Our Boundless Love for Big Sur May Be Killing It
Some 90 percent of the economy in this coastal California region relies on visitors. But overtourism, the high cost of living and most worrisome, the effects of global warming, create a future of uncertainty.
Like many other top travel destinations worldwide, the California community of Big Sur faces the challenge of maintaining tourism while also limiting the impact visitors have on the environment. Credit... Drew Kelly for The New York Times
The 70 miles of California coastline that makes up the unincorporated area of Big Sur has a storied, almost mystical allure, largely thanks to its staggering beauty. With redwood forests, stunning Pacific views, winding rivers and natural hot springs, the area has for decades attracted celebrities, artists and millions of visitors. So many visitors in fact, that these days, Kirk Gafill, the president of the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce, estimates that 90 percent of the local economy is tourism-dependent.
Big Sur’s main thoroughfare is Highway 1, a scenic two-lane road constructed between 1919 and 1937 as part of a statewide initiative to make the California coastline a drivable tourist attraction. In the past two years, the area has been hit by fires, heavy winter storms and landslides that cut off the community for sometimes months at a time. In March, one chunk of the road crumbled into the sea, restricting car travel to residents only for two months. Another debilitating landslide, in February, continues to cut off the southern portion of the coast: Last month, work in the area to remove debris from the road was paused indefinitely. According to the California Department of Transportation (known as Caltrans), that portion of the roadway won’t reopen until 2025, at the earliest.
