Wilder Ranch Grand Loop

Coastal bluffs at Wilder Ranch

11 miles loop, 1000 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Moderate

Access: Paved road to trailhead, Wilder Ranch State Park entrance fee required

Wilder Ranch State Park lies just outside Santa Cruz on the Central California Coast and protects a diverse landscape of coastal bluffs, grasslands that once supported a coastal dairy, second-growth redwood forests, and farms. The Wilder Ranch Grand Loop- which utilizes portions of the Wilder Ridge Trail, the Enchanted Loop, the Baldwin Loop, and the Ohlone Bluff Trail- is a somewhat long loop trail around the state park and samples everything that the park has to offer. The highlights of the hike for me were the lush woodlands on the Enchanted Loop and the stunning coastal views on the Ohlone Bluff Trail, but the views on clear days from the grasslands on Wilder Ridge are probably quite nice as well when the landscape is green in winter and spring. This park is quite popular with mountain bikers, which can make the trails a bit more busy and unpredictable than usual for hikers. While this is a reasonably enjoyable outing, the scenery here is standard rather than outstanding for the area, so I would recommend this hike primarily for Bay Area/Santa Cruz locals looking for a new place to explore.

I hiked the loop at Wilder Ranch on a November day, before the arrival of autumn rains. From the southern end of the Bay Area around San Jose, I took California Highway 17 south across the Santa Cruz Mountains to Santa Cruz and then exited onto Highway 1 heading north. I drove through the town of Santa Cruz on Highway 1 and reached the turnoff for Wilder Ranch State Park on the left (south) side of the road shortly after leaving town. I made a left turn here into the park, passing the entrance station on my way to the large parking lot, which has room for about 80 cars. Like other Bay Area and Santa Cruz state parks, you may struggle to find parking here on weekends; luckily, there is some free parking along Highway 1 outside the park.

From the trailhead sign next to the bathrooms, I headed out on the trail towards the Wilder Ranch Cultural Preserve. The Wilder Ridge Trail starts from the back end of the cultural preserve, which protects artifacts related to the area's ranching history. The dirt trail leaving from the parking lot joined up with a paved road after 150 meters and quickly arrived at the entrance of the cultural preserve soon after. I turned left at the entrance of the cultural preserve, entering a cute collection of Victorian buildings. The Wilder family operated a dairy here from the 1890s through the 1960s, grazing their cows on the grasslands of the ranch. The dairy and creamery here were extremely successful for a time, allowing the family to build the Victorian houses on the property. I wandered through the property and exited to the back left (northwestern) side, where I passed a chicken coop. The farm area is still used for interpretive programs.

Wilder Ranch Cultural Preserve

Chickens at Wilder Ranch

I left the cultural preserve on the Wilder Ridge Trail, a wide road trace that took me underneath Highway 1 through a tunnel and then passed by some wooden ranch buildings that were built by the Meder family when this property first became a dairy. The road trace stayed fairly flat until I came to a junction at just over a half mile from the trailhead. Here, the Engelsman Loop Trail followed the road trace straight ahead while the Wilder Ridge Loop Trail followed the road trace that made a sharp switchback to the left. I took the left fork and began following the Wilder Ridge Trail uphill.

For the next 1.2 miles, I traveled through open grasslands on the approach to Wilder Ridge. The trail made an initial uphill to reach a grassy plateau extending to the foot of Wilder Ridge to the north and then crossed that plateau for the next mile. On clear days, there should be nice views from these grasslands down to the coast, with Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean sparkling in the distance; however, fog covered the ocean at the time of my hike and there weren't much views here to speak of. In November, these grasslands were a very dull brown as the winter's rains had not yet arrived; the ranch probably is prettiest in winter and spring when the grasses turn green.

There were many mountain bikers on the this trail: the park in general is quite popular with mountain bikers and the Wilder Ridge Loop especially so. However, the road trace was quite wide and easily accommodated both hikers and bikers. At 1.3 miles from the trailhead, I stayed right at a junction with the return leg of the Wilder Ridge Loop and at 1.7 miles I arrived at the base of Wilder Ridge.

