Point Lobos State Reserve, CA

Point Lobos was probably one of my favorite places to go during our entire stay in Monterey.  Few other places allow you to see and experience so many landscapes in a single location: the beaches, the rocky shores, the pine forests, the rugged, dry cypress terrain.

I spent many afternoons walking the trails and taking pictures while Nate hovered around the textbooks.  During this trip, we Elena and Madeline had come to visit, so the three of us set out for an afternoon of hiking.   We made a full trek around the park, parking in the free parking area along side the road, near the park entrance.  We walked up the main trail and followed the Carmelo Meadow Trail until we reached Whaler's Cove.

 

Whale skeleton on display at Whalers Cabin

We took the Granite Point trail along the cove and stopped by the Whaler's Cabin.  Inside were displays on the history of the park and the area, and outside they had whale bones on display.

We continued to follow the trail around Blue Fish cove and the outer edge of the park.   The scenery is simply gorgeous: rocky shores, bright blue waters, pine and cypress.

  

  

We continued along the outer edge of the park until we made our way to the South Shore trail.  This area is far less wooded, but still quite rocky.

Sea urchins in one of the tide pools

We stopped and climbed on some of the rocks, spotting a seal sunning itself.  On this trip, we also stumbled upon a bunch of bright purple sea urchins in one of the pools.

China Cove

We continued along the trail until we reached China cove.  I think it's one of the most beautiful spots in the park.  There's a little cave that you can really see in my picture, a sandy beach, and the water is shallow and fades from emerald to blue.

From there we followed the trail until we reached the larger beach on the other side of the cove.  We paused for a few minutes then took the South Plateau trail back to the entrance and headed home from a long day of hiking!