Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

The Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is a state park in Monterey County in the U.S. state of California. It is located 37 km south of Carmel on the Big Sur coastline mentioned and is not to be confused with the 16 km northern Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.

Geography

The 1522 -acre park extends from the rocky Pacific coast to 900 m high mountains of the Santa Lucia Mountains. Through the park flows the McWay Creek, which flows through a granite cliff in a 24 m high waterfall in the McWay Cove and thus directly into the Pacific.

Flora and Fauna

The vegetation of the mountainous terrain consists of coastal redwood trees, Lithocarpus densiflorus, American strawberry trees, cypresses and chaparral.

In December and January, gray whales can be seen on their migration south to Baja California and in March and April on their migration northward of observation points. In addition, harbor seals and California Sea Lions as well as occasionally to see sea otters, as well as numerous marine and coastal birds such as cormorants, gulls, brown pelicans and oystercatchers.

History

The late 1870s, Christopher McWay settled in the area and built a Saddle Rock Ranch Farm called on. The ranch was purchased in the 1930s by the former New York Congressman Lathrop Brown, who had built for himself and his wife above the waterfall, a spacious property. His wife, Helen Hooper Brown was friends with Julia Pfeiffer Burns (1868-1928), who came from a resident since 1869 in Big Sur pioneer family. 1962 Helen Hooper Brown bequeathed their entire land to the State with the order to build in the area a state park and name it after Julia Pfeiffer Burns. After the establishment of the state parks, the property of the Browns in 1965 almost completely demolished to renature the property.

Tourist Facilities

The visit to the park is chargeable. The park is crossed several trails. The terrace of the former estate of the Browns used as an observation point. In the park there are two small rustic campsites for hikers who also have picnic areas and offer spectacular views over the coast.

Off the coast lies the 680 -acre Julia Pfeiffer Burns Underwater Area, a 1970 equipped diving area.

Trivia

The McWay Waterfall served as a background for a SKL- commercial with Günther Jauch.