El Matador State Beach
Malibu, CA · Malibu$
A dirt path and several sets of steps drop down the bluff from Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu to El Matador, a narrow beach with sea caves. The bluff-top lot is small and open…
Beaches
Pfeiffer Beach
About
On a few days in December and January the setting sun shines through Keyhole Rock at Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, and photographers turn out for it. The beach is at the end of Sycamore Canyon Road, a single-lane, 2.2-mile road off Highway 1 that's easy to miss; it turns off between the Big Sur Ranger Station and the post office, about a mile south of the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park entrance. Winter rain can close that road on and off in the same months. Summer and holiday weekends usually fill the 65-car lot, and nobody is allowed on the road outside a vehicle, so you can't park on the highway and walk in. There are no restrooms and no drinking water, and cold water and riptides make swimming risky.
Highlights
Keyhole RockPurple sandOne-lane Sycamore Canyon Road, 2.2 miles65-car lot, full summer weekendsNo restrooms or drinking water
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