McWay Creek drains a watershed of approximately 1,730 acres (700 ha) and flows southwest for 2.5 miles (4 km) through Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and McWay Canyon on the Big Sur coast, about 30 miles (48 km) south-southeast of Carmel and 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Lucia, California. At the coast, the creek flows over McWay Falls, cascading 80 feet (24 m) over a sea cliff directly into the Pacific. The creek is named after Christopher and Rachel McWay, pioneers from New York who homesteaded the canyon in the late 1870s and grazed cattle on the Saddle Rock Ranch. The cove is known by several names, including Saddle Rock Cove, McWay Cove, and Waterfall Cove. Most of McWay Canyon is underlain by a quartz diorite pluton of the Salinian terrane, located west of the main trace of the San Andreas Fault system, with exposures from Bodega Head in the north to Mount Pinos in the south. Quartz diorite is an igneous intrusive rock composed of feldspar and 5 to 20 percent quartz. The headwaters of the creek and the surrounding bedrock of the cove are comprised of metamorphosed sedimentary rocks, specifically biotite schist and gneiss. These rocks formed during the Mesozoic Era under high pressure and temperature conditions related to the pluton’s formation. Schist is a metamorphic rock composed of mineral grains easily observed with a low-power hand lens. These grains are oriented so that the rock can be split into thin flakes or plates. This texture reflects a high content of platey minerals such as micas, talc, chlorite, or graphite. Gneiss, another common type of metamorphic rock, forms at higher temperatures and pressures than schist. It almost always exhibits a banded texture characterized by alternating dark and light colors. In 1983, Big Sur experienced one of its wettest years on record, resulting in several landslides and mudflows. A particularly large mudslide occurred immediately north of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. This mudflow entered the ocean just north of the cove at the mouth of McWay Creek, closing the highway for a year for repairs. The landslide and subsequent road work deposited nearly 81 million cubic feet of material at the base of the sea cliff. Wave action then transported some of the debris south, forming a sandy beach beneath the falls.

The archaeological record indicates that humans have inhabited the central California coast for about 8,000 years. The Esselen people appeared around 5,500 years ago. Linguistic evidence suggests they may have originated much farther north in the San Francisco Bay area before being displaced by the Ohlone people. The Esselen were the first known residents of the Big Sur coast, with territory extending from Point Sur in the north to Big Creek in the south, and inland to the upper tributaries of the Carmel River and Arroyo Seco watersheds. The Spanish explored the central coast from 1602 but likely did not encounter the Esselen until the Portola Expedition in 1769. Between 1770 and 1800, nearly all Esselen moved to the Mission San Carlos Borromeo in Carmel, and their numbers rapidly declined. Many of the surviving Esselen married Ohlones, who also lived at Mission San Carlos. Between 1834 and 1846, their traditional lands were taken over by Mexican ranchos. Rancho El Sur was a Mexican land grant of 8,949 acres (3,622 ha) given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Juan Bautista Alvarado that extended from the mouth of Little Sur River inland about 2.5 miles and south to Cooper Point. In 1869, following the Mexican-American War, Michael Pfeiffer and his family arrived in Monterey on the steamer Sierra Nevada, and traveled south for four days to Sycamore Canyon, about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of McWay Creek. In 1883 and 1889, he filed patents for land claims under the Homestead Act of 1862. His daughter Julia and her husband John H. Burns had a ranch at Burns Creek, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southeast of McWay Creek, and leased pasture from the McWays at Saddle Rock Ranch. In 1924, the wealthy US Congressman Lathrop Brown and his wife Hélène Hooper Brown bought the 1600 acres (650 ha) Saddle Rock Ranch from McWay and built a rough redwood cabin on a site at the top of the cliffs opposite McWay Falls. In 1940, they replaced the cabin with a modern two-story home named Waterfall House. When Lathrop died in 1959, the entire property was donated to the state, stipulating that it be used as a park and named for Julia Pfeiffer Burns. An overlook of McWay Falls was later built on the site of the former home.

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is adjacent to an Area of Special Biological Significance that extends for 3.7 miles (6 km) along the coast, from Partington Creek in the north to Anderson Creek in the south. It encompasses 1,743 acres (705 hectares) of marine waters. Since 1974, California’s State Water Resources Control Board has designated 34 coastal and offshore sites as Areas of Special Biological Significance. This designation prohibits the discharge of waste, including pollutants contained in stormwater runoff. Four sites are located off the Monterey coast: Pacific Grove Marine Gardens, Carmel Bay, Point Lobos Ecological Reserve, Julia Pfeiffer Burns Underwater Park, and Salmon Creek Coast. Most watershed runoff into coastal waters originates from rural and wilderness areas; however, there are many road drainage discharges from Highway 1, which parallels the coastline several hundred feet above the waterline. Big Creek State Marine Reserve and Big Creek State Marine Conservation Area are adjoining marine protected areas off Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Like underwater parks, these areas conserve ocean wildlife and ecosystems. Together, they cover 14,368 acres (5,815 hectares). The State Marine Reserve prohibits fishing and the gathering of any marine life within its boundaries. In contrast, the State Marine Conservation Area allows specific activities: commercial and recreational fishing of salmon and albacore, as well as the commercial catching of spot prawn. Both areas aim to protect marine biodiversity while allowing limited, sustainable use in the Conservation Area. These measures ensure the preservation of marine habitats and species for future generations. Read more here and here. Explore more of McWay Creek and Julia Pfeiffer Burn State Park here: