Parking
Use the dedicated Pine Ridge Trailhead lot at Big Sur Station off Highway 1. It has 55 spaces; potable water is available there.
Overview
About Pine Ridge and Post Creek Trail
Why go
- A small valley platform gives the out-and-back a clear destination.
- A short sample of Pine Ridge’s redwood and ridge scenery.
Heads up
- The campground-road approach feels less secluded than the trail sections.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Pfeiffer Big Sur map
Full mapElevation244–677 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
1 active Pfeiffer Big Sur alert
- ClosurePfeiffer Big Sur State Park closed for fire impactsPfeiffer Big Sur State Park is currently closed; do not enter.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Pfeiffer Big Sur Tour Guide
Your drive to Pine Ridge and Post Creek 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
Big Sur Station: Gateway to Pine Ridge0:00 / 0:28
“You're coming up on Big Sur Station and the Pine Ridge trailhead. The station has wilderness maps and local route advice for the backcountry beyond it. Pine Ridge was built by the Post family in nineteen sixteen.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Pfeiffer Big Sur Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Pfeiffer Big Sur Campground and Camp Store
- Big Sur River Gorge: Beyond the Paved Path
- Mount Manuel Trail: A Full Day Above the Gorge
- Colonial Tree and the Riverside Picnic Areas
- 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 Pine Ridge and Post Creek Trail
A short trail with a real destinationPine Ridge and Post Creek is a 3.
Pine Ridge and Post Creek is a 3.3-mile round-trip out-and-back from Big Sur Station, with about 500 feet of climbing. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours. It follows Pine Ridge to a short Post Creek branch and ends at a small wooden-and-stone platform above a wooded valley. Choose it for a forest walk with a definite destination, not a sweeping coastal overlook.
From campground to lookoutThe visitor route uses campground roads to reach Pine Ridge Trail, then follows the Post Creek…
The visitor route uses campground roads to reach Pine Ridge Trail, then follows the Post Creek branch to the lookout. Expect a less secluded start, followed by redwood groves and some open hillside. The platform looks across a small tree-covered valley; turn around there and return the same way. This route is a short outing, well before the longer Pine Ridge backcountry hike.
Practical detailsPine Ridge was built by the Post family of Big Sur in 1916.
Pine Ridge was built by the Post family of Big Sur in 1916. Start at the dedicated 55-space Pine Ridge lot at Big Sur Station; potable water is available there. California State Parks allows dogs only on River Path and Warden's Path, so dogs are not allowed on this route.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Pfeiffer Big Sur
10 sightingsCalifornia CondorMost seen around 1 PMSighting map
55 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
100 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.
