It is probably the most beautiful parts of one of our most
beautiful states, but when you hear people talk about it, they normally mention the road through it, the famous Highway
1 that wends along the rocky coast.
The road IS wonderful. The views are some of the best you can get on a road trip. Period. But Big Sur itself
and the surrounding region are actually wonderful places to hang out and hike and camp and enjoy some of that
scenery before speeding through it. the Ventana Wilderness is right there, a 167,000-acre stretch within Los
Padres National Forest where mountain lions roam the Santa Lucia Mountains and the sky is free of all that
lung-wrecking smog.
USA Today’s Josh
Roberts checks out the area, taking his time, and offers some advice won where to go, how to get there, what to see and
so on.