Wilder Ridge

The trail reentered forest at the base of Wilder Ridge and then began a steep ascent up to the ridge itself. I passed a junction with the single track Twin Oaks Trail at 2 miles. After ascending about 250 feet, the trail arrived at the top of Wilder Ridge at 2.1 miles and began following the ridge to the west; at 2.2 miles, a spur trail split off to the left, leading to a viewpoint. I took this short spur, which ended at a picnic table with a wide view over Monterery Bay and the Pacific Ocean. On a nice day, the views of the water here are probably excellent; I just saw a blanket of fog over where there should've been water. Still, I enjoyed the nice views of the Santa Cruz, Gabilan, and Santa Lucia Ranges in the distance. The view included Loma Prieta Peak, a high point in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and Fremont Peak, a high peak at the northern end of the Gabilan Range. I could also see over the grasslands of Wilder Ranch below. This was the nicest elevated vista point of the hike.

Santa Cruz Mountains

Santa Lucia Range, fog over Monterey Bay, and the grasslands of Wilder Ranch

Leaving the vista point, the Wilder Ridge Trail continued following the broad, grassy crest of Wilder Ridge. While views down either side of the ridge were limited, I still could see the distant Santa Lucia and Santa Cruz Mountains rising over the surrounding grasslands. During my visit, the grasslands north of the Wilder Ridge Trail were blackened due to an active prescribed burn, part of a land management response that will be necessary in California to prevent future repeats of 2020's disasterous wildfire season.

Prescribed burn on Wilder Ridge

I passed a junction with the Zane Gray Trail at 2.7 miles and continued along the road trace of the Wilder Ridge Trail until it intersected with the Enchanted Loop Trail at 3.3 miles. While following the left fork of the Enchanted Loop to continue on a road trace along the ridge is the shortest and fastest way to complete the Grand Loop, the right fork, which descends into a lush second-growth redwood forest, is far more scenic and adds some much-needed diversity to this hike. Thus, I took the right fork and descended to the north on a road trace. After following the road trace downhill for 150 meters, I came to a junction in a grassy clearing. Two trails split off to the left of the road trace: of these two trails, the left fork was a cutoff trail leading back uphill while the right fork was a continuation of the Enchanted Loop Trail that led into the forest. This junction was marked but a bit confusing; I took the single track trail on the right (of the two forks on the left side of the road). 

The Enchanted Loop Trail began a steady descent, initially through grasslands and then through woodlands when the trail entered the forest at 3.8 miles from the trailhead. The surroundings changed dramatically as the Enchanted Loop Trail entered forest: the dry grasslands of Wilder Ridge were replaced by a verdant forest with fern and sorrel groundcover and many towering second-growth redwoods. Moss adorned many tree trunks. The trail descended through this lovely forest until reaching the banks of Baldwin Creek at the bottom of the canyon at 4.2 miles. While there were quite a few hikers and bikers on the Wilder Ridge Trail, I saw just one other group of hikers while I was hiking through the redwoods of the Enchanted Loop.

Redwoods of the Enchanted Loop

Redwood and sorrel on the Enchanted Loop

Lush woodlands of the Enchanted Loop

After briefly paralleling Baldwin Creek, the Enchanted Loop began the most extended ascent of the hike, climbing about 300 feet out of the canyon and back to the grasslands. At 4.7 miles, the Enchanted Loop Trail emerged from the forest atop the grassy plateau and came to a junction with the Baldwin Loop Trail. Both legs of the Baldwin Loop Trail lead downhill to the coast but I chose to take the right fork, which was a single track trail through the grasslands rather than the road trace that the left fork followed. The Baldwin Loop Trail descended steadily through the grasslands, with some nice views that would probably encompass the ocean on a clear day.

Grasslands of the Baldwin Loop

The descent on the Baldwin Trail ended when I reached the bottom of Baldwin Creek's canyon at 6 miles into the hike. Here, I passed through another pocket of lushness, hiking through ferns and trees and crossing a tributary of Baldwin Creek. At 6.3 miles, I passed some farm buildings that are still private held and rejoined the other branch of the Baldwin Loop. I crossed the dirt road leading to the farm and followed signs pointing me towards the Ohlone Bluff Trail; I passed underneath Highway 1 in another hiker tunnel.

