Big Sur: Nacimiento-Fergusson
Santa Lucia Range · near Big Sur / Jolon · Central Coast
Gravel & Bikepacking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Best season
- Spring & fall (fog and heat vary; check road status)
What is here
- Terrain
- coastal
- Amenities
- Only road over the Santa Lucias · Redwood summit to Pacific views · Big Sur coast finish · Los Padres NF camping
- Best for
- A spectacular, remote coastal-mountain crossing
- Features
- Cross the wild Santa Lucia Range · Redwoods to ocean panoramas · Remote Big Sur backcountry · Plunging coastal descent
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Very remote, minimal services · Steep, narrow, winding road · Fog on the coast side · Road closures (check status)
- Good for a first timer
- No
Gravel & Bikepacking detail
- Ride types
- adventure · day-gravel
- Surface
- mixed
- Remoteness
- 4
- Riding
- The only road across the Santa Lucia Range to the Big Sur coast — a spectacular, remote climb from oak valleys over a redwood-cloaked summit to a plunging descent above the Pacific
- Terrain note
- Sea level to ~2,800 ft; steep paved-and-rough road; remote, few services
- Camping
- Yes
- Intl tip
- The ONLY road across the rugged Santa Lucia Range to the Big Sur coast — a spectacular, remote crossing from oak valleys over a redwood summit, then a plunging switchback descent to Highway 1 above the Pacific. Steep, narrow, mixed paved-and-rough; minimal services, real backcountry feel. Fog on the coast side, inland heat, periodic closures (check status). Los Padres camping for an overnight. A bucket-list mountain-to-ocean ride, far from crowds.
- Trip lengths
- day
The guide
Nacimiento-Fergusson Road is one of the most spectacular rides on the California coast — the only road that crosses the rugged …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Big Sur: Nacimiento-Fergusson — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 35.95, -121.4