The hook
A 120-foot waterfall a five-minute walk from a highway pullout at the far south end, where almost nobody bothers to stop.
01Why it's worth it
Most Big Sur waterfalls are either hard to reach or roadside-only. Salmon Creek is the easy one that still feels wild: park on a big horseshoe bend, follow the sound a quarter mile up the creek, and you're standing at the base of a 120-foot fall with a pool to cool off in. Because it's down at the very south end, past where most day-trippers turn around, it stays quiet even when the famous stops up the coast are mobbed.
02How to experience it
Park at the horseshoe bend on Highway 1 about three miles north of Ragged Point; it's free and you don't need a pass. Wear long pants, the trail is thick with poison oak, and expect loose dirt and a little scrambling over rocks near the base.