Lush environs along the canyon of Baldwin Creek

Emerging on the south side of Highway 1, I followed the road trace as it curved off to the left and joined up with a trail coming from a roadside parking area for Four Mile Beach at 6.5 miles. Continuing along the road trace, I crossed a set of railroad tracks and then descended to Four Mile Beach at 6.8 miles. Four Mile Beach was a wide, sandy beach at the mouth of Baldwin Creek bordered by 60-foot high coastal bluffs. The ocean was still fogged over when I was at Four Mile Beach but I could see far see surfers a short distance off the coast waiting for waves to ride in to the beach. There were quite a few visitors in this area because of the easy access from a parking area on Highway 1, but the crowds immediately thinned out once I began heading east on the Ohlone Bluff Trail.

Foggy Four Mile Beach

A number of paths led up a hill on the left (east) side of Four Mile Beach to join with the Ohlone Bluff Trail, which runs the length of the Wilder Ranch State Park coast. I followed one of the paths up and then joined the Ohlone Bluff Trail, which ran eastward along the top of the coastal bluffs, sandwiched between the cliffs and fields of brussel sprouts. The coastal farms in Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties produce a majority of the brussel sprouts grown in the United States and have benefited from the vegetable's recent resurgence in popularity.

Brussel sprout fields

Over the next three and a half miles, I followed the flat Ohlone Bluff Trail along the coastal bluffs of Wilder Ranch State Park. The fog that had covered Monterey Bay all day finally lifted in the late afternoon, opening up some beautiful views of the coast. The trail passed above Three Mile Beach at 8.4 miles and Strawberry Beach at 9.2 miles; spur trails led down to these beaches. There were no trail markings to go off of here and quite a few junctions, but I followed the trail closest to the edge of the bluffs at all times as a rule of thumb and did just fine.

Three Mile Beach

Wilder Ranch coastline

Views were consistently excellent along the Ohlone Bluff Trail, encompassing sea stacks and rocky islets offshore and the Santa Lucia Range rising across Monterery Bay. Waves coming off of the Pacific sent surf flying high as they slammed into rocks on the coast. This was the most scenic stretch of the hike, but I only saw a handful of other visitors at the midpoint of the Ohlone Bluff Trail. After enjoying constant views, I came to the final coastal view of the hike at 10.2 miles, where the Ohlone Bluff Trail turned sharply inland.

Waves pound the coast, Santa Lucia Range in the distance

Coastal bluffs at Wilder Ranch

Late day lighting on the Wilder Ranch coast

Leaving the final seaside view, I followed the Ohlone Bluff Trail inland for the final 0.8 miles back to the trailhead. The trail followed the rim of a small ravine for 2/5 of a mile and met up with a set of railroad tracks at 10.6 miles into the hike; here, I turned right and followed the railroad tracks for 200 meters. At an intersection with a dirt road, the railroad tracks faded into bushes; here, I made a left onto the road, joining up with the Old Cove Landing Trail. The Old Cove Landing Trail led back into some farm fields where I could now see the parking lot; I continued following the Old Cove Landing Trail, which branched off from the right of the dirt road and then led back to the trailhead parking lot.

Overall, this is a nice hike. The coast views along the Ohlone Bluff Trail are great and the lush second-growth redwood forests of the Enchanted Loop are a joy to hike through even if they don't match the majesty of the region's rarer old growth redwoods. However, you can find many of these hike's features all around the central California Coast, often in even more spectacular displays. Expect beauty, but look elsewhere for the exceptional if you have limited time in the area.

Point Lobos

Point Lobos coastline

5 miles loop, 450 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy-moderate
Access: Paved road to trailhead, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve entrance fee required

Francis McComas, an Australian-born Modernist landscape painter, once described California's Point Lobos as "the greatest meeting of land and water in the world." Just south of the Monterey Peninsula and Carmel-by-the-Sea, Point Lobos is a landscape where the pounding surf of the Pacific meets a craggy coastline, inhabited by thousands of brown pelicans and other seabirds. This is one of the most magical spots along the entire, incredible California Coast and is preserved for future generations in the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. This five mile loop hike visits many of the highlights on the peninsula and delivers nearly nonstop, jawdropping coast views. This is one of my favorite hikes on the California Coast, but unfortunately, many other people feel the same way: come on a weekday to avoid the weekend crush of crowds. 

Point Lobos is just south of the Monterey Peninsula, at the northern end of Big Sur. There are many parking areas in the reserve, most of which fill early on nice weekend days; I'm going to describe a loop around the perimeter of the park that starts from Whalers Cove on the north shore of the peninsula. This hike generally hugs the water and visits the many spur trails leading out to viewpoints; if you're short on time, you can cut out some of those side trips to complete this trail more quickly.

