describe it are: Breathtaking, Surreal, Beautiful, Awe Inspiring, Unique.
It does tend to get crowded, but you can always wait for people to leave if you’d like to enjoy it in peace. There is a short walk from the parking lot, but you won’t need any special shoes as it is very easily accessible via the path/​trail.

I have seen photos of McWay Falls over, and over again, but have never had the chance to visit it. I finally had the chance when I was coming home from Santa Cruz. Despite the weather being overcast, the falls was still absolutely gorgeous.
McWay Falls is located off PCH and is part of Julia Pfeiffer State Park. The falls runs year-​round, so there is no need to worry about the falls drying out. This is definitely something you should see at least once in your life because it is even better in person, and you can definitely get a bunch of shots for your Insta and Facebook ;)
You can choose to park along PCH for free (if you are lucky enough to find a spot), or you can turn into the state park and pay $ 10 for parking. My bf and I decided to just pay $ 10 for the parking because we didn’t even want to bother fining a spot along PCH, as it was a Sunday and there looked like there was no parking at all. However, there were plenty of parking spots in the state park though.
From the parking lot, there’s a trail that will lead you to the falls. There will be signs, so there is no need to worry about getting lost. The trail is not difficult at all, and will just take about 5 – 10 minutes.
There is no public access to the beach down below, but I’ve read online that the only way you can get down is if you kayak there. Just do your research if that’s something you really want to do! If you try to get down there by climbing down the cliff, you are at risk for a fine, so do what you want at your own risk.

There was an entrance fee of $ 10 but I guess since we arrived late, there’s nobody at the entrance booth. It was a rainy day so it’s muddy when we got here. But it’s alright because it’s worth it.
There’s a short walk to get there with a some kinda tunnel. The saying ‘there’s a light at the end of the tunnel’ fits here perfectly. But you just don’t see the light, it’s more like gold. The view is breathtaking and the sound of the water is very relaxing. Wish I can just stay there to take in all of it. It must have been a very sweet home for the Brown family.

Very Instagram worthy photos are conceived here. The «hike» is a joke. Think of it more of a leisure walk, compare to the ewoldsen trail. Depending on the time of day, the McWay Falls trail would be a good cool down or warm up for either before or after accomplishing the big ewoldsen monster.
Since it was already around 3pm, we decided to check out this beauty first before starting the bigger hike. It was a sunny day so the view was quite breathtaking. On the other hand, the actual waterfall sadly was not. It was more of a background noise in the picture because it was very tiny! The colors of the ocean was very beautiful and not like your usual boring blue.
For parking, there’s a parking lot where you pay $ 10. On a very crowded day, like a Saturday for example, you may have to resort to parking alongside highway 1. It’s very dangerous so be careful as you’ll most likely have to park on a hill. Also, be sure your car is to the right of the white solid line. We saw a park ranger giving out parking tickets like he was Santa Claus!
The view was nice and all, but the drive was not. It will take me quite some time to come back to this place aha.

I’ll give this a 4.5 out of 5 because TBH, the waterfall is a bit underwhelming.
A lot of people are attracted to this local attraction because of its beautiful blue waters and the waterfall that falls onto the beach. You can access the «Trail» to the McWay Falls through Julia Pfeiffer State Park, or on the side of the highway.
This trail is about half a mile long from inside the park. When I went with my friends, there were quite a bit of people hanging around. The waters are beautifully blue, I’d even go as far to say that they’re hauntingly blue. The different shades of blue really add to it’s majestic-​ness, if that’s even a word.
The waterfall use to fall into the water, however, due to landslides, the water shifted and a beach was formed, so the falls only meet the water, when it’s high tide.
The beach is closed off and there’s no access to it. Ive heard that you can get ticketed for trying to get down there, so please, don’t try.
It would be nice to have access to it, but due to the sleeping waves, it is too dangerous. You don’t want to get swept away by these waves because there’s really no way of predicting them.
If you’re driving down the coast, then this is a great stop! But if you’re going to drive out here from the South Bay JUST to see the falls, then don’t waste your time. You might as well accompany this view with the hike of the Ewoldson Trail. Haha

