McWay Falls Roadside Viewpoint
McWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park drops 80 feet directly onto the sand of a secluded cove on the Big Sur coast, one of the only tideline waterfalls in California. The state park is located on Highway 1 roughly 37 miles south of Carmel. The formal Overlook Trail remains closed for retaining wall repairs; however, a roadside pullout on Highway 1 still provides a view of the cove and falls. Day-use parking is available at the main park entrance. Coordinates reflect the Highway 1 park entrance/roadside viewing area.
McWay Falls sits inside Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park on the Big Sur coast, roughly 37 miles south of Carmel along Highway 1. The falls drop 80 feet from a granite cliff directly onto the sand of McWay Cove — and what makes it geologically unusual is its tidefall status: at high tide, the Pacific still reaches the base of the falls. The only other tidefall in California is Alamere Falls. The sandy beach itself didn't exist before 1983; a large landslide that year deposited material into the cove, creating the shoreline visible today.
Right now, the formal Overlook Trail is closed for a long-term retaining wall repair project, with the closure expected to continue into 2026 per California State Parks. During this period, the official guidance is that the roadside viewing area on Highway 1 is the only place to see the falls. The beach and cliff areas below the fenced boundaries remain completely off limits — trespassing into those areas is a citable and arrestable offense, and the terrain is genuinely hazardous. Check the California State Parks page for Julia Pfeiffer Burns before you ride out, as trail and parking conditions can change without much notice.
A rare tidefall on the Big Sur coast — an 80-foot waterfall meeting a turquoise cove. The Highway 1 roadside view is still accessible even while the formal trail is under repair, making it a quick pull-off on a PCH run.
On the way: Pacific Coast Highway (Big Sur)
Shot by the riders who've run it.
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