I hiked Point Lobos on a nice October weekday with Anna. From Monterey, it is easy to reach Point Lobos State Reserve: we took California Highway 1 south past Carmel and the Carmel Monastery and then turned right at the entrance of Point Lobos State Reserve. After crossing the entrance gate, we turned right at the first junction and followed the Whalers Cove Road to its end at the parking area next to Whalers Cove. This final road is quite narrow and parking is limited at Whalers Cove, so you'll need to arrive early on a weekend or come on a weekday.

The views from the parking area were already excellent. We could see across Whalers Cove to the rocky headland of Granite Point and the first peaks of the Santa Lucia Range. To get a better view, we headed out on the trail, which left from the north end of the parking lot. We ascended a flight of steps to reach the top of some coastal bluffs; at the top of the stairs, we made a right turn to head out onto the bluffs of Cannery Point. The views from Cannery Point were already spectacular: Whalers Cove was below us, with a  forest of kelp underwater powering the productive marine food chains here. Coal Chute Point and Granite Point marked the other side of the cove and between these two headlands I spotted the towers of the Carmel's Carmelite Monastery in the distance. To the north, we could see across Carmel Bay to the hills of the Monterey Peninsula. 

Whalers Cove and the north coast of Point Lobos from Cannery Point

Multiple rocky islets rose dramatically from the the sea nearby, facing the brunt of the impact from waves sweeping towards the coast on the Pacific. These islets- along with much of the other exposed rock along the north shore of Point Lobos- were made up of granodiorite, an intrusive igneous rock that has a slight difference in chemical composition from its cousin, granite. This granodiorite makes for particularly dramatic seascapes, as it tends to erode into rugged forms. The granodiorite of Point Lobos is part of the Salinian Terrane, a granite-heavy chunk of the California coast that technically lies on part of the Pacific Plate rather than the North American Plate. A commonly accepted theory on the origin of the Salinian Terrane is that the block is actually a southern extension of the Sierra Nevada that has been dragged north by lateral movement along the San Andreas Fault.

Waves crash on offshore rocks

After enjoying the view at Cannery Point, we looped back to the main North Shore Trail, which ascended a set of steps to reach the top of a higher bluff. Atop the bluff, an unmarked spur trail broke off to the right, leading out to an excellent view to the north of Carmel Bay, the Monterey Peninsula, and the rugged coast.

View of the Monterey Peninsula from the north coast of Point Lobos

We continued along the North Shore Trail, which flattened out a bit after climbing the initial bluff but continued to deliver good views of the coast. At 0.3 miles into the hike, we passed a junction with the Cabin Trail, which headed off to the left, leading towards the Whalers Cabin Museum. At 0.4 miles from the trailhead, we passed another junction, this time with the trail to Whalers Knoll. We took the right fork to stay along the North Shore Trail at both junctions. 

After passing the Whalers Knoll Trail junction, the North Shore Trail embarked on a short uphill climb, during which we had fantastic views back to the east of the granodiorite cliffs at Cannery Point and the Carmelite Monastery in the distance. Here, we also began noticing the abundance of brown pelicans perched on the rocks in the area, which was just a taste of what was to come.

North coast of Point Lobos

After a short period of ascent, we came to another unmarked spur trail on the right side of the trail; we took this spur for a brief detour to reach a view of Guillemot Island. Despite its name, this island- a high, rocky ridge that stuck out from the ocean just offshore- was dominated by brown pelicans rather than guillemot. Hundreds of pelicans were perched on the rock and we had a front row seat to see these birds napping, yawning, and grooming themselves. At times, some pelicans would launch off the rock and initiate spectacular dives.

Brown pelicans at Point Lobos

After leaving the viewpoint of Guillemot Island, the North Shore Trail was fairly set back from the shore over the next half mile. We passed a junction where the Whaler's Knoll Trail rejoined the North Shore Trail; we took the right at this junction to stay on the North Shore Trail. At one mile into the hike, the North Shore Trail ended by intersecting with the Cypress Grove Trail at the parking area for Cypress Grove and Sea Lion Point. While it's possible to shorten the hike here by skipping the Cypress Grove Trail, you absolutely must take this 0.8 mile detour: some of the most dramatic scenery of the hike is on this trail. 

