Big Creek State Marine Reserve and Big Creek State Marine Conservation Area, Marine reserves in Big Sur, United States.

Big Creek State Marine Reserve and Big Creek State Marine Conservation Area are protected zones off California's central coast where steep underwater canyons and dense kelp forests shape the marine habitat. The Reserve prohibits all fishing, while the adjoining Conservation Area allows limited commercial and recreational fishing of specific species.

Big Creek State Marine Reserve was established in 1994, and the adjoining Big Creek State Marine Conservation Area followed in September 2007, both created by the California Fish & Game Commission. They were among 29 marine protected areas adopted in the first phase of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative, a collaborative public process to build a statewide network of protected areas along the California coast.

The reserve and conservation area lie beside Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, where a trail leads to an overlook above McWay Falls, an 80-foot (24 m) waterfall dropping into the cove. Kayaking, diving, snorkeling and swimming are allowed in the protected waters unless otherwise restricted, so the marine areas are used for recreation and education as well as protection.

The best visits happen from the shore, where overlooks and coastal trails offer views across the protected area. Visitors should know that direct water access is difficult, but views from above reveal the richness of this marine landscape.

The reserve is one of the sites scientists use to test whether California's marine protected areas work. Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station, UC Santa Cruz, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo survey the water here by hook-and-line sampling, intertidal and scuba diver surveys, and remote-operated vehicle submarines.