Our escapades!

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park - Al though there are numerous hiking trails in this park, the most popular one is the Overlook Trail leading one to see the McWay falls flowing over an 80 feet cliff and emptying into the ocean. It is one of the few waterfalls that flow directly into the ocean.

View Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park - May 2013 in a larger map

What

Hiking
McWay Falls

More Info

$10/car parking fee inside the state park
Free parking outside the park

Ever seen a waterfall that flows directly into the ocean? In reality, there are not too many of such falls. The McWay Falls at Julia Pfieffer State Park is the first that I have seen. The McWay Creek flows over an 80 feet cliff directly into the sand beach that connects with the Pacific ocean.

We took a day trip to Big Sur on a Saturday and stopped at several places along the CA1 coastline, Carmel State Beach, Garrapata State Beach, Bixby Creek Bridge, to name a few. If there were any arbitrary turnouts offering a bella vista, then yes, we did stop at those spots as well. Our plan was to go to a couple more places, but the overcast weather did not really favor our plan.

Overlook Falls Trail

Length: 0.6 miles; Elevation: Insignificant; Time: 15min; Difficulty: Easy

Parking is available inside the Julia Pfieffer State Park for a $10 parking fee. There is also free parking on CA-1 just outside the Julia Pfieffer State Park.

Caution: If you park on CA-1, you will need to cross the road to take the trail to the McWay Falls and cars normally speed here. Once you cross the road, a distinct pathway and a fleet of stairs leads one to the McWay Falls. If you park inside the park, a tunnel that goes underneath the CA-1 safely connects you with the trail leading to the falls.

There is a slew of hiking trails inside Julia Pfieffer State Park, but I have not taken any of them by far. I have only taken the short trail to the McWay Falls.

Overlook Trail to McWay Falls

As you walk on the trail, when you are half-way to the trail end, you will see the beautiful McFalls falling over an 80 feet cliff into the sandy beach that connects to the ocean. Apparently, ages ago, the water fell directly into the ocean, but due to landslides and erosions, it now falls into the beach.

There is no definite path that takes one to the base of the falls, but we have noticed people down there. Would I recommend? Definitely no! It is illegal and perilous to navigate the steep cliffs to get down to the falls. There are a few adventures in life that are not worth the risk and this is one of those!

View of McWay Falls from the trail

I always want to hike one of the trails in the Julia Pfieffer State Park, but by the time I start from San Jose, stop at several places along the CA1 coastline and reach this place, I am dog-tired. The trails are certainly worthwhile exploring.

Tips

Layered clothing is recommended
Free street parking just outside the park

Useful Resources

Nearby Locations

Alcatraz Island - Popularly called the "The Rock", this island situated off of San Francisco was once a strategic military point, then an isolated federal prison for the most notorious criminals is now a popular tourist destination in San Francisco. A tour of the island takes one to the time when it was a federal prison, to see the prison cells and the various rooms that were used back then.

View Alcatraz Island - March 2013 in a larger map

What

Tour of the island that was once a secluded federal prison from 1934 to 1963

More Info

Click here to make advance online reservations and bring a print out of the ticket confirmation
Ferry fares vary depending on the season
Parking is on the streets; one option is to park the car in Pier 39 parking lot and avail the discounts for some of the restaurants
Allow at least 3 hours for the entire trip
Café and restrooms in Pier 33
Restrooms available near the Alcatraz dock
No cafes on the Alcatraz island
Gift shop on the island
Layered clothing is recommended
You can take the ferry at anytime to return to San Francisco

I have been living in California for the past five and a half years and I never got the chance to visit San Francisco’s most popular tourist destination until a few weeks ago, in early March 2013. Alcatraz or The Rock is located about 1.5 miles off the coast and one can access it by taking a ferry to this small island.