Turning right onto the Cypress Grove Trail, we followed it through coastal prairie for about 200 meters to an unsigned junction. The Cypress Grove detour is a loop, so it doesn't matter too much which direction you choose: we decided to take the left fork and do the small loop clockwise. The trail immediately passed through the Allan Memorial Grove, a stand of Monterey cypress. One of the iconic trees of the California coast, the tree is commonly planted in other areas along the West Coast and in New Zealand, but there are only two natural Monterey cypress forests remaining: here at Point Lobos and at nearby Cypress Point in Pebble Beach. The trees are massive but not particularly old, as far as California trees go: Monterey cypresses are not known to survive more than about 250 years.

Cypresses of Allan Memorial Grove

Emerging from the far side of the Allan Memorial Grove, we came to the rocky landscape of South Point. Here, waves pounded the dramatic coastline and the guano-coated rocky islets offshore. This was an incredibly dramatic scene, but it was still just an appetizer for what was to come.

South Point

Here, the trail became slightly rougher and rockier as it wrapped around South Point. Rounding the point, the trail came to Pinnacle Cove and the Pinnacle, which is the farthest extension of land of Point Lobos. This was a seascape of high drama: violent surf crashed against craggy coastal rocks, with the peak of the Pinnacle fading in and out of the fast-moving fog. The rocky nooks and crannies of the Pinnacle provided nests for what seemed like a veritable metropolis of brown pelicans: thousands of birds were perched on the rocks, some napping, some cleaning themselves, others launching themselves into the crashing waves to find a meal. The rocks were stained with guano. The drama of this scene was unrivaled; this truly was an amazing meeting of the land and sea.

The Pinnacle's great pelican colony

The brown pelican population of Point Lobos is astounding: tens, if not hundreds of thousands of these birds call the cliffs of this natural reserve home. Although the pelicans live here for much of the year, many still return to southern California to nest; the use of DDT during the twentieth century badly damaged the viability of brown pelican eggs here, damaging the pelican population. Bans on the use of the pesticide and time have allowed the bird's population to recover.

Pelicans at Point Lobos

We continued on the trail, which passed through forest as it wrapped behind the Pinnacle. There views were consistently excellent here until the trail returned to the forest as it approached North Point.

The Pinnacle

A spur trail led out to North Point, which did not have a particularly unique view; continuing along the Cypress Grove Trail, we took a spur trail to check out another viewpoint. This viewpoint, a little to the southeast of North Point, had a great view of Cypress Cove and of Big Dome, an impressive granodiorite headland crowned with Monterey cypresses. 

View of the Monterey Peninsula and Point Lobos from North Point

Leaving this viewpoint, we completed the Cypress Grove Trail, which brought us back to the parking area for that trail. We were now 1.8 miles into the hike, although we were just a mile away from where we parked at Whalers Cove by trail. Typically, the next stop in the perimeter hike around Point Lobos is Sea Lion Point. We were unable to hike out to Sea Lion Point as the trail was closed at the time due to a collapsed portion of a cliff; however, we could still hear the barking of the sea lions in the distance. When the trail is repaired, I am sure Sea Lion Point will be yet another magnificent coastal viewpoint on this hike. Skipping Sea Lion Point, we turned left onto the South Shore Trail to start following the southern coast of Point Lobos. This trail descended a sandy staircase and wrapped around Sand Hill Cove. While hiking around the cove, we came to a spot where a small cave under an overhanging cliff expelled seawater every time a large wave came in: it was a blowhole, but with a horizontally oriented mouth rather than expelled water outward rather than up.

Blowhole at Sand Hill Cove

As we followed the South Shore Trail along the south coastline of Point Lobos, the fog began to clear up and we were rewarded with sweeping views of the coast, islands and sea stacks just offshore, and the Santa Lucia Mountains. The south shore, lacking the granodiorite of the north shore of Point Lobos, is not quite as dramatic, but the constant views still made this stretch of trail very enjoyable. Around Weston Beach, a few paths broke off from the main trail to lead down to the shoreline, either to visit a beach or tidepools; at one point, we took a detour to see some tidepools. Although we did not see a great variety of marine life in these tidepools, it was still exhilarating to see the waves of the Pacific smash against the rocks and splash into these pools.