McWay Falls, in or around (not actually sure lol) Julia Pfeiffer State Park, is a waterfall that is just off Pacific Coast Highway (actually… that’s what we call it for Socal) — just off Hwy 1 in Big Sur. The previous day, I was trying to find something that could be a landmark that would tell us where McWay Falls is, because along Hwy 1, after you leave San Simeon, the chances of you having signal or data is pretty slim. And GPS can work, if it knows (I think we typed in the state park on the GPS), but we weren’t completely sure where McWay Falls was exactly. This is at the most Southern part of the State Park :)
You’ll be able to tell and see where it is when you see the big sign that tells you where the park is. You then can park inside or park on Hwy 1 (heading northbound) on the street (be careful!). Actually I take that back. I don’t remember if it was northbound AND southbound (both sides) because I remember there was a trail that walked up to the road. Either way, you follow the trail that takes you to McWay Falls (it’ll say once you get to the park). You follow the trail– it’s a pretty flat trail and you’ll be able to walk to it in about 7 – 10 minutes, depending on how fast or slow you walk. The waterfall itself is alright, but the colors that show up make it sooo nice. Would I say that it’s a must stop? If you’re driving Hwy 1 from LA to SF, might as well soak up the view. There’ll be variances in the ocean, and this is one of those places! It’s a good place to stop by and take pictures, and you can also take other trails and visit other parts, time willing.
Definitely stop by if you have a chance! And if you have more time, make sure you explore the rest of the park.
ALSO BE WARY GAS IS ~APPX 10 MILES AWAY FROM THIS LOCATION. [Heading North on Hwy 1]

McWay Waterfall is one of the popular destinations seen by every traveller on Highway 1. It’s located in the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, is an 80 foot waterfall, falling straight onto the beach below, which is the most admired feature of the place.
Me and the Hubby took the shortest trail that leads to the waterfall as it was sunset time and we were in a hurry not wanting to miss the view. The trail path was easy, flat and wide. There was a small tunnel along the pathway, the end of it leads to a stunning Ocean facing view point. Pause for a moment there and click as many silhouette shots as you can, especially if you hit this place during sunset. Then turn right and continue proceeding further to the waterfall view point. Honestly, I felt the waterfall part to be a mere hype. I can only see tiniest cascade of water falling to the beach below. Because of this reason, I could not appreciate the much talked about the waterfall view. But, however, I must admit that I did enjoy the overall view of it along the surrounding area. It was amazing and got many nice shots in my cam.
Parking tip,
— There is an official parking area inside the park. $ 10 is the fee per day use.
— Visitors can also park for free outside of the park along the west side of Highway 1.

Checked this place off my (expanding) bucket list!
We parked on the side of Hwy 1 and walked not too far, I’d say maybe half a mile? The water is so serene, beautiful Tiffany blue hue. I wish we could walk down to the bottom and see the waterfall up close. There’s nice little reading material at the end of the walkway of how the place came to be.
It’s even more amazing in person than in photos! Great photo-​op and a quick stop before exploring more of Big Sur.

This gorgeous 80ft. waterfall is located at Julia Pfeiffer State Park and flows year round.
Fun facts:
— This waterfall is one of only two in the region that are close enough to the ocean to be referred to as «tidefalls», the other being Alamere Falls.
— Originally the waterfall cascaded into the ocean but due to landslides and a fire it formed an inaccessible beach.
— The waterfall only meets the ocean when the tide is in.
It is about a half mile trail to see the waterfall and trust me it is worth the stop. Parking can be scarce and please be careful while crossing the street because it is very dangerous as cars seem to zoom by.
This is one of many pit stops driving California’s beautiful coast. Makes me realize, west coast is really the best coast. :-)
Enjoy!

A beautiful place, and easy to get to. You can either park right on route 1 or the designtated parking spot at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Regardless, it is only a 5 minute walk to see this gorgeous view.
You can’t go down to the falls, but it is a view from the road/​vista point above. This isn’t much of a «hike» to get to only about 5 minutes, so good for those that like photo-​ops. Hikers, head over to the actual park for a 5 mile hike!