On Hwy-1, 23 miles South of Carmel. Sixty unforgettable miles of God’s own landscaping, Big Sur is the most dramatic coastal strip in the U.S: the rugged Santa Lucia mountains meeting the Pacific in a series of surf-pounded granite cliffs and weather-beaten outcrops. The views are gasp-worthy all along Hwy-1, which dips and weaves through the folds of the mountains, ploughs through canyons (their sides coated with colourful wildflowers in springtime) and soars over high, narrow bridges.

Several parking spots offer brief opportunities to pull over and savour the scenery (while doing so, don’t underestimate the Big Sur wind), but the diversity of Big Sur is best discovered in the state parks such as Andrew Molera and Pfeiffer Big Sur which make much of the region’s natural splendour accessible on foot – or even on horseback.

The limited commercial services are strung along Hwy-1 at Big Sur Village, the only built-up section of Big Sur, where the population mostly live in homes set back from the highway along twisting lanes. While passing through, look out for the Henry Miller Memorial Library (https://henrymiller.org) beside Hwy-1, in which a small collection of artefacts recalls one of the many writers who have drawn inspiration from Big Sur’s savage beauty.

Another Big Sur landmark is the Esalen Institute (no casual visitors; tel. +1 831 667 3000; (http://www.esalen.org)), pre-empting the New Age movement by providing a full range of mind-and-body-improving experiences from holistic medicine to gestalt therapy – in a back-to-nature setting since 1962.

Detour – Andrew Molera State Park

On Hwy-1, 21 miles South of Carmel. From a slender beach fringing a lagoon at the mouth of the Big Sur River, Andrew Molera State Park rises through groves of sycamore and oak to views of the Pacific from towering bluffs. Easy walking trails, endowed with picnic tables at particularly attractive spots, follow the river, weave around meadows, and climb through the woodlands to the upper elevations. There is also camping available, though with a minimum of four people (http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=582). On Hwy-1, 5 miles North of Andrew Molera State Park is Bixby Creek Bridge the tallest of a series of hair raising bridges carrying Hwy-1 across the deep canyons of Big Sur – and much the most photographed – the Bixby Creek Bridge was completed in 1932. A small car-park on the north side is alive with the sound of clicking shutters.

Detour – Pfeiffer Beach and Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park

Turn off Hwy-1 a mile south of the entrance to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park along Sycamore Canyon Road and you’ll wind up at Pfeiffer Beach, ideal for a picnic. The white-sanded beach is sheltered from ocean winds by a large offshore rock formation, the colours of which alter subtly as the prevailing light changes. Enjoy the solitude but don’t try swimming here: the water’s cold and the riptides are dangerous.

On Hwy-1, 26 miles South of Carmel. Beside Hwy-1 as it swings inland for Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park– forsaking ocean views but often finding the sunshine that is obscured by fog along the coast – Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park occupies a section of the Big Sur River Valley and protects some of California’s most southerly Coastal Redwood trees.

Around the stately trees are a plethora of marked picnic spots and several excellent – and fairly simple to negotiate – trails. Ascending from the redwoods to a grove of tanburn oaks (their tanning once used commercially), the short but steep Valley View Trail reveals the park’s best panoramas. Combine this with the less tiring trail to Pfeiffer Falls, where the Pfeiffer-Redwood Creek plummets 60 feet, and you’ll feel the day has been well spent.

Named after a homesteading family who eked out an existence here in the mid-19thC, the origins of the park, and its geology and ecology, are cogently outlined in the Nature Center. (http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=570)

Horseback Tours

The memorable way to tour Big Sur is on horseback. Lasting between a couple of hours and several days, guided horseback tours through Andrew Molera and Pfeiffer Big Sur state parks are run by Molera Horseback Tours; tel. +1 831 625 5486; (http://www.molerahorsebacktours.com)