Tidepools on the south coast of Point Lobos

The terrain on the South Shore trail varied over the course of the trail, with beaches in some areas and eroded bluffs overlooking coves with kelp forests at other spots. The trail paralleled the road here, generally running just a couple meters from the main road and passing by a number of parking lots. About 0.8 miles after leaving the Sea Lion Point area, we passed a junction with the Mound Meadow Trail, which headed off to the left; we stayed along the coast, passing by pretty Hidden Beach on our way to the Bird Island Trailhead.

Cove near Weston Beach

Kelp forests along the Point Lobos coastline

After following the South Shore Trail for a mile from the Sea Lion Point area, we arrived at the trailhead for Bird Island, now 3 miles into the hike. We crossed the parking lot to join the Bird Island Trail, which ascended a staircase for some quick elevation gain to climb up a bluff. We had some excellent views along the south shore of Point Lobos here that stretched back towards Sea Lion Point. 

Point Lobos south coast

"The greatest meeting of land and water"

The trail wrapped around a headland and then came out to an overlook of China Cove. This calm cove hid a sandy beach at the base of coastal bluffs. Pelicans swam in the shallows on the beach and we spotted a number of harbor seals lounging on the beach. This is a popular haul out spot for harbor seals; do not disturb them.

Pelicans and harbor seals in China Cove

After a fifth of a mile of hiking from the Bird Island Trailhead, we arrived the junction between the Bird Island Trail and the South Plateau Trail, now 3.2 miles into the hike. While we would later take the South Plateau Trail to complete the loop, we first took the right fork for the Bird Island Trail to complete a short, 0.4 mile side loop to see some of the nicest scenery along the south shore of Point Lobos. The start of the side loop delivered pretty views over the secluded white sands of Gibson Beach, which lay at the base of the coastal bluffs. The state natural reserve boundary ended at the other side of Gibson Beach; we could see houses on the coastal properties beyond the beach.

Gibson Beach

We did this particular side loop counterclockwise. The loop took us out to the aptly named Pelican Point, where we had sweepings views of Bird Island as well as up and down the coast in both directions. The area around Bird Island was another outcropping of the granodiorite found along the north shore of Point Lobos; this made for more dramatic landforms here than elsewhere on the south shore. Bird Island and some of the nearby islets were absolutely teeming with brown pelicans and cormorants: birds were occupying every available perch on the granodiorite, covering the rock in thick layers of guano. While this hike had already passed multiple other populous seabird gathering spots- first Guillemot Island, then the Pinnacle- the greatest gathering of pelicans at Point Lobos was almost certainly at this appropriately named spot.

Pelicans and cormorants near Bird Island

Bird Island

Turning around at Pelican Point, we also spotted the only major sea arch of the hike. Here, a granodiorite headland had been partially eroded into an extremely picturesque natural opening. This striking scene was a fitting conclusion to our exploration of Point Lobos' south shore.

Sea arch on the south coast of Point Lobos

We returned to the junction between the Bird Island Trail and the South Plateau Trail, putting us 3.6 miles into the hike. This time, we took the South Plateau Trail. We quickly passed by a spur trail that led down to Gibson Beach, which we skipped but which you could add for about 150 feet of additional elevation gain and a few tenths of an extra mile of distance. The South Plateau Trail brought a break from the constant views we had enjoyed throughout the hike. For the next mile, we followed an inland trail across the width of the Point Lobos peninsula. The South Plateau Trail had a number of short ascents and descents as it crossed over the rolling hills that made up the interior terrain of Point Lobos; much of the elevation gain of this hike occurred along this stretch. After following the South Plateau Trail for 0.4 miles, we passed a junction with the Pine Ridge Trail; we stayed to the right at this junction to continue on the South Plateau Trail. The South Plateau Trail briefly approached Highway 1 before arriving at the Point Lobos entrance station, 0.75 miles after leaving the coast. We crossed the road here and connected up with the Carmelo Meadow Trail, a flat and wide path that we followed north for a quarter mile to return to the shores of Whalers Cove.

Returning to Whalers Cove at sunset

At the end of the Carmelo Meadow Trail, we came to an intersection with the Granite Point Trail. At this intersection, we had a lovely view of Whalers Cove. The waters of the cove were washing against a sandy beach beneath the bluffs in front of us, while the rocks of nearby Coal Chute Point was gleaming in the late day sun. At this intersection, the right fork led out to Granite Point, while the left fork returned towards the Whalers Cove trailhead. Hikers looking for a complete perimeter tour of Point Lobos can add some mileage to this hike by taking the right fork and visiting Granite Point, but we decided against it and turned left here. 

