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McWay Falls

McWay Falls and McWay Cove





McWay Falls is easily the most beautifully situated waterfall on the California Coast. Dropping some 80ft into a picturesque cove opening out to the Pacific Ocean, it is a great place to be when the warm glow of the setting sun shines on this remarkable scene. In fact, this waterfall and its location really captures the rugged beauty that epitomizes Big Sur. We always stop by here whenever we visit Big Sur as it is one of our favorite waterfalls.

The falls is situated in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. You can find it in a well-signed turnoff on the Hwy 1 in the heart of the Big Sur Coast. Once at the car park, you can take a 1/4-mile paved, wheelchair-accessible walk through a tin tunnel, which opens out to the ocean on the other side. As you continue along the paved path, look to your left towards the cove and you'll start to see the lovely falls spilling onto a beach shortly before it joins the ocean (note that some people consider this waterfall to be a tidefall because it more-or-less falls directly into the ocean).

The trail continues towards the site of the Waterfall House ruins. There's not much here anymore except some additional coastal views between the trees.



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Closeup of McWay FallsCloseup of the falls



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