Buzzard's Roost Trail

Buzzard's Roost is a 3-mile round-trip loop from the trailhead across the Big Sur River from Redwood Deck. Follow the river beneath redwoods, climb switchbacks through tan oaks and bay trees, then circle an open ridge above the coast. The official total includes the shared approach in both directions: roughly 0.7 mile each way to the ridge circuit, which is about 1.45 miles long. Allow two to three hours with stops. The climb gains about 750 feet, so this is a moderate-to-strenuous outing, not an easy redwood stroll.

Park in the state park's day-use area and get your bearings at Redwood Deck. The actual start is across the river; the ridge viewpoint is the payoff, not the trailhead. The approach can be easy to miss, so locate the river crossing and trail entry before setting off. The available directions don't identify a dedicated lot or a specific numbered parking area for this hike. After the ridge loop, you'll return to the same approach and retrace it to the river.

The first stretch follows the Big Sur River through shaded coast redwoods. Then the route turns uphill and works through switchbacks. Tan oaks and bay trees appear as you leave the redwood shade. That change is the hike's character: a cool-looking forest opening, then a sustained climb into a brighter landscape. The distance is modest, but the grade is real; the park describes the hike as moderate to strenuous, and one account describes a hiker turning back before the steepest section. Don't choose it expecting a level walk by the water.

At the ridge, the trees open onto a sunny, exposed panorama over the Pacific, Sycamore Canyon, and the Santa Lucia Mountains. The view is the reason to climb, and the upper loop gives you time to take it in from more than one angle before dropping back toward the approach. Fog can hide the coast, so the payoff depends on visibility. For a photo, keep some of the nearby scrub in the foreground and the layered ridge behind it; the open view is more distinctive than another close shot of the forest.