Big Sur Station / Ventana Wilderness Trailhead

The Pine Ridge Trailhead at Big Sur Station is the most popular entry point into the Ventana Wilderness, a federally designated wilderness area within Los Padres National Forest that has grown through successive acts of Congress to 375 square miles. The terrain inside is serious — steep-sided ridges, V-shaped canyons, chaparral, and coastal redwood stands along fast-moving rivers. The Esselen lived here as early as 3500 BC. The wilderness named for a Spanish word meaning "window" still demands that kind of respect.