Located on the Big Sur coastline of Central California, Brazil Ranch is a picturesque, postcard worthy, location. Grazing cattle roaming brilliant green fields butt up against ocean cliffs, high bluffs and mountain peaks dominate the skyline, and all the while the raw power of the Pacific batters against the coastal cliffs.
This is a beautiful setting, and while in many places you can’t just hike through a cattle ranch, you can here! There is one trail in particular that is known as THE Brazil Ranch Trail, and while it is only at most 5 miles long, it punches well above its weight!
Miles/Elevation:
5 miles
1,250 feet vertical gain
About Los Padres National Forest:
Covering nearly 2 million acres across southern and central California, Los Padres National Forest is one of the largest in California. Notable for its land throughout Big Sur, this forest goes far beyond just one region. You’ll find Los Padres land from Monterey to Santa Barbara and miles inland.
Los Padres has a huge variety of environments to enjoy. You’ll find coastal beaches, chaparral, desert and drylands, sub-alpine forests, and more. Among all of those beautiful environments, recreational opportunities are extensive: camping, hiking, backpacking, picnicking, OHVing, equestrian riding, fishing, rock climbing, and more!
Getting To The Trailhead:
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Brazil Ranch is located on Highway 1 in Big Sur on the Central Coast of California. There is not a robust public transit option in Big Sur, so you will most likely need to drive yourself.
The trail is about 15 miles south of Carmel and Monterey, about a 25 minute drive. From San Francisco, the trail is about a 2 and a half hour drive. While it is doable as a day trip from the Bay Area, it does require quite a bit of driving each way!
Parking at the trailhead comes in the form of gravel pullouts on the west side of the highway. The trailhead leaves from the east side of highway 1, requiring you to cross the road.
On Google Maps, the trailhead can be found as the Brazil Ranch Hiking Area.
The Brazil Ranch Trail:
The Coast Road:
From the parking areas along highway 1, find the paved road heading uphill on the east side of the highway. There are actually 2 entrances to this road, but it doesn’t matter which one you use. They will both get you to the same place!
Once you’re past the gates, begin hiking up the road. The first quarter or half mile of this hike is on a paved road. I don’t love hiking on roads, and it isn’t ideal, but at least it makes for quick progress!
You do have a choice however on how far you wish to follow the road. Pretty quickly, there is a narrow singletrack trail that heads into the shrubs and up the hill. I actually missed it when we hiked this, but that is technically the route. You can also follow the road up the hill and around a bend, and you will end up in the same place. I would recommend the road just because it’s not as steep, and it’s not overgrown. It adds a little bit of length, but it’s really not much.
Back on the road, the incline is unrelenting and is not an easy start to the day! This does mean that very quickly your views over the ocean really open up, but you’ll have to earn those views!
Eventually, the road hits a switchback, and on the inside edge of the switchback an overgrown single track trail heads up the ridgeline. This is what you want, so head off road and continue the climb!
The Climb:
Once on trail, the incline is pretty severe and the path is overgrown. You won’t be in overgrown stuff for too long, so push through the first few minutes and it will clear up.
The trail is an unrelenting, brutal, push straight up the ridge. For just under a mile, you will be fighting your way up, on less than ideal trails. The path here isn’t terrible, it’s not super overgrown or washed out, but it’s not exactly nicely maintained. If it was flat it wouldn’t be bad, but the incline makes everything tough!
The positive aspect of a steep climb is the rapid development of nice views, and this section of trail is no exception to that. Looking behind you, the trail rapidly falls off and the Pacific makes up most of the panorama. You’ll have this view and more for the entirety of the hike!
Always follow basic trail etiquette when on trail!
After just under a mile and 800 feet or so of climbing, you will finally crest the top of the most brutal bit of climbing. The ascending isn’t done just yet, but the worst of it is over!
Cresting the final hill after passing through a cattle gate, you will immediately notice a change in the foliage around you. Gone is the rough, dense, chaparral. Now, you will be walking through open grassy fields seemingly miles above the waters of the Pacific far below!
The Upper Trail:
This upper portion of the Brazil Ranch Trail is a sight to behold, and was absolutely awesome terrain to hike through. The views are absolutely astounding in every direction. The blue waters of the Pacific Ocean stretch to the horizon on the right. Both ahead of you and behind you the rough hills and bluffs of Big Sur butt against the ocean, and looking inland are some extremely picturesque coastal mountains!
