State Route 1, Point Sur, Andrew Molera SP - Monterey County, CA

On 11th June 2024, my mom and I went for a drive along State Route 1 in Monterey County, CA. Our original plan was visiting Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, but unfortunately the park was closed that day due to parking lot and road repair. We ended up visiting Andrew Molera State Park. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos!

High Resolution Photos: If you want to see high resolution photos of any of the photos you see here, use the following links. If you wish to purchase prints of any of the photos, please contact me here. To view my best State Route 1 photos from Monterey to Big Sur, use this link. To see all of my photos from this trip, use this link.

Our first stop on the trip was originally Point Lobos, but once I got there, I realized the park was closed! Upon checking the park website, it turns out they were repairing the road and parking lot that day and the day before. This is probably a mistake I won't make again! Always remember to check the conditions of the park you plan to visit! We ended up going to Andrew Molera State Park, a park which I haven't been to since 2015. 

I remember this was one of the most beautiful parks I've visited in the past, but this time, Andrew Molera ended up being a huge disappointment. The day we went, the river crossing bridge wasn't set up yet, so we couldn't go that way. We went down the trail we did many years ago, but it turns out there is a new "End of Trail" sign right past the walk-in campground (which I don't think was there the last time we visited) and Cooper Cabin. There was barely anything to see and the park was mostly a ghost town. You used to be able to go down to the river from the trail to play around in the water, but now it's fenced off. The trail past the sign is unmaintained and is totally overgrown with many trees fallen over. You will not get very far, trust me, I tried. I also don't know why the campground is walk-in only as there is a wide service road to the campground and the camping area is huge and flat! This park is no longer worth going to in my opinion, and management need to do a better job fixing the park up.

A scenery photo of eucalyptus tree forest. The photo was shot near Cooper Cabin in Andrew Molera State Park in Monterey County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 36° 17' 10" N 121° 51' 10" W

A scenery photo of Big Sur River and trees. The photo was shot past the trail closure, and it was near impossible to continue past this point. The photo was shot in Andrew Molera State Park in Monterey County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 36° 16' 58" N 121° 51' 33" W

After the failed trip to both Point Lobos and Andrew Molera, we started our drive home.

A scenery photo of Point Sur, Point Sur State Historic Park, clouds, fog, and Pacific Ocean. The photo was shot at the entrance gate to Point Sur State Historic Park on the side of State Route 1 in Monterey County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 36° 18' 35" N 121° 53' 10" W

A scenery photo of Point Sur, Point Sur State Historic Park, clouds, fog, and Pacific Ocean. The photo was shot at the entrance gate to Point Sur State Historic Park on the side of State Route 1 in Monterey County, CA.

The photo was shot at the same spot as above.

A scenery photo of Little Sur River, Little Sur River Beach, clouds, fog, and mountains. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 1 in Monterey County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 36° 19' 51" N 121° 53' 30" W

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Andrew Molera State Park - Big Sur, CA (Part 4)

On 4th of July I decided to take a trip to Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur, CA. I went to places such as fisherman's Wharf, Garrapata State Park, Andrew Molera State Park, etc... I took many photos there are are here to share with you. About half of the photos were shot along or near SR-1. The photos will be split into several parts. I hope you enjoy viewing these photos!

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To view my best photos from Monterey, Big Sur area for 2014-2015, use this link. To see all of my photos from the Monterey, Big Sur area for 2014-2015, use this link.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 

Photos for today are from Andrew Molera State Park in Big Sur, CA. The photos from this park will be split into 2 parts. This is the second part.

After I was done at the beach, I took a hiking trail up to the highlands. Here is a scenery photo of the ocean from the highland area. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 36 16 56 N 121 51 36 W   

  A black and white process of the photo above. 

Here is a high up scenery photo from the state park. The Big Sur River is to the left and the ocean is to the right. The scenery shots I took in the previous blog post was shot to that small patch of beach to the left of the photo (you could barely see it on the photo here). 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 36 16 53 N 121 51 37 W   

 A black and white process of the photo above.  

 A panorama shot of the view from the headlands. Big Sur River is to the left and the Pacific Ocean is to the right. Photo shot in the same spot as above. 

A scenery shot from the headlands of the Pacific Ocean.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 36 16 51 N 121 51 38 W   

A scenery shot from the headlands. This is a photo of the river mouth for the Big Sur River. You can see the place I was standing for the scenery shots in the previous blog post is left of the center a tiny bit. You can see it clearly on this photo. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 36 16 49 N 121 51 35 W   

  A black and white process of the photo above. 

 On my hike back down from the headlands, I saw a Western Fence Lizard. 

Another few photos of the Western Fence Lizard. It wasn't scared of my camera and I at all.  

A scenery shot from near the walking trail on my walk back to the parking lot. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 36 17 05 N 121 51 23 W   

 A black and white process of the photo above. 

This is all the photos for today and for this series! I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 

Andrew Molera State Park - Big Sur, CA (Part 3)

On 4th of July I decided to take a trip to Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur, CA. I went to places such as fisherman's Wharf, Garrapata State Park, Andrew Molera State Park, etc... I took many photos there are are here to share with you. About half of the photos were shot along or near SR-1. The photos will be split into several parts. I hope you enjoy viewing these photos!

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To view my best photos from Monterey, Big Sur area for 2014-2015, use this link. To see all of my photos from the Monterey, Big Sur area for 2014-2015, use this link.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 

Photos for today are from Andrew Molera State Park in Big Sur, CA. The photos from this park will be split into 2 parts. This is the first part.

A photo of the forest and walking trail in the state park.  

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 36 17 17 N 121 50 43 W

A photo of Big Sur River. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 36 17 15 N 121 50 48 W 

Photo of the forest along the walking trail.  

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 36 17 14 N 121 50 59 W

Another photo of the forest and the walking trail. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 36 17 10 N 121 51 10 W 

Another scenery shot of the forest shot along the walking trail. Photo shot in the same spot as above. 

A black and white process of the photo above.  

According to Google Maps, this is called Cooper Cabin. I took a shot because I thought it made a great scene. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 36 17 10 N 121 51 11 W 

 A black and white process of the photo above. 

A photo of Big Sur River shot along the walking trail. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 36 16 58 N 121 51 33 W  

 A black and white process of the photo above.  

A guy sleeping on the riverbank of Big Sur River. I thought this made a really good composition so I took a shot. To the right is the Pacific Ocean. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 36 16 54 N 121 51 35 W  

 A black and white process of the photo above. 

 Another photo of Big Sur River shot near the spot above. 

Another photo of Big Sur River shot near the spot above.  

 A black and white process of the photo above. 

This is all the photos for today! I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Next time I will have the rest of the photos from Big Sur, CA shot in Andrew Molera State Park. Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |