Just a short 20-minute drive from Pacific Grove is Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. It's the park that landscape artist Francis McComas called "the greatest meeting of land and water on earth". Additionally, it has been designated the "crown jewel" of California's 280 state parks. Obviously, the bar was set pretty high by the lofty praise the park has received over the years. While we haven't quite seen all the places in the world where land and water meet (I doubt Mr. McComas has either), and we haven't visited all 280 of California's state parks, we can attest to the fact that it's really spectacular and would consider it a "must see" if the opportunity ever presents itself.
Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
Getting to the park was easy, just the short drive. Getting into the park is a little bit more challenging. Parking inside the park is very limited. We arrived around 10:30 on a Wednesday before the summer crowds arrive and all parking within the park was already full. We were fortunate enough to find roadside parking along Highway 1 that was less than a quarter of a mile from the entrance. One nice thing about parking outside the gate and walking in is that there is no entrance fee for pedestrians.
The park has miles of connecting trails, that for the most part hug the spectacular shoreline. The trails vary in length, with many of them being less than a mile to the longest one being around 2.5 miles. We got some helpful information from a park service team member at the front gate who recommended the loop hike (a little over six miles).
Our loop was easy to follow, relatively flat and was made up of the Carmelo Meadow, North Shore, Cypress Grove, Sea Lion Point, Sand Hill, South Shore, Bird Island and South Plateau Trails. The views were stunning, and the wildflowers were numerous and colorful. The harbor seals, a solitary sea lion, thousands of birds (many of which were nesting) and occasional whale spouts in the distance kept us entertained as we made our way slowly, and with numerous stops, around the park that seemed to have lived up to it's lofty advance billing.
