Big Sur
A rugged stretch of California's Central Coast between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise straight out of the Pacific. Highway 1 clings to the cliffs above the sea, past redwood canyons, beaches and the arch of Bixby Bridge.
- Where
- California, United States
- Grade
- Well known
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site, plus 1 for its grade
- Coordinates
- 36.1075, -121.6258
Get the Big Sur stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Big Sur. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your California volume with your photos and a note.
Near Big Sur
17-Mile Drive 61 km
A scenic road around the Monterey Peninsula through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove, much of it right above the Pacific. It passes famous golf courses, grand houses, Bird Rock and the Lone Cypress, and runs through the Monterey cypress woods of Del Monte Forest.
Monterey Bay Aquarium 62 km
An aquarium on Cannery Row devoted to the life of the bay outside its windows. It was the first to show a living kelp forest when it opened in 1984, and its jellyfish galleries and sea otters are what most people come to see.
Apple Park 141 km
The headquarters of Apple in Cupertino, a single ring shaped building around a wooded park, which staff began moving into in 2017. The campus itself is closed to the public, but its visitor centre across the road has a rooftop terrace and a model of the whole site.
Computer History Museum 151 km
A museum in Mountain View, in the heart of Silicon Valley, telling the story of computing and the information age. Its collection of machines and artefacts traces how the region's inventions changed the way the world works and lives.
Gurdwara Sahib Fremont 167 km
A Sikh house of worship in Fremont that serves the whole San Francisco Bay Area, from Marin and Solano to Santa Clara. It counts among the most influential gurdwaras anywhere, and runs summer Gurmat camps for young Sikhs alongside its daily prayers and langar.
Painted Ladies 199 km
A row of Victorian houses facing Alamo Square, painted in three or more colours to pick out their carved trim. The name for San Francisco's brightly repainted Victorians dates from 1978, and this row, with the downtown skyline behind it, is the one on the postcards.
Golden Gate Park 200 km
San Francisco's largest park, 412 hectares stretching west to the Pacific between the Richmond and Sunset districts. Among its meadows and old growth woods sit the Japanese Tea Garden, the Conservatory of Flowers and the de Young museum.
Lombard Street 201 km
One steep block of a long San Francisco street, on Russian Hill, that twists through eight hairpin bends between flowerbeds. Billed as the crookedest street in the world, it draws a steady stream of cars inching down and people photographing them from the bottom.
More famous places to visit in California
Questions
Where is Big Sur?
Big Sur is in California, United States. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are 17-Mile Drive (61 km), Monterey Bay Aquarium (62 km), Apple Park (141 km).
How do I get the Big Sur stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Big Sur and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your California volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to Big Sur before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your California volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.