[1] The 19.5 miles (31.4 km) trail traverses the Ventana Wilderness from the Big Sur Station near sea level to China Camp on Tassajara Road at 5,000 feet (1,500 m).
Built in 1916 by the Post family of Big Sur, the Pine Ridge Trail offers hikers and equestrians an array of backcountry camps to enjoy.
The western portion was initially closed in July 2017 due to damage from the Soberanes Fire and subsequent rains, which caused multiple landslides, wiping out the path, and left more than 100 trees blocking the trail.
[4] It crosses the Ventana Wilderness east to west from 4,260 foot (1,300 m) China Camp on Tassajara Road and Chews Ridge to Big Sur Ranger Station at about 300 feet (91 m).
As of August 2018[update], the western trail is blocked by multiple washouts along creeks and dozens of fallen trees across the path.
Because the area is a federal wilderness and includes a wild and scenic river corridor, reconstruction may require specialized professional trail-building crews with skill in blasting and possibly even new bridges to be built.
They also stated that the rudimentary hot springs enclosures built at Sykes Camp had been destroyed by floods, and that the Forest Service would not allow them to be rebuilt.
[10] Construction of the 27 miles (43 km) trail from China Camp was begun in late April, 1916, soon after the land was added to the Monterey National Forest.
Tassajara Hot Springs was accessible from the eastern end of the trail, which terminated near the Pfeiffer Hotel in Big Sur.
[12] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Federal government of the United States.