3 Day Itinerary in Big Sur, California

We drove to Big Sur from San Diego on Labor Weekend, so we drove South to North by default. After driving for about 6 hours, our first stop was the Cruickshank Trail. This trail is dog friendly and is about 6 miles roundtrip. The trailhead is along the highway and the only option for parking is on the side of the road. Parking was fairly easy for us (Friday afternoon) but I imagine it can get populated here. There is no restroom or trashcan close by.

The trail starts with a steep but worth it incline. Once you hit the stop, the views are incredible! This was our first taste of Big Sur on this trip, and it didn’t disappoint. Spend some time here soaking in the gorgeous scenery. As you continue onward, you will enter Los Padres National Forest via the Silver Peak trail and start to see some Redwoods. The trail was not maintained when we were there and was lined with poison oak. If we were to do this again, we’d probably turn around after enjoying the 360 views and before turning into the forests (at the Silver Creek Trail sign).

Tip: Make sure you know what poison oak looks like, wear pants and long sleeves, and plan to wash off (your dog too!) immediately after the hike. 

Our next stop as we continue north was Mill Creek Trail. Mill Creek Trail is a little over 3-mile loop trail. Typically access to Mill Creek Trail is from Nacimiento-Fergusson Road but this road has apparently been closed for over two years so like most trails in Big Sur, access to the trailhead was close to Highway 1. 

We walked up Nacimiento-Fergusson Road about a mile before hitting the trailhead. At the trailhead, we noticed a sign mentioning that the trail was closed ahead so we went off-trail, down to the river and walked along the river back to the Highway. I wouldn’t recommend this route as there were lots of prickles that clung to our clothes and were hard to remove. However, our dog loved frolicking here as there were streams, deer smells, and grassy areas to explore!

After checking into our AirBnB, we found dinner in Carmel-by-the-Sea at Tree House Café Carmel. We sat outside on their dog-friendly terrace and enjoyed their food and lovely wait staff. We felt so welcome here and highly recommend Tree House Café to locals and visitors alike.

Carmel-by-the-Sea is located just above Carmel Beach and is quite charming with lots of local shops and restaurants. It’s fun to walk around and take in the picturesque vibes of the beach town. 

For our final full day, we stopped at Carmel Valley Coffee again, of course before heading to Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. The parking lot and parking on Highway 1 gets full quickly so make sure to arrive early if it’s a weekend. There was a lot of poison oak here too but because it’s privately owned, they do a nice job of keeping it off the trail.

Point Lobos State Park is absolutely stunning! We started off on the South Shore trail and spent about an hour enjoying the south end of the park. Then we ventured north via the North Shore trail to Cypress Cove and returned via Cypress Grove Trail and Lace Lichen Trail. We preferred the north end to the south end as the north end had beautiful Monterey Cypress trees and crystal blue views of the Pacific Ocean. It’s worth spending a lot of time in here as the scenery is just beautiful and unique. Despite its tourist attraction vibes, This may have been our favorite spot of the whole trip!

We were famished after walking all over the park and stopped at Sur at the Barnyard for brunch.

After scooping our dog up at the AirBnB (dogs aren’t allowed at Point Lobos State Park), we relaxed a bit and headed to see the Lone Cypress at Pebble Beach. To see the Long Cypress, you must pay an entrance fee per car ($11.25 in 2022) into Pebble Beach. The Lone Cypress is part of the famous 17-mile drive that passes through Pebble Beach. Once you arrive at the Lone Cypress, there is scarce parking. After finally parallel parking close by, we walked onto the pier and competed with the other tourists for the money shot of the Lone Cypress. 

Tip: We found Pebble Beach and the Lone Cypress to be a tourist trap and quite underwhelming. You can see just as much beauty throughout Big Sur and Point Lobos Natural Reserve. Of course, there’s a reason it’s so popular so it may just be your cup of tea!

For dinner, we met friends at Basil in Carmel-by-the-Sea. We made the mistake of not making a reservation for dinner during Labor Day weekend and boy did we pay for it. There was over an hour wait at every restaurant and the downtown was packed. Highly recommend reserving space a couple of weeks in advance to enjoy dinner at your desired restaurant.