The flat Granite Point Trail took us along the top of coastal bluffs bordering Whalers Cove for about 250 meters to the Whalers Cove Road and the Whalers Cabin Museum. The Whalers Cabin was closed during our visit because of Covid-19 restrictions; it was a pity, as the Whalers Cabin is a structure significant to Chinese American history in California. The cabin was one of a number of structures built starting in 1851 by settlers from southern China. The Chinese Californians of Whalers Cove fished for abalone and were involved in local whaling operations in the 1860s. However, by the late 1870s, growing anti-Chinese sentiment among European-American arrivals on the West Coast forced the settlers here to leave.

From Whalers Cabin, we chose to follow the Whalers Cove road north for the final 200 meters back to the trailhead. If you'd prefer to avoid the road walk, you can follow the Cabin Trail west from the Cabin to connect with the North Shore Trail and then turn right and follow the North Shore Trail back to the parking area as well; that option is two-fifths of a mile long. Following the road provided views of Whalers Cove along the way and was probably the more scenic option.

This is an awesome hike with some of the most stunning coastal views in California. To best enjoy the hike, come during a quieter time of week; but make sure you don't miss this stretch of coast.

Balconies Loop (Pinnacles NP)

Machete Ridge view from the Balconies Trail

2.5 miles loop, 400 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Moderate, some dark and wet rock scrambling in Balconies Cave
Access: Narrow paved road to trailhead, Pinnacles National Park entrance fee required

The Balconies Loop is a short hike that visits a talus cave and provides some decent views of the volcanic rock spires of California's Pinnacles National Park. While lacking the drama of the hikes that visit the High Peaks of the Pinnacles, this hike delivers views and a cave with minimal effort and is a good choice for a short and fairly easy hike for hikers arriving from the park's western entrance near Soledad. 

The Balconies Cave- a rare talus cave- is the highlight of this hike. Unlike karst caves that are the result of gradual weathering of limestone, talus caves are the result of rockfalls: a talus cave is simply the network of passages formed when massive boulders pile up. A flashlight- or preferably, a headlamp- is necessary to navigate the Balconies Cave. Traveling through the cave also requires a bit of rock scrambling on uneven, wet, and often slippery terrain, so come in hiking boots and be ready to use your hands. Balconies Cave has a population of nesting bats and may occasionally close; check the national park's website for the cave's status before you go. 

Pinnacles National Park is generally quite pleasant during late fall, winter, and spring, but can be extremely hot in the summer, surprising visitors from the Bay Area. While foggy San Francisco is often in the 50s or 60s Fahrenheit during the summer, temperatures here regularly exceed 100 during the summer. Temperatures in the 70s and 80s can be quite common even during winter.

I hiked the Balconies Loop on a nice February day. From the Bay Area, I took US 101 south past Salinas to the town of Soledad, taking exit 302 and then turning left onto Front St. to head towards downtown after exiting. I took Front St across the railroad tracks into downtown, where I turned right onto East St and followed it up for there blocks, then turning right onto Metz St, which is CA Highway 146 East. I followed Highway 146 east out of town for three miles and then turned left at the sign for Pinnacles National Park to stay on Highway 146. I then followed Highway 146 for nine miles into the Gabilan Range. The road was quite windy and narrowed as I drove into the mountains, eventually becoming a one lane road that accommodated two way traffic with occasional turnouts; however, the road remained paved the entire way. The road passed vineyards and a ranger station at the entrance of Pinnacles National Park before dead ending at the Chaparral Trailhead, which was the start of this hike. There's room for about 45 cars at the trailhead, but on weekends the lot may fill, requiring hikers to park in an overflow lot about a half mile back on the road.

The best view of the Pinnacles' rugged High Peaks region was actually right at the Chaparral Trailhead, where I could see directly up to the lofty rock spires. This view is the best road-accessible view of the rock formations of Pinnacles National Park and is a far clearer and more impressive viewpoint than any road-accessible view on the park's more popular eastern side. This geological oddity is composed of volcanic rocks deposited by ancient eruptions of the Neenach Volcano in Southern California over 20 million years ago, which then migrated north along the Central California coast on the San Andreas Fault.

