A band of gold and orange sunset glows under layered grey clouds over the Pacific, with an oak tree in silhouette on the bluff at the right. — Sunset from the ridge at Ventana on the first evening, November 11.

Fall 2020 · Big Sur, California

Two Nights at Ventana

Two nights at Ventana, high above Highway 1, in the first pandemic autumn: redwoods, a picnic, a hidden cove and three sunsets.

When: November 11–13, 2020
Route: Ventana Big Sur → Point Lobos
Length: 3 days, 2 nights

Eight months into the pandemic, we booked two nights at Ventana, the resort on the ridge above Highway 1 in Big Sur. We checked in on Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, and left on Friday the 13th.

It was a pandemic stay, with the hot baths and fitness center closed under the county's rules. Most of what was on offer happened outdoors: the pools, a morning hike, s'mores in the evening, picnic lunches among the redwoods or above the ocean.

The route

Drive Ferry Flight

1Ventana Big SurNov 11–13
2Point LobosNov 13

Highlights. Showing 24 of 61 photos.

Day 1Wednesday, November 11

A sunset built for two

1Ventana Big Sur

About four hours on the road, the last stretch down Highway 1 south of Carmel, brought us to Ventana Big Sur by early afternoon.

The grounds spread out below the dark wooden lodge buildings: a long green lawn, a carved redwood sculpture in a garden of grasses, patios with lounge chairs and fire bowls, and hills going gold and green behind everything. Out came a yellow puffer jacket and a white knit hat, and we took a selfie on the path.

A wooded slope of tall redwoods and pines with a fence in the foreground and a ridge behind under a pale sky. — Redwoods and pines climbing the ridge behind the lodge.

A dark wooden lodge building with balconies stands above a long green lawn, golden hills behind under a grey sky. — Dark wood and balconies above the long lawn.

A tall carved wooden sculpture rises from a garden of grasses and shrubs at a bend in a wide path. — The sculpture at a bend in the path.

Gray lounge chairs and a metal fire bowl on a garden patio beside wooden lodge buildings, a carved sculpture behind. — Fire bowls and lounge chairs, waiting for evening.

A woman in a yellow puffer jacket and white hat stands in front of clumps of grass and a rail fence, hills and sea behind. — Yellow jacket, white hat, a rail fence and the sea behind.

A man in a blue plaid shirt and a woman in a white knit hat and yellow jacket smile close together in a selfie on a gravel path. — Selfie on the gravel path.

A woman in a yellow jacket and a man in a blue plaid shirt stand side by side in a clearing of woodchips among trees. — A clearing of woodchips among the trees.

Green wooded slopes above the sea, with the Big Sur coastline receding into haze under a grey sky. — The Big Sur coast fading north into haze.

A short trail through the trees led up above the coast, and we were back on the lawn as the light began to go, with an Adirondack chair and a drink for watching the sun go down over the ocean.

A woman in a yellow jacket stands on a flagstone terrace with empty tables and chairs, green hills behind. — A stone terrace, tables put away for the afternoon.

A gas fire pit burns on a patio at dusk, a patio heater and the sea faint behind. — A fire bowl lit against the last of the light.

A pale gold band of sunset under a grey sky over the sea, with fence, grasses and lawn in the foreground. — The sunset going gold over the lawn.

A woman in a yellow jacket and white hat reclines in a gray Adirondack chair on a green lawn, a drink on the table beside her. — An Adirondack chair on the lawn, a drink at its side.

A man in a blue face mask and a blue plaid shirt takes a selfie against a pale evening sky. — A selfie in a blue mask, the last light behind.

Dinner was on the terrace of the Sur House, under a clear tent hung with string lights beside a stone fireplace. It was as much as the pandemic allowed: distanced tables, a heater beside ours, the sun sinking behind us. A vegetable crisp on a green purée came first, then grilled octopus, with a bottle of sparkling water on the table.

A woman in a yellow jacket walks across a stone terrace under a clear tent strung with lights, the sea glowing behind. — Into the tent, the sea still glowing.

A clear tent hung with string lights over a stone terrace of small tables, with a stone fireplace and a pink sunset beyond. — Tent, string lights, stone fireplace and a pink sky.

