Redwood Deck

Redwood Deck is a redwood-viewing stop beside Big Sur Lodge, less than a quarter-mile from Highway 1. Keep it if you want a close look at coast redwoods without a strenuous hike; the appeal is a peaceful pause under the canopy, not a sweeping overlook or a long walk.

The River Path and Warden’s Path form a 0.6-mile loop along the Big Sur River and pass through the deck. The loop is wheelchair- and stroller-accessible, includes picnic areas, and allows dogs on both paths. Do the loop for a little more river and forest time. Buzzard’s Roost is a separate, three-mile round-trip trail that starts across the river and climbs to a viewpoint; it’s moderate to strenuous.

Pfeiffer Big Sur is near the southern edge of the coast redwood’s natural range. These trees grow along creeks and the Big Sur River, with ferns and redwood sorrel beneath the shaded canopy. For a photo, include a little path at the bottom and angle up through the trunks; it gives the tall trees a sense of scale.

The wider Central Coast has archaeological evidence dating back about 8,000 years, including projectile points, bedrock mortars and shell. Esselen and Rumsien people continue to live in Big Sur and practice ancestral traditions. That history belongs to the region and its living communities, not to a display at the deck.

Michael and Barbara Pfeiffer arrived in Big Sur in 1869 to ranch, farm and keep bees. Their son John lived along the Big Sur River and sold 680 acres to California in 1933 rather than see it subdivided; that land became the nucleus of the park.

The Civilian Conservation Corps also left a park-wide mark. Camp S.P. 12 built campgrounds, buildings, fences, trails and a footbridge, using redwood lumber and river rock in a style the state called “park rustic.” The federal CCC operated from 1933 to 1942.