PFEIFFER BEACH

BY MARK NAKAMURA

In the winter of 1869, Michael and Barbara Pfeiffer were traveling south through California when, due to their son’s illness, they were forced to stop at Sycamore Canyon for several days. Because they enjoyed the area so much, instead of moving on, they built their first home and raised their eight children at the coastal location.

Michael and Barbara’s son John and his wife, Zulema Florence Swetnam (known as Florence), built their cabin on the banks of the Big Sur River in 1884. Over time, the family became known for their hospitality and Florence’s home-cooked meals. By 1910, they had hosted enough travelers, some more cordial than others, for meals and overnight stays, that they decided to formally establish the Pfeiffer Ranch Resort. John later donated the initial 700 acres of land to the State of California, which became Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.

Pfeiffer Beach, also named after the family, is a popular tourist site and is one of the only beach accesses along the Big Sur coastline. It is known for its photographic Keyhole Rock, in which the sunlight shines through the opening at certain times of the year. The picturesque location is off Highway 1, just north of the Shell Station (which, by the way, has a great bakery) in Big Sur, and south of the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park Campgrounds, on Sycamore Canyon Road.

Be aware there are no signs on Highway 1 to mark Pfeiffer Beach’s location. It isn’t until you turn on Sycamore Canyon Road that you see a sign indicating the beach is two miles down the one-lane road. In the summer and busy times of the year, the parking lot may be filled, and traffic is often turned away by the ranger.

On this particular winter morning, I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and drove from the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park Campground to Sycamore Canyon Road and turned down the dark, lonely lane toward the beach parking lot. I returned to the same spot where at sunset the day before I had been taking photographs of the sunlight shining through keyhole rock along with about fifty other people.

The morning was now peaceful and quiet. I assembled my tripod to take in the whole rock, the sky, and the foreground water. With long exposures, I set everything on manual—focus, ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. Experimenting with different shutter speeds, from ten to thirty seconds, gave the water a silky, milky smooth finish.

When heading up to Big Sur be sure to spend some time visiting the ocean. Terry Tempest Williams, an award-winning author, said, “The looming cliffs at Big Sur, sustain me, remind me we are nothing without salt water, wind, and waves.” SLO LIFE

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