Last Sunday I checked out the middle section of the Ohlone Wilderness trail between Sunol and Rose Peak (3,817 ft) with tour guide Will G. and fellow La Sportiva team member Caitlin. This was my first time visiting this region and I was impressed with the scenery and the hill climbing! It was a beautiful…
Author: pantilat
Point Lobos State Reserve
Point Lobos State Reserve is the Disneyland of California State Parks. The park is very developed with copious facilities and parking areas, along with throngs of visitors on weekends. Large families, group picnics, tour groups, you name it. If you want peace and quiet I suggest coming here on a weekday. Nonetheless, Point Lobos features…
Gray Whale Cove State Beach
Gray Whale Cove State Beach is a sheltered beach nestled in the cliffs of Devil’s Slide. It’s amazing that such a rugged beach exists so close to the concrete streets of San Francisco. The slopes of Montara Mountain rise abruptly from the ocean creating a very impressive backdrop. A steep road and then a very…
Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park
Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park is known for the iconic McWay Falls, which is the epitome of Big Sur promotional travel material. A short path leads to this extremely photogenic waterfall that is walked by nearly every traveler through Big Sur. This attraction is heaven for tripods and large SLRs! Here is a photo of…
Andrew Molera State Park
On Sunday morning I did an 8.5 mile loop in Andrew Molera State Park at the north end of the Big Sur Valley. The loop featured views from a long ridge and great running atop a bluff above the pounding surf.
Garrapata State Park – Beach and Soberanes Point
We enjoyed the spectacularly rugged coastline of Garrapata State Park at Garrapata Beach and on the trails around Soberanes Point. Garrapata Beach is a gorgeous beach with solitary rocks protruding from the fine sands. We ate lunch on a rock and watched collosal waves thunder ashore. Soberanes Point is incredibly scenic with an intricately carved…
Garrapata State Park – Rocky Ridge and Soberanes Canyon
We spent a couple days enjoying the gorgeous mid-winter weather on the Big Sur coast. The following few posts will detail the parks we visited. The first stop on Saturday afternoon was a hike up Rocky Ridge and Soberanes Canyon in Garrapata State Park. Due to last summer’s massive fires, this is one of the…
Cowell Ranch Beach
Cowell Ranch Beach is a little known beach just south of Half Moon Bay. The beach was purchased by the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) in the 1980’s and is now part of the State Park system. Reaching the beach entails a half mile walk through a farm easement to reach the bluff and then…
Memorial County Park – Mount Ellen Loop
The main feature of Memorial Park is a campground and picnic area set amidst towering redwoods and lush Pescadero Creek. However, there is also an area of trails on the north side of Pescadero Creek Road that is worthy of a visit. We covered most of these trails on a loop from the Hoffman Creek…
Wilder Ranch State Park
Wilder Ranch State Park has a little bit of everything – views, redwoods, rugged coastline, meadows, and even a historical museum. The park’s close proximity to Santa Cruz means you will not be alone, especially on the weekends. In addition, the trails are open to mountain biking so the bikers far outnumber pedestrians and I…
Leor Pantilat's Adventures