It is a lot easier to reach Santa Cruz these days. Businesses are ready to welcome visitors after a dry spell of tourism due to landslides and the collapse of a bridge that serves as a main artery to the region.
The Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge was condemned after a February 21 landslide took out a support column and led to its collapse.
The Mudd Creek landslide to the south added further problems, further cutting off the region. That section of the highway remains closed.
Now that the bridge is open once again, travel to Big Sur is a much easier endeavor.
Before the bridge reopened Kirk Gafill, the owner and general manager of Nepenthe restaurant and head of the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce noted a pent-up demand for travel to the area.
"We expect there's going to be a celebratory aspect to the weekend," he said to the Mercury News last week.
"We're not quite sure entirely what that's going to mean (for business), but with this weather and just the number of people who are looking to be able to drive back and forth across the bridge as they please and the pent-up demand, I imagine at least for the first few days we're going to be at more or less capacity."
While business has been tough in Big Sur, some have come up with creative ways to stay open and get visitors to their establishments.
The Post Ranch Inn, an exclusive retreat, embraced isolation and offered guests helicopter transfers from nearby Monterey, California so that they could still reach the resort.
A free shuttle also operated between Andrew Molera State Park and Big Sur. From there, guests could bike the highway between Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, completely without traffic.
With the bridge reopened and fall travel deals in full swing, maybe now is a good time to visit Big Sur.
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