Alcatraz underwent a lot of changes and carries a deep history; it was originally used as a strategic point for military purposes, then converted into a federal prison from 1934 to 1963, then occupied by the native Indians for a brief time and is now a popular tourist destination. It is home to several seabirds such as pelicans, snowy egrets, sea gulls, cormorants, etc.

Ferry to Alcatraz Island

We made advance online reservations to take the 1.00pm ferry from Pier 33 on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Parking is on the streets and there are several parking lots within a few blocks. We parked the car in Pier 39 parking garage and walked a few blocks to Pier 33.

Approaching Alcatraz

We took a print-out of the reservation confirmation page and exchanged it for tickets at the ticket booth in Pier 33. It is highly recommended to arrive at least 30 minutes before the ferry departure. We walked around the pier for a bit and soon the check-in for 1.00pm departure was called. We stood in a long line to board the ferry. Keep the tickets handy; they are checked at least two times before boarding the ferry. They also take a picture of you with a picture of Alcatraz in the background. When you return from Alcatraz, you will see the pictures displayed on a board and you can buy them for a ridiculous amount of money.

View of the city from the ferry en route Alcatraz

As soon as we boarded the ferry, we went to the front and enjoyed a neat 10 minutes ride to Alcatraz island. Beautiful views of the Bay Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline treated our eyes. When we got off from the ferry, we headed to a room where we saw a video that enlightens one about the history of Alcatraz. After watching the video, we walked until we reached the room to grab our headphones for the audio tour. Clear signs are placed on the pathways to direct visitors.

Building near the ferry dock

We started the audio tour inside the Alcatraz cells. The tour takes one through the prison, dining hall, library, recreation yard, administration block and the warden’s house. The tour also specifically points to the cells where significant incidents happened. The cells are very small and they look so murky that it was impossible to imagine what the prisoners went through.

The cells inside the prison

A few of the prisoners appeared to possess excellent artistic skills. During their time in the prison, they had drawn a few pictures to keep themselves occupied and these pictures are placed inside the cells. Most of the cells have the gates open, so one can enter the cell, close the eyes and imagine what it must have been like.

Paintings done by Alcatraz prisoners

Along the pathways, there are placards with pictures and stories of the island’s most notorious criminals like Al Capone, Robert Stroud (Birdman of Alcatraz), "Machine-Gun" Kelly, etc. There are also pictures of the police officers who guarded these infamous criminals.

Another cell

A few “well-behaved” prisoners had access to a library and were also allowed to play baseball. The baseball equipments used back then are also displayed on the walls.

The audio tour clearly portrays the story of the mind-boggling incident of attempted escape of six criminals in May 1946. The crafty plot of these criminals and the officers whose lives were taken while preventing this escape are saddening. The audio is a bit violent with sounds of gunshots; not something I would recommend it for kids.

The audio tour also takes one to the kitchen where food was cooked for the prisoners and the dining hall where the prisoners gathered every day to eat. Apparently the dining room is the most dangerous place inside the Alcatraz because the prisoners had access to forks, knives and spoons.

Lighthouse near Warden's House

In the famed September 1961 escape, three prisoners escaped through the holes that they had created in their cells using their spoons over a year’s time! It led them to a service corridor which they climbed to reach the roof. It is said that they took a raft to escape, but until now nobody knows whether they survived the cold and ruthless Pacific ocean.

View of Bay Bridge from the grounds near the lighthouse

The audio tour took us to the cells where these prisoners lived; we saw the hole that they had dug up using their spoons and the service corridor that they had climbed to reach the rooftop. Interesting! In 1963, the prison was closed due to high operating costs and the prisoners were moved to other prisons.

After returning the audio tour headsets, we spent a few minutes in the gift shop. Having spent a solid 3 hours in the Alcatraz island, we were enervated and took the ferry back to Pier 33.

Tips

Make advance online reservations to take the ferry to Alcatraz
Bring water and snacks

Useful Resources

Nearby Locations

Our escapades!

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Alcatraz Island