Crowds of people walk to Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur

Summer time at Big Sur equals big crowds and this summer the town said the crowds are getting bigger. Thousands of people travel to see the beautiful beaches off Highway 1. The problem is there aren’t many spaces for those tourists to park.

Park management at Pfeiffer Beach said they’ve had to turn hundreds of people away every day because their 75 space parking lot is always full. Dozens of cars choose to park along the shoulder of Highway 1 and then make the trek with their belongings down to Pfeiffer Beach.

Most people don’t realize they’re in for a two mile walk down Sycamore Canyon Road to get to the beach. Scott Parker has been living off Sycamore for 35 years and said the one lane road isn’t safe for people to walk down.

“It’s really a challenge for people to come down and then you add hundreds of pedestrians, little children, toddlers, literally people carrying their babies, infants down here. I’m really concerned about the safety,” Parker said.

Sunday was no different. Dozens of people attempted the two mile walk to the beach. While others made it half way and decided to hitch a ride back up the hill. One family came all the way from France and it took them about 30 minutes to make their way down with their two toddlers and a stroller.

“It’s fine going down but I think the other way up we will hike,” Benoit Levrier of France said.

It’s no secret why so many are drawn to the beaches in Big Sur. Parker said he’s not interested in stopping tourists from coming to the beach. But Parker has reached out to U.S. Forest Service about the lack of parking, but funds are too tight to do something about it.

“I just think that it’s very congested and that there is probably going to have to be some limits at some point in time. It will probably unfortunately take an accident or some occurrence that will precipitate that happening,” Parker said.

Until then beach-goers will continue getting a workout in on there way to Pfeiffer Beach. Park Management Company does not encourage people to park along Highway 1. They tell drivers visiting the beach to get there as early as possible to beat the crowds.