A woman in a yellow jacket and white hat sits at a table beside a patio heater, looking at an orange sunset over the sea. — Our table beside the heater, facing the orange sunset.

A woman in a yellow jacket and white hat smiles at a table on a wooden terrace, string lights and a staff member behind her. — Smiling across the table.

A band of gold and orange sunset glows under layered grey clouds over the sea, an oak in silhouette on the bluff at the right. — The Pacific at sunset, an oak in silhouette on the bluff.

A man in a blue plaid jacket sits at a terrace table with a green bottle and a glass of water, string lights behind. — Sparkling water under the string lights.

A white bowl holding a chopped salad on a green purée, topped with a curl of orange vegetable crisp. — A vegetable crisp curled over a green purée and chopped salad.

A white plate holding dark grilled octopus tentacle with small greens and an orange sauce. — Grilled octopus on a pool of orange sauce.

A woman in a yellow jacket and white hat eats at a table in the dark, two plates in front of her. — Dinner in the dark.

The practical bits Drove about four hours, ending on Highway 1 south of Carmel. Two nights at Ventana Big Sur, November 11 to 13. Under county rules the hot baths and fitness center were closed.

Day 2Thursday, November 12

Redwoods, a picnic, a hidden cove

1Ventana Big Sur

The fire bowl on the patio was already lit at dawn, with orange coming into the sky behind the pergola. It was our one full day at Ventana, and we were up early.

A gas fire pit burns on a patio beside a pergola and a patio heater, the sky turning orange over the sea. — The fire bowl at dawn, the sky turning orange over the sea.

We spent the morning hiking at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, a couple of miles up the road. The Pfeiffer Falls and Valley View Trail climbs through redwoods to Valley View, where a bench looks out over a deep forested canyon opening toward the coast. On the way down we crossed a creek on a line of stepping stones, a footbridge beyond.

A wooden sign for Pfeiffer Falls and Valley View Trail and Lodge Cabins beside a split-rail fence on a leafy trail. — The trailhead sign for Pfeiffer Falls and Valley View.

A wooden Valley View trail marker with a small dog-free sign, redwoods behind and cut timbers stacked at the side of the trail. — The Valley View marker, cut timbers stacked beside the trail.

A man in a blue plaid shirt and daypack stands on a wide dirt trail beside a new wooden railing among tall redwoods. — The wide trail, the redwoods towering overhead.

A woman in an orange top sits on a wooden bench on a dirt clearing looking across a steep forested canyon. — The bench at Valley View.

A deep, steep forested canyon opening to a hazy coastal plain under a pale sky. — The canyon opening toward the coast.

A creek bed of white cobbles and fallen leaves runs under a footbridge in a sunny redwood grove. — The creek bed, white cobbles and fallen leaves.

A woman in a blue jacket stands on concrete stepping stones in a rocky creek, the footbridge behind her. — Crossing on the stepping stones.

A man in a gray T-shirt and daypack stands on stepping stones in a creek among tall thin trees. — Taking turns on the same stones.

At an overlook we had a picnic lunch: cheese and cured meat on a tray, a white-clothed table, a wicker hamper beside us and a camera close at hand.

A woman in a dark jacket eats at a white-clothed table with a tray of cheese and cured meat, a camera and a wicker hamper beside her. — Cheese and cured meat, a wicker hamper and a camera close by.

In the afternoon we followed a dirt trail along the cliffs above the sea, down a canyon, through a timber-lined tunnel and out to a rocky blue cove with a natural arch. It was somewhere near Partington Cove, a few miles south of Ventana.

A dirt trail runs along a scrubby cliff above deep blue sea, with the Big Sur coast stretching away in haze. — The trail above the sea, the coast falling away north.

A hiker walks down a dirt path in a canyon toward a gap of sea between steep dark cliffs. — Heading down the canyon toward the water.

Late-afternoon sun sparkling on the sea between two steep, dark cliffs, seen from a trail. — The sun sparkling on the sea between two dark cliffs.

A woman in a sun hat and blue jacket stands in a timber-framed tunnel with a bright opening ahead. — The timber-lined tunnel, a bright opening ahead.

