Trifter

McWay Falls is a lovely 80 foot high waterfall that tumbles over a cliff and onto a California beach just before it flows into a cove and the Pacific Ocean along Route 1 the Pacific Coast Highway in Big Sur.

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The source for McWay Falls is McWay Creek which is spring fed meaning that the falls maintains its flow year-round regardless of outside factors like rainfall and draughts.

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McWay Falls is named for Christopher McWay who moved into the area from New York State in 1874 with his wife Rachel. The land was bought and sold a number of times and ended up in the hands of former New York Congressman Lathrop Brown (who was reportedly a close friend of Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and his wife Helen in 1924. The Browns became friends with local rancher Julia Pfeiffer-Burns and when the Browns passed away they left the land to the state of California with the stipulation it become a state park in the name of their friend. So today McWay Falls is located in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.

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One of the great things about McWay Falls is that it’s located in a very difficult spot for people to actually climb down to it or to the cove it flows into. Great because this keeps the area generally free of people and litter which keeps the falls in a pristine state.

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Though difficult to get right near the falls it is easy to get to the overlook for the falls that offers stunning views.

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Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is well marked and located right along the Pacific Coast Highway about 37 miles south of Carmel and roughly 68 miles north of William Randolph Hearst’s San Simeon.

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For more great California waterfalls please see Burney Falls Eighth Wonder of the World and Magnificent Waterfalls of Yosemite National Park.