CBS News lingers on a quiet morning at Big Sur shoreline

CBS News ended a Sunday Morning nature segment at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park in Big Sur with a shoreline view credited to videographer Lance Milbrand, paired with the invitation, "DO NOTHING FOR TWO MINUTES." The sign-off placed viewers on the Pacific at one of California’s most photographed public overlooks, where Big Sur’s beauty is inseparable from the pressures on the coast.

California State Parks says the park’s Buzzard’s Roost loop is a 3-mile round-trip hike with about 750 feet of elevation gain, climbing through redwoods to an exposed ridge with views of the ocean, Sycamore Canyon and the Santa Lucia Mountains. The same agency said in March 2024 that several trails east of Highway 1, including the Canyon area, remained closed because of Dolan Fire damage and debris flows from heavy rains, with repair and assessment ongoing.

That mix of access and damage gives the quiet footage a sharper edge. Big Sur has also been absorbing more visitor pressure since Highway 1 reopened in January, with business booming and some saying the pace is now too much. In a landscape that draws people for its cliffs, coves and pullouts, the challenge is not only keeping the coast scenic, but keeping it from being loved into exhaustion.

Milbrand’s name has become part of that visual language. Milbrand Cinema describes him as a producer, director, scriptwriter, cameraman, editor and motion picture storyteller, and says the company makes nature movies for museums. It also says his 6K camera system supports giant screen projects. A May 2014 Milbrand Cinema post said he continued a long tradition of selling "Moment In Nature" end-segments to CBS Sunday Morning, a format the network has used at San Simeon, in Yosemite, among the redwoods in Los Gatos, around California condors and near Santa Cruz cormorants.

The broader stewardship question runs beyond one postcard shot. California’s state parks funding system has long depended on grants and capital programs, and Parks California opened 2027 Route to Parks grant applications in June 2026 with about $1.1 million aimed at improving transportation and access to state parks. On the central coast, keeping a place like Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park open means paying for trail repair, fire recovery and visitor management as much as preserving the view.