A rocky cove of deep blue water with a natural arch at the foot of a steep golden cliff. — The cove and its natural arch on the far side.

A woman in a dark jacket stands on a rock ledge over a blue cove, another hiker in the distance. — On the rocks above the water, another hiker beyond.

Back at Ventana we watched the sun go down through the trees, the last red light lingering over the sea. Dinner was again at the Sur House, its dark wood beside a dark pool and a fire burning in the dining room, and we sat on the terrace under the string lights as it grew dark.

The sun sinks into a band of cloud over the sea, dark trees in front. — The sun sinking into a band of cloud.

A woman in a yellow puffer jacket and white knit hat stands with her eyes closed in front of dark trees and a pale sky. — Eyes closed in the last light.

A wooden sign reading The Sur House on a shingled wall above a dark reflecting pool. — The Sur House sign above its dark pool.

A stone fireplace blazes in a dark wooden dining room. — The dining room fireplace, blazing.

An outdoor bar under umbrellas with a screen of tiny lights, a masked server and green hills behind. — The terrace bar and its screen of tiny lights at dusk.

A woman in a yellow jacket and white hat sits at a terrace table, a face mask pulled below her chin. — Waiting at the table, mask pulled down.

A man in a dark jacket sits at a table on a terrace under string lights, umbrellas and the hills behind. — At the table under the string lights, the hills behind.

Red and orange afterglow along a dark horizon behind the silhouette of an oak. — Red afterglow behind the oak.

The practical bits Morning hike at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, a couple of miles up Highway 1 from Ventana. Picnic lunch at an overlook. Dinner again on the Sur House terrace.

Day 3Friday, November 13

Home by way of Point Lobos

1Ventana Big Sur 2Point Lobos

A last quiet morning: sun on the fire bowl and pergola, then breakfast at a table in the sun, a fried egg with chile drizzle over roasted vegetables and edamame, and an arugula salad. We took the express checkout on Friday the 13th and started up the coast.

A gas fire bowl and pergola on a patio in low morning sun, a patio heater and the blue sea beyond. — The fire bowl and pergola in low morning sun.

A white plate of a fried egg with chile drizzle over roasted vegetables and edamame on a sunny wooden table. — Breakfast in the sun, chile drizzle on the egg.

A white plate of arugula salad on a wooden table beside a teapot, a person in a blue jacket behind. — An arugula salad beside the teapot.

Point Lobos was our stop on the way, an hour on its rocks and paths. First came the tide flats, sandstone shelves and pools under a grey sky. Then, as the clouds lifted, the cliff path around the coves: a pine framing a blue cove, turquoise water in China Cove with harbor seals resting on its little beach, the white rocks of the bird colony beyond, and a long white beach curving away below the cliffs.

A rocky shore of sandstone shelves and tide pools under a grey sky. — Sandstone shelves and tide pools under a grey sky.

A calm tide channel between dark rocks with sea stacks in the distance. — A calm channel between dark rocks.

A layered sandstone headland with a blue tide pool and the sea beyond under scattered clouds. — A sandstone headland and a blue tide pool as the sky begins to clear.

A woman in a black jacket stands on rocks with the coast behind her under mottled clouds. — On the rocks, the coast behind.

A woman in a sun hat looks at her phone on a coastal path, a cove and cliffs behind. — The cliff path, a cove behind.

A cypress frames a blue cove with sunlit sandstone rocks. — A cypress framing a blue cove.

A cove of bright turquoise water beside a white sand beach, seen through pine needles. — China Cove, the water an impossible green.

Rocks whitened by seabirds rising out of blue water beyond a pine. — The white rocks of the bird colony.

Clear green-blue water in a cove below a pine, with rocks beyond in the blue sea. — Clear green-blue water below the pines.

Harbor seals rest on a small white beach beside turquoise water. — Harbor seals on China Cove's little beach.

A long white-sand beach curves into a blue cove below forested cliffs. — A long white beach curving into the cove.

Then we drove home.

A woman in a sun hat, sunglasses and a face mask stands on a dry headland with the sea behind. — Sun hat, sunglasses and mask on the headland.

The practical bits Express checkout at Ventana; Point Lobos on the way home, about an hour.