McAvoy Falls

William Hoadley

2 months ago

★★★★★

McWay Falls is a must-stop when visiting the area. The overlook is easy to access, and the visit only takes about 30 minutes, making it a perfect quick stop during a day of sightseeing. The views of the waterfall, beach, and coastline are absolutely beautiful and well worth the visit. Unfortunately, the trail down to the beach was closed during our visit. It would have been nice to get closer and spend some time on the beach, but the overlook still provided spectacular scenery. Even with the beach access closed, McWay Falls is one of those iconic spots that shouldn't be missed.

Ryan Bridgen

3 months ago

★★★★★

I could sit and look at this all day! Such an amazing view. The only issue is parking, if you go on the weekend, good luck. There are literally only about 10 parking spots. There is a turnout just north of it if you’re lucky enough to grab a spot. But well worth the stop to see something so amazing.

Life Of A Nomad

5 months ago

★★★★★

🌊 McWay Falls. One of the Most Beautiful Stops on the Big Sur Coast 📸🌿 Driving along the iconic Pacific Coast Highway from Pismo Beach toward Monterey, we decided to make a quick stop at McWay Falls, and it turned out to be a memorable highlight of the drive. Highway 1 is already famous for its breathtaking scenery, but this section of Big Sur feels especially dramatic cliffs, turquoise water, and endless ocean views around every curve. There are countless scenic stops along the way, and McWay Falls is definitely one of the most famous. We arrived at the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park parking area where McWay Falls is located. Unfortunately, the trail was closed during our visit, so we couldn’t walk down the path toward the overlook. Still, the stop was absolutely worth it. The parking area itself is well organized and convenient. There are clean, well-maintained restrooms near the parking lot, which is always nice to find along Highway 1. There are also picnic tables and shaded areas if you want to take a short break from the drive. The ranger at the entrance was kind enough to let me know about a great tip: When exiting the parking lot, turn right and drive about 200 yards north. There’s a small highway pull off viewpoint where you can safely stop and see the waterfall from above. That suggestion turned out to be perfect. The weather that day was clear and bright, which made the view incredible. From the overlook you can see the famous McWay Falls dropping directly onto the beach in McWay Cove, with the turquoise water and rocky coastline creating one of the most photographed views in Big Sur. Even though the trail was closed, this was still a fantastic quick stop along Highway 1 and a great place for photos. 📍 Tip: If the trail is closed, don’t leave use the small highway turnout just north of the park entrance for the best view of the falls.

Shravan Kumar

5 months ago

★★★★★

Beautiful to look at, you can spend a long time staring at the natural beauty. Getting parking is a bit hard. When we went the path to the beach was inaccessible so we just watched it from up top and afar. A worthy pit stop on the Big Sur route.

3dogs1monkey

10 months ago

★★★★★

One of the Falls we wanted to see in Big Sur was the McWay Falls just before highway 1 closure. Every week we drive up and down NorCal to visit California Beauties. From the North Bay, just take the highway 1, pass Point Lobos, Bixby Bridge, Pfeiffer Park, Pfeiffer Beach (purple sands) and to the end before the closure. It's quite a beautiful drive in Big Sur. The McWay Falls can't be access, can only see from the top. It's quite beautiful even in July. Most people park on the side of the road to avoid park parking fee. The park is on the left of the falls, we parked and walked out to see the falls. It seems like there's trail going down to the falls but it's closed. Anyhow, on trip, we can visit Pfeiffer beach, Pfeiffer falls, Point Lobos, and Bixby Bridge.