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The actual hiking is pretty good too. While I normally prefer a well defined and well worn single track trail, the loosely defined use trail through the grasses up here was pretty cool too, and perfectly fitting for the place we were in. Walking through windswept meadows on top of the world was pretty cool!
Through these meadows, the trail undulates over minor ups and downs but does follow a general upward trend. The final goal of this hike is Cerro Hill at the far end of the ranch. But, there are a few ways to get there.
The most direct route is to just go up and over each hill as you follow the most direct path. This is what the Alltrails map shows, and has the added benefit of continuous ocean views throughout. You can also follow some other trails on the inland slope of the hills. This is what we did (accidentally to be honest) and while it was fine, I would try and stay within view of the ocean in the future!
An easy nearby hike is the Creamery Meadows Trail at Andrew Molera State Park!
After about a mile of walking through hilltop open meadows we reached the top of the hill! What we didn’t quite appreciate was the velocity of the wind! While we were hiking the wind was at our backs, but as soon as we stopped it took a vicious turn.
We had planned on sitting down, enjoying the view, and having a little snack, but the moment we stopped the reality of the wind hit us like a brick! We could hardly stand up, and enjoying a snack was out of the question! With the prospects of miles of trying to sit through this wind sounding unappealing, we set off, hiking right into this gale!
Hiking Out:
For more awesome coastal hikes, check out our list of the best hikes in Big Sur!
The mile back across the meadows on the hilltops was pretty brutal. I could barely even use my hiking poles because the wind was blowing them backwards into my legs! Standing up wasn’t a given, and walking was a struggle!
We eventually did make it back to the ridge and steep descent that would lead us back down to the road. Once we were back on the descent, the wind definitely let up as we reached lower and lower elevations, but it was definitely a stiff breeze the whole way down. For some reason, the descent felt much much quicker and shorter than the climb, which was at least nice!
Anyway, after a couple quick miles, we were back on the road heading downhill back to the trailhead. While we thought we were just about done, there was one more exciting moment on this hike!
A quarter mile or less from the trailhead, Loralei spotted a big snake laying out across the road. I didn’t even notice it until she let out a yip and we were just a few feet away, but right in front of us, just a few feet away, was a hefty 4ish foot snake!
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While we were caught off guard and a bit nervous at first, the snake didn’t even flinch and we quickly realized it wasn’t a rattlesnake, so it probably wasn’t venomous. It was just hanging out soaking up some sun on the pavement, and wanted to be left alone! Looking at the pictures later, we are pretty sure it was a gopher snake, but that was a surprise to be sure!
After that last bout of excitement, everything calmed down and we made it back to the trailhead and finished the Brazil Ranch Trail!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 10/10
This isn’t the best hike I’ve ever done but I do think it is the best 4 mile hike I have ever done. The views are fantastic from start to finish, you reach a summit which is always nice, and the trail quality isn’t bad enough to ruin the experience (though it isn’t the best). When you compare a 4 mile trail compared to a similar 10 mile trail the longer one will usually have more views and more exciting moments.
But as I have said before, you should compare like to like, and compared to other 4 mile or 5 mile hikes, this is as good as it gets. If you could only do one hike in Big Sur on a day driving through, this might be the one to go with!
Pros:
- Great views
- Lightly trafficked
Cons:
- Very steep ascent
- A little bit of road walking
Alternative Hikes:
The Boranda Trail to Timber Top
South Shore and Cypress Grove Trails
When To Hike Brazil Ranch:
One of the best hikes in Big Sur is a loop in Andrew Molera State Park!
Big Sur is definitely a 4 season destination. Spring is a fantastic time to visit, and the weather should be pleasant and mostly dry. Spring is also the best time to see wildflowers in all their glory!
Summer brings the warmest temperature of the year (still comfortable), and morning fog that usually burns off by afternoon. Fall is generally the clearest weather, and winter brings the most precipitation, though it’s still a nice place to visit!
Honestly, I’ve been to this area every time of year, and Big Sur is always awesome. If you have the chance to go, you definitely should no matter what time of year!
Links For Further Reading:
Los Padres National Forest – Home
Brazil Ranch hike – May 2018 | Buncha Monkeys
Big Sur: National Forest Administration Site and Brazil Ranch — Steemit
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