Tree Huggers Unite - Big Sur!

I took some time out of my recent trip to California and spend time in Big Sur State Park and I am so glad I did!  I am still in awe of how beautiful the park was and how fresh and wonderful it smelled! 

As we were hiking we came to a river and wanted to spend some time photographing our surroundings. Some of my hiker friends decided to take their shoes off and wade through the icy cold water,  I kept my shoes on enjoying the scenery.   Down by the water I noticed a tree with leaves I was not familiar with so I got my trusty quick guide out and discovered it was a BAY LAUREL tree– it’s a tree that’s an essential part of Big Sur’s eco-system and the smell of the leaves was the sent filling the trails I was walking.  The Bay Laurel leaf smelled like a Bay left mixed with something spice!  I rubbed a left between my fingers and could smell the sent the entire day!  The Bay Laurel tree also drops nuts which is an important source of food for wild life in the park.  Once everyone was done taking photos and enjoying the river we walked further into the trail and it became very lush and we spotted plants like horsetail, fern and thimbleberry.   I was not familiar with thimbleberry, but it has large fuzzy leaves and a rose like flower in the spring that ripens to a hollow berry as the season go on.  Our guide told us the thimble-shaped berry is what gives the plant its name. 

 Another tree we saw a lot of was the mighty oak tree.  I live in a community were oak trees line the streets so I was very familiar with them, but  was surprised to find there is something called (SOD) Sudden Oak Death.  SOD is responsible for killing 1000’s of oak trees in Bur Sur throughout the years.  It’s a fungus that’s hosted on other plants and trees and when an oak is attached by it the fungus will kill the tree within months.   That’s why it’s so important and they stress throughout the park to not take any plant material or stick from the park because you can spread this fungus to other areas of the park and ever outside of the park.  The damage that fungus could do in my hometown would be catastrophic. 

We continued on the trail through the redwood grove to the trails end where there are trees that are 500 to 800 years old and they are massive!   There is a tree next to the Trails End Post that’s named Proboscis (the nose) and is one of the largest trees in Big Sur State Park.   It was a wonderful afternoon in a gorgeous state park.  I am so glad I took the time to go – I will defiantly carve out a full day next trip because I felt like we had just gotten started and it was time to go.

After we left the park we decide to grab a bite to eat and the guide recommend a spot in Big Sur; Big Sur River Inn & Restaurant.  He gave a quick sound bite about it: it was founded by one of the Big Sur pioneer families, they have a great patio for casual dining and the views of the river and lawn are fantastic.  Well we were sold so off we went. Upon arrival I was even more excited because it look exactly like what I had imagined; 1930’s nostalgia at its finest.  We sat on the patio and enjoyed the view of the river while we sipped vodka and lemonade and waited on our food.  I would have to say the service was slow and the food just average but once we were done we went to sit in the river.  They have the MOST OUTSTANDING CHAIRS perched right in the middle of the river, under shade trees where you can sit as long as you like.  We ended our afternoon sitting in those chairs sipping cocktails and enjoying stories of the day. I would recommend a stop at the Inn for a dip in the river and a step back in time. 

Are there other restaurants in the Big Sur you would recommend?

Side note:  Did you know the largest tree on record is in Humboldt Country, California, and measures 379 feet!  Wow – that’s taller than a 35-story building.