Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, State park along the Pacific Coast Highway, Monterey County, United States

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park is a protected area on the California Pacific coast in Monterey County that covers 12 square kilometers of coastal terrain with redwood forests in shaded canyons, oak woodlands on gentle slopes, and chaparral vegetation on exposed ridges between the ocean and inland elevations. Trails lead to viewpoints above the water, while access to many zones remains restricted to preserve habitats from overuse.

Christopher and Rachel McWay homesteaded Saddle Rock Ranch in the late 1870s. Lathrop and Hélène Brown bought the 1,800-acre cattle ranch in 1924 and built a redwood cabin, replaced in 1940 by the two-story Waterfall House. In 1961 Hélène Hooper Brown donated the entire property to the state, requiring a park named for her friend Julia Pfeiffer Burns; the house was demolished in 1965.

Conservationists and research groups use the area regularly to monitor coastal ecosystems and species populations. Volunteers help maintain trails and protect vulnerable habitats along the California shoreline.

The two environmental campsites near McWay Cove require reservations that often fill six months ahead. The Overlay Trail remains closed due to landslide risk, but the McWay Falls Overlook Trail is open and offers waterfall views from the clifftop, while parking along Highway 1 is limited especially on summer weekends.

McWay Falls drops 24 meters straight into the Pacific and ranks among the few permanent coastal waterfalls in California. Before a landslide in 1983, the water flowed onto the beach, but since then it meets the ocean directly and creates a distinctive spray at high tide.