The tortuously winding 40-mile stretch of Hwy 1 south of Lucia to Hearst Castle is even more sparsely populated, rugged and remote, mostly running through national forest lands. Around 5 miles south of Kirk Creek Campground and Nacimiento-Fergusson Rd, almost opposite Plaskett Creek Campground, is Sand Dollar Beach . From the picnic area, it’s a five-minute walk to southern Big Sur’s longest sandy beach, a crescent-shaped strip of sand protected from winds by high bluffs.
In 1971, in the waters of nearby Jade Cove , local divers recovered a 9000lb jade boulder that measured 8ft long and was valued at $180,000. People still comb the beach today. The best time to find jade, which is black or blue-green and looks dull until you dip it in water, is during low tide or after a big storm. Keep an eye out for hang gliders flying in for a movie-worthy landing on the beach. Trails down to the water start from several mostly unmarked roadside pulloffs immediately south of Plaskett Creek Campground.
If you have any sunlight left, keep trucking down the highway to Salmon Creek Falls , which usually flows from December through May. Tucked up a forested canyon, this double-drop waterfall can be glimpsed from the hairpin turn on Hwy 1, about 8 miles south of Gorda. Roadside parking gets very crowded, as everyone takes the 0.3-mile walk up to the falls to splash around in the pools, where kids shriek and dogs happily bark.
Before leaving Lucia, make sure you’ve got at least enough fuel in the tank to reach the expensive gas stations at Gorda, about 11 miles south of Limekiln State Park, or Ragged Point, another 12 miles further south.
