The best waterfalls in Big Sur

McWay Falls is, in my opinion, the most beautiful spot along Highway 1. It is not a towering, dramatic waterfall, but rather something that feels like a perfectly composed miniature landscape: water flows out of McWay Creek and drops directly into the ocean. Together with the deep blue sea, soft sandy beach, and lush green vegetation, it forms a richly colored, almost painterly scene.

When the tide is high, the waterfall plunges straight into the Pacific Ocean. When the tide is low, it falls onto a hidden, untouched beach below the cliffs. As a rare “tidefall” (a waterfall that flows directly into the sea), this kind of natural feature is extremely uncommon worldwide. It’s easy to imagine how magical it must look at sunset, when golden light hits the cliffs, though I didn’t get to stay that late this time due to travel plans.

This wasn’t my first visit to McWay Falls—I came here six years ago as well. Back then, I had just started learning photography and wasn’t very experienced, and the lighting wasn’t ideal either. I only managed to take a wide, imperfect shot. Still, even now, revisiting that old photo years later, I’m reminded just how beautiful McWay Falls is, even when captured without much skill or planning.