Parking
Use Day Use Lot 2; the signed Nature Trail starts across the internal park road. Accessible parking and restrooms are nearby.
Overview
About Nature Trail
Why go
- Twelve numbered plant stops make a short walk engaging and easy to explore at your own pace.
- A compacted path and a redwood grove make this a gentle introduction to the park’s riverside woods.
Heads up
- The loop is brief and has little elevation change, so it is better as a short nature walk than a destination hike.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Pfeiffer Big Sur map
Full mapElevation208–220 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Pfeiffer Big Sur Tour Guide
Your drive to Nature Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Ewoldsen Nature Center: Fly Like a Condor0:00 / 0:29
“You're nearing the day-use area for Ewoldsen Memorial Nature Center, across the river along Warden's Path. The digital condor flight station lets you try flying like a condor, using actual flight patterns from Big Sur.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Pfeiffer Big Sur Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Mount Manuel Trail: A Full Day Above the Gorge
- Pfeiffer Falls: The Redwood Ravine
- Big Sur Station: Gateway to Pine Ridge
- Big Sur Lodge and Redwood Deck
- 10 audio storiesacross Pfeiffer Big Sur’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor California Condor, Wild Turkey, Mule Deer, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 11 trails, 20 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Nature Trail
The short loopFrom Day Use Lot 2, follow the Nature Trail west through riparian woods into a redwood grove.
From Day Use Lot 2, follow the Nature Trail west through riparian woods into a redwood grove. Cross the internal park road near the end, visit Proboscis Grove, then return on River Path above the riverbank and past the amphitheater. The full walk is about 0.7 mile and usually takes around 30 minutes, with extra time for the numbered stops.
Plant markersTwelve numbered stops pair with a self-guided pamphlet.
Twelve numbered stops pair with a self-guided pamphlet. Along the way, look for sycamores, cottonwoods, scented bays and coast live oaks before the path enters the denser redwood canopy. The Nature Trail begins across the road from Day Use Lot 2.
Proboscis GroveNear the park road crossing, a short boardwalk circles a distinctive redwood with a trunk that…
Near the park road crossing, a short boardwalk circles a distinctive redwood with a trunk that bends like a nose. The tree is estimated to be 500 to 800 years old. From there, River Path gives the walk a quiet return above the riverbank; it passes the amphitheater on its way back to the day-use area.
Footing and accessThe Nature Trail surface is compacted aggregate and averages about five feet wide.
The Nature Trail surface is compacted aggregate and averages about five feet wide. Most grades are under five percent, with intermittent sections between five and eight percent. Accessible parking and restrooms are nearby. The loop crosses the internal park road, and dogs are not permitted on the Nature Trail.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Pfeiffer Big Sur
10 sightingsCalifornia CondorMost seen around 1 PMSighting map
55 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
101 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
36 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around 1 PMSighting map
46 sightingsAcorn WoodpeckerMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
11 sightingsGray FoxMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Pfeiffer Big Sur. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
