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Partington Cove sits at the northern boundary of Julia Pfeiffer Burns
State Park in Big Sur, California. This picturesque little cove is home to sea
otters and seals, very clear waters and a kelp forest.
It is located 27 miles south of Carmel on Highway 1. There are wide parking
pullouts on both sides of the highway by Parkington bridge. The pullouts are
1.9 miles north of the signed Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park entrance.
A quarter-mile long trail drops down to Partington Creek and over to the deep
blue waters of the cove. It is a fine trail down to the beach, but steep. From an
iron gate, follow the dirt road that drops down into the canyon cut by Partington
Creek, then cross the creek on a wooden footbridge and pass through a
hundred-foot-long tunnel that was blasted through the rocky cliffs. Mules used
to haul wagons of tanbark through here.
At Partington Cove are the remains of a dock. On the point is an old hoist
stanchion, used for loading cargo, lumber, redwood, lime and tanning bark. The
iron eyes for tying up the ships and the boom are still in place.
State Park in Big Sur, California. This picturesque little cove is home to sea
otters and seals, very clear waters and a kelp forest.
It is located 27 miles south of Carmel on Highway 1. There are wide parking
pullouts on both sides of the highway by Parkington bridge. The pullouts are
1.9 miles north of the signed Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park entrance.
A quarter-mile long trail drops down to Partington Creek and over to the deep
blue waters of the cove. It is a fine trail down to the beach, but steep. From an
iron gate, follow the dirt road that drops down into the canyon cut by Partington
Creek, then cross the creek on a wooden footbridge and pass through a
hundred-foot-long tunnel that was blasted through the rocky cliffs. Mules used
to haul wagons of tanbark through here.
At Partington Cove are the remains of a dock. On the point is an old hoist
stanchion, used for loading cargo, lumber, redwood, lime and tanning bark. The
iron eyes for tying up the ships and the boom are still in place.
During the 1880s, homesteader John Partington operated a landing here. Partington cut 50 feet through the sheer
rock cliff to make a six-foot high, eight-foot wide beam-supported tunnel to the cove. Woodsmen stripped the
tanbark oak, a kind of cross between an oak and a chestnut. Before synthetic chemicals were invented to tan leather,
gathering and shipping of the bark was a considerable industry along the Big Sur coast.. The not-so-placid waters of
the cove stir the seaweed about as if in a soup, and you wonder how boats moored here actually managed to load
their cargo of bark and lumber.
rock cliff to make a six-foot high, eight-foot wide beam-supported tunnel to the cove. Woodsmen stripped the
tanbark oak, a kind of cross between an oak and a chestnut. Before synthetic chemicals were invented to tan leather,
gathering and shipping of the bark was a considerable industry along the Big Sur coast.. The not-so-placid waters of
the cove stir the seaweed about as if in a soup, and you wonder how boats moored here actually managed to load
their cargo of bark and lumber.
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| The blowhole at Partington Cove. Located at the creek mouth. |
On the east side of the highway is the Tanbark Trail, where you can explore the redwood grove that flourishes along
the creek. The trail ambles to the Babcock grove, then over a wooden bridge to the McLaughlin Grove. Continue for
several hours if you want to go to the Tin House, and return on the fire road back to the highway.
Partington Cove is 95 miles from the city of San Luis Obispo.
the creek. The trail ambles to the Babcock grove, then over a wooden bridge to the McLaughlin Grove. Continue for
several hours if you want to go to the Tin House, and return on the fire road back to the highway.
Partington Cove is 95 miles from the city of San Luis Obispo.
Big Sur's ancient tan oaks are now struggling against a horrible, invasive disease. Sudden Oak Death.
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