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A whopping 27 serpentine miles up Highway 1 brings you to the hiking terminus for accessing the Big Sur Rivermouth, inside of what is better known as the 4,749-acre Andrew Molera State Park. The driftwood-strewn beach here is safeguarded from all wind directions except west, so it blows offshore almost every day of the year. The prevailing northwest winds whip around and shoot directly into the oncoming waves -- sometimes too fiercely to grant you wave entry. The flow from the Big Sur River does a fine job of maintaining the gravelly sandbar in its correct alignment here, resulting in a semi-point setup with fast, thin rights and shorter, mushier lefts burgering into the rivermouth itself. Best when head-high and under, the rights can line up quite nicely, providing a taut lip to whack and, occasionally, to tuck under.
Although it's probably the most reliable spot in all of Big Sur due to its seemingly endless offshores, the Big Sur Rivermouth can also be pathetically closed out, shallow and honeycombed with currents that transport you merrily on down the beach, far away from the desired peak. Always worth a look during dismal, unending bouts of onshores, which tend to occur every day.
-- Mike Kew
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low
W, SW
chest-high to a foot or two overhead
E, NE, N
3 to 4
sand and rock
intermediate
shortboard, funboard, hiking boots
fall
north on Highway 1 out of San Simeon and watch for the signs on the road marking the Andrew Molera State Park entrance
Five's a crowd here, which is fairly often since the winds are usually favorable.
Oh yeah.
2 to 5
1
Mean locals, sharks
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See Willow Creek "Places to Eat" entry.
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Our pick is obvious: the grounds at Andrew Molera State Park (831-667-2315, www.parks.ca.gov), a mile walk from the Big Sur Rivermouth. It's basically just a big field where you can pitch your tent, with chemical toilets and fire pits (no water). Your Coleman stove out of order? Try the Glen Oaks Hotel (831-667-2105), which also has a decent restaurant.
Or try
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Andrew Molera State Park (Big Sur Rivermouth) has a network of hiking trails but no drinking water, so bring your own. Grab a free copy of El Sur Grande, the local newsprint rag, for all kinds of other information. You can also find a comprehensive listing of everything available in Big Sur at http://jrabold.net/bigsur/bigs_act.htm.
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