High Peaks of the Pinnacles

Two primary trails left from the Chaparral Trailhead: the Juniper Canyon Trail, which headed off to the right towards the High Peaks, and the Balconies Trail, which led off to the left. I took the left fork to head towards the Balconies. The trail started out as a very wide, well-graded gravel path as it followed the flat bottom of the West Chalone Creek valley. I quickly passed a junction with the North Wilderness Trail, which leads through some of the least-visited areas of Pinnacles National Park. Shortly after leaving the trailhead, the trail made a broad turn to the right and came to some excellent views of Machete Ridge, an impressive, serrated rock ridge that rose directly from the floor of the valley. Collections of rock pinnacles towered further uphill on the slopes of the High Peaks. The trail was almost completely flat here.

Machete Ridge

There were constant views of Machete Ridge as the trail traveled through the grassy, flat bottom of the valley until the valley suddenly narrowed at a half mile from the trailhead and transitioned to a canyon filled with towering rock outcrops. The trail began to descend very gently as it traveled through this canyon, entering some pretty woods and crossing over West Chalone Creek, which keeps the vegetation in the canyon fairly verdant by California standards. At 0.6 miles, the trail passed by the base of Machete Ridge and soon the great cliff faces of the Balconies, a rock outcrop that featured an extended line of cliffs, rose above the canyon. At 2/3 mile, I arrived at a junction between the Balconies Cliffs Trail and the Balconies Cave Trail. I took the right fork for the Balconies Cave Trail, although I would later return on this loop by the Balconies Cliffs Trail.

Balconies

The Balconies Cave Trail continued downhill through the canyon, entering terrain that became progressively rockier. Soon, the trail entered a massive talus pile with house-sized boulders stacked atop each other. I passed through a gate that marked the entrance to Balconies Cave; this gate is locked when the cave is closed. The trail then squeezed between some boulders and dropped into the dark cave. A flashlight or headlamp was absolutely essential to navigate the cave, which is pitch black once I left the entrance. Traveling through the cave required rock scrambling down to the base of the cave, which was a bit challenging during my visit because the rocks were wet. As this is an otherwise easy hike, the difficulties of working my way through the cave were the main reason this hike did not receive an easy rating. However, the thrill of wandering through underground passageways with underground streams was well worth the challenge.

Balconies Cave

Gaps in the talus above allowed light to stream into the lower reaches of the cave and I soon exited the cave altogether after passing through another gate marking the cave's lower exit. Returning into the daylight, I was back in a narrow, rocky canyon alongside West Chalone Creek. As I followed the trail further down the canyon, the walls of the canyon widened and I passed through some pleasant woodlands until reaching a junction with the Balconies Cliffs Trail and Old Pinnacles Trail at just over a mile from the trailhead.

Exiting Balconies Cave

I took the Balconies Cliffs Trail on the return leg of the loop. While this trail was quite nice, it unfortunately did not live up to my unrealistic expectations: I was hoping for a trail that would visit the top of the Balconies Cliffs, but this trail just followed the base of those huge cliffs. The Balconies Cliffs Trail had the only steep uphill stretch of this hike, which came on the initial third of a mile of the trail as it ascended from the bottom of the canyon up to a chaparral covered bench just below the mighty bluffs of volcanic rock that form the Balconies. The trail arrived at a high point at 1.5 miles just below the cliffs that had excellent views of both the high cliffs themselves and of Machete Ridge across the canyon.

At the foot of the Balconies

After passing the 1.5 mile mark, the trail began to gently descend back into the canyon. Machete Ridge and the High Peaks of the Pinnacles provided excellent scenery to the south; this stretch of trail provided the best views of the park's namesake rocks on this particular hike. The final descent back down into the canyon was quite steep but short and the Balconies Cliffs Trail rejoined the Balconies Trail to complete the loop at 1.9 miles. Back at this junction, I turned right and followed the Balconies Trail gently uphill back to the trailhead.

Pinnacles National Park

The Balconies Loop is an enjoyable way to experience the west side of Pinnacles National Park and visit a unique talus cave. However, I can't recommend this hike over visiting the High Peaks, whether on the Condor Gulch-High Peaks Loop or whether accessing that area via the Juniper Canyon Trail. If you want a less strenuous alternative to those High Peaks hike though or if you simply are driving by on US 101 and don't have time for a longer hike, then this can be a fun way to sample a bit of what this fairly new national park has to offer.