Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park reopens, new shuttle service drops people off at trails

People lined up to buy tickets and ride the new shuttle service which picks visitors up at Andrew Molera State Park and takes them to various places north and south of the collapsed Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge.

“We wanted to be sure to take the shuttle on the first day and do our best to support all the businesses on the southern side,” said Kate Daniels Kurtz of Carmel Valley. “So we’re gonna go have lunch and buy some gifts and get some good exercise.”

Riders KION talked to were excited to be shuttled to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, which is now fully open after a 11 month closure.

“It’s really nice weather you know,” said Carlos Roman of Los Angeles. “It’s not hot, it’s not cold. The weather is just perfect. It’s a perfect day for hiking.”

Park officials said the Soberanes fire burned out trails last summer. Winter storms dumped about 95 inches of rain to the Big Sur Area, making the park unstable and dangerous. Now it’s bustling with locals and tourists.

“There’s been a lot of work to clean up areas that were affected by the winter,” said John De Luca, Big Sur sector Superintendent for the Monterey District California State Parks. “Pfeiffer Big Sur camping areas received a lot of mud and debris flows that we spent the last month digging out, so we can provide camping.”

The campground is fully open along with minor trails in and around the day use camping area.

“This is actually our first time attempting to come down,” said Addison McMillan from Costa Mesa.

“But we would have come earlier had it been open,” said Summer Myers of Salinas.

With the pent up demand, officials told KION this Fourth of July weekend they expect the park to be at capacity.

“It’s great, it’s gorgeous,” said Myers. “The weather’s perfect and it’s just beautiful.”

“Been waiting a long time to see the big redwoods here,” said McMillan.

The shuttle service will run until the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge reopens.