The Best Engagement Photo Locations in Big Sur
The Best Engagement Photo Locations + Tips in Big Sur, CA
UPDATED JAN 2024
Big Sur is a hearty stretch of coast that feels pre-historic, it’s rough and rugged coats line filled with crashing waves, rich hues of icy blues perfectly co-existing with the magnetic pull of the mountains. The perfect place to capture your engagement photos (or couple session) while fueling your hearts desire for adventure. Go ahead and drive down the scenic 1 coast (although beware the fog!), and stop every chance you get because the view points are just THAT good. I can easily spend weeks at a time here (and I most definitely have lol!)
Best way to approach Engagement Photos in Big Sur:
Make a day of it! Seriously! There are so many epic spots that it will just work best if you start either North and work your way down South, or vice versa! Stop as many times as you need (stop at the Big Sur bakery to re-fuel) or pack a picnic and coffee and enjoy the ride. I call these types of engagement sessions ADVENTURE sessions!
Embracing the Weather
Truth is the weather changes pretty much constantly here, one moment it’s sunny, then the wind picks up, fog rolls in, rain falls, and then the sun peaks out again, on and on the cycle goes. SO, I highly recommend to just embrace the elements they actually enhance the images by adding energy, movement, and emotion!
What To Wear
Bring different layers and options in the car to pull and choose from, you can change as many times as you want this works great since you’ll be changing locations often and it will add a lot of variety to your images!
Bring shoes with good treading if you plan on scaling down to some of the beaches because the rocks become super slippery and dangerous. Some areas like Jade Cove you even have to rappel down (although it’s a super small section) it’s still important to bring shoes you can work with.
Pro Tip: Consider a flowy long dress to wear on the coast they make for some amazing images because the wind really brings the dress to life.
Big Sur Engagement Photo Locations
Limekiln State Park
Limekiln State Park
Limekiln is located closer to the south, there is a campground, and about a $10 day use fee, it has access to a stretch of ocean, it’s a super lush and accessible location, you don’t have to go too far to be engulfed by the trees! Plus if you’re feeling extra up for the adventure there are waterfalls on this trail which would make for amazing engagement photos as well, just bring water resistant shoes (or pack your outfits in a backpack and change once you are at the base of the waterfall). Due to recent fires and flooding, it is closed until further notice. However, I do have a secret backup location for those interested in “forest photos”!
McWay Falls Big Sur
McWay Falls
If you’ve never visited Big Sur I’m sure you have at least seen photos of this iconic location, right? Well, as it turns out, you can’t actually access the beach it’s completely illegal, harmful, and dangerous. However it is still a-must-stop location for a few photos! The falls are located sort of centrally in the area.
Pro Tip:
The main take away for this location is that in order to get a shot were there are no tourist while still getting the McWay Falls in the frame is that you’ll want to walk a little bit north towards the hill and you’ll see a bit of off road parking, now this is where you want to get those shots as opposed to going through the main trail which is super limited and shows the fence.
Jade Cove
Jade Cove
Jade cove is located on the southern end!
Pull off highway 1 and there is parking all along the road, you’ll see a large stretch of land with pampas grass overlooking the coast with marked trails this area makes for killer coastal shots.
Then you can make your way down to the rocky beach there is a bit of scrambling and rappelling to get down but easily doable, there is an awesome mini arch that you can climb for a beautiful shot, although if the waves are too high I wouldn’t suggest trying it because the waves will knock you down so of course be mindful and cautious.
Kirk Creek and Hidden Road
Kirk Creek and Nacimiento “Hidden” Road
Located on the southern end.
So I discovered this place one winter when I actually camped at Kirk Creek for 1 week straight so you can say I got to know this area really well! So from the camp ground you can get some awesome overlooking shots of coastal views, then you can make your way down a little trail to the rocky beach, once down at the rocky beach there are some amazing large rock formations which would make epic engagement photos and you can pretty much explore this stretch and get beautiful shots.
For the “hidden road” which is is called Nacimiento Road and located across the street from Kirk Creek- this is a great place to drive and stop all along the way , you get foggy views, curvy roads, and pockets of super coastal trees. We didn’t follow it all the way through but it leads to some campgrounds.
Partington Cove Trail
Partington Cove Trail
Located centrally.
This a great short hike down that leads to a variety of scenes. I enjoy that you get some overlooking coastal shots, drawbridge in the forest vibes, and ultimatley leads you to some rocky cliff formations.
Pfeiffer Beach
Pfeiffer Beach
Is located more central/north.
There’s a short but narrowing road that leads you to the bottom where there is paid parking. Depending on the season parking can be packed especially in the summer. This is one of my favorites because it has a large beach area with some mountains in the back, famous for it’s “purple sand”, and more notably the star of the show is the iconic key hole rock formation on the beach.
There are still a ton of locations to explore in Big Sur! Like I mentioned it’s best to just choose a starting point and then head south or north and stop along the way, I will list a few more locations to check out.
Garrapata State Park and Beach - are also hands down one of my favorites!! It’s great because it’s northernly located which is ideal if you’re coming in from Carmel.
Calla Lily Valley - is located on the northern side, and is a wonderful location when the Calla Lily flowers are in bloom, also has beach access.
Sand Dollar Beach (Southern end)
Bixby Bridge - the iconic bridge, this is also one of those spots were it’s super popular, but always fun to stop and grab a few shots. You can shoot either from the parking lot or from across the street.
Andrew Molera State Park - located north/central, has a few hiking bluff trails that lead to a sweeping coast.
Carmel Beach - not “Big Sur” but a great location if you’re staying in the town.
That’s a wrap! Wooo!
Hopefully you’re now getting excited to explore and shoot around Big Sur!
Hey- It’s Nelly!
Your Photographer & Guide
Ready to adventure in Big Sur? Awesome! Reach out and let’s chat.