Big Sur resources (80)

The other week a Big Sur resident and chronicler for the area, Kate Woods Novoa, aka bigsurkate, posted a set of three detailed maps of the Big Sur coast—specifically, of all the features and landmarks with their mile marker designations. I wanted to keep them handy, so I'm creating this post for those links. The three maps are for the northern section, from MM 43 to MM 72, and including the Big Sur Valley, El Sur Ranch, the Bixby and Garrapata coasts, and Carmel Highlands; the central section, from Lucia north to Pfeiffer–Big Sur State Park, MM 20–48, encompassing the Big Creek, Esalen, and Partington coasts; and the southern section, from Ragged Point (San Luis Obispo County MM 72) to Lucia, MoCo MM 23, and including the Lucia and Gorda coasts.

Another really useful set of maps can be found at BigSurTrailmap, a project of avid hiker Jack Glendening. These maps, some of which are downloadable to your phone, include the locations of camps and water sources as well as current trail conditions. Hike planning info specific to Big Sur and a wealth of other information are offered as well.

A final very useful site for the Big Sur backcountry is the Trail Reports forum of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance (VWA), which presents up-to-date information about individual trails in both the Ventana and the Silver Peak Wildernesses. Many years ago, I posted a report after hiking a trail (at night) on a Search & Rescue mission—and that report is essentially what ended me up as a VWA member and, ultimately, a Volunteer Wilderness Ranger.