Point Lobos – The Crown Jewel of the California State Park System
…….3 Miles south of Carmel on Highway 1
Take a tour!
Have you ever visited a new place and after you left, you just had to go back?
You were in fact compelled to go back? And when you did, you were enveloped in a sense of calm and peacefulness? The rain forest in the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica,
Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes and Point Lobos State Natural Reserve are in
this category for me.
Point Lobos is a place of scenic views of the Pacific, crashing waves, varied animal and plant life on 400 acres and 750 underwater acres. Preserved as a state park to protect the grove of Monterey cypress trees (one of only two in the world), it has been called ‘the greatest meeting of land and sea in the world’ by the landscape artist Francis McCombis.
The trails are easy walking for all ages and offer something beautiful at every turn:
sea otters resting in kelp, often with babies on their chests, harbor seals with their soulful eyes, sea lions roaring to each other. You may hear cracking noises as you walk along – the sea otter has dived for a mussel and is cracking it open on its chest with a rock. Gray whales migrate by from December through April. Monarch butterflies winter over in this area as well. Meadows of wildflowers in the Spring – Point Lobos is truly a nature preserve.
The park opens at 8AM – $10 per car. Be there close to opening time for the best parking and fewer visitors.
Spend at least another day and take the time to continue down Highway 1 to Big Sur for 16 more stunning miles of the Pacific. And don’t forget Carmel and San Francisco….
just plan on a longer trip to California!