.Big Sur is used to landslides, but having two back to back which closed the highway for there years was new to us. It was difficult for the businesses to stay afloat at first, but they managed. Residents had to adapt as well, but Big Syrians are adept at that. Now that the highway is open for the summer, they are well on the way to making up for the lost revenue and more, way more, if the figures from January through May are any indication. Big Sur Chamber of Commerce, San Luis Obispo County Chambers, Caltrans and Governor Newsome’s office hosted an “opening” celebration at Ragged Point yesterday, 5/15/26 for the iconic highway that opened in mid January. It was an excellent photo op and free publicity for the road that needs no publicity.

Visit California, the nonprofit organization tasked with promoting California tourism, stated that northbound traffic at Ragged Point is up more than 900% since the highway was reopened, showing a “pent-up demand for travel to this iconic coastal corridor,” according to state officials, like Newsom’s Senior Advisor Dee Dee Myers.

Local businesses in Big Sur are experiencing what businesses describe as an “on switch” effect. Year-to-date guest counts at restaurants and retail locations are up approximately 40%, with peak weekends nearly doubling 2025 levels. Lodging patronage further underscores this momentum, with February and March occupancy rates reaching 80% and 96%, respectively (up from 70% and 85% last year). Forward-looking indicators are equally robust, with hotel revenue pacing 108% ahead of last year over the next 12 months and 200% above 2025 levels for the critical travel season from March through August. (Per a PR issues by Caltrans

“The robust and sustained increase in visitation is allowing our business, employees, and larger community to recover rapidly from the three-year closure,” said Kirk Gafill, owner of Nepenthe restaurant in Big Sur. “We have experienced a 45 percent increase in guest volume following the reopening of Highway 1 in January.”

With Memorial Day, the unofficial start of the summer tourist season around the corner, and due to the craziness that has become Bixby Bridge, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors is taking up the issue of parking at this InstaGram online sensation and is considering a one year moratorium on parking on or near the bridge at the May 19th Board of Supervisors meeting.. Just driving over the bridge to get to town has become a nightmare due to double parking, people stopping in the middle of the road, getting out, locking their car and walking over to get what they think is ai mandatory souvenir — a photo of a man-made artifact of the 1930’s. (Note: this exact scenario happened to this blogger a few years back and others have written saying it happened to them.)

We were pushing back at the issues of the mess at Bixby Bridge at least as far back as Memorial Day 2019.if not before See: shttps://bigsurkate.blog/2019/05/28/tourist-tuesday-bixby-bridge-memorial-day-weekend/

Taken July 4th last year…while the road was still closed further south.

While we are glad to see our visitors returning and sharing the beauty of our coast, we simply ask of our visitors:

And above all harm no one and no thing. Make sure you leave this sacred place at beautiful and natural as you found it so that future generations and feel the magic, too.