If you have a few hours and are into hiking, you can drive south a few miles south of Point Sur to Andrew Molera State Park. This is a nice park for families. It isn’t as wild and rugged as other Big Sur parks, but it has lots of mountain and ocean views.
When I visited the park in June, the northern Headlands’ trails were closed, but the plank bridge over the Big Sur River had been installed for the summer. (It is removed in October when the river rises.) The one-mile hike along the Creamery Meadow Trail is mostly shady and flat, with many interesting plants and flowers. It ends at the beach.
At low tide you can walk along the beach for two miles. If you want to see views from a higher vantage point, back track a short distance on Creamery Meadow Trail to the intersection with Bluff Trail.
This trail takes you 1.7 miles through a large grassland meadow to Spring Trail and back to the beach. If you want a longer, higher-elevation hike, you can hike the 3.2-mile Ridge Trail.
For more information, visit parks.ca.gov, and click on Andrew Molera State Park. For other hikes, go to www.mnn.net, and then click on Hikes and other explorations.