This journey along the California coast features wonderful beaches, craggy cliffs and shouting elephant seals!
The California Coast was on very long bucket list for a very long time. Who could blame me? The Pacific Coast is known for its beaches and dramatic coast lines. I visited in 2018, but a return trip was definitely in order.
After visiting Pinnacles National Park, I headed towards the coast near San Simeon for the night. Campgrounds were hard to come by during the Pandemic. The next morning, I first headed south to Morro Bay and then headed back north past San Simeon towards Monterey. My second day in California was pretty insane. Lots of road time, lots of coastlines, and lots of elephant seals.
Cayucos was my first stop of the day. It’s a small seaside town, famous for its lovely beach and pier on California’s Route 1, a.k.a. the Pacific Coast Highway.
The original Cayucos Pier was used to unload ships. The second Cayucos Pier is used for fishing.
Surfers getting ready for some waves.
A surfer awfully close to the pier.
Under the pier.
Next stop is Morro Bay, famous for Morro Rock. Morro Rock is a 576 ft high volcanic plug that stands at the entrance of the harbor. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was probably the first European explorer to see the rock in 1542.
Morro Rock makes a very prominent landmark from the beach.
A Great Blue Heron taking a break in a warm pool at the beach.
Some Marbled Godwits taking a bath. (Who named these things?)
Morro Rock used to be on its own island, but it was connected to the mainland by a causeway to create a harbor on the other side.
Next stop is Montaña de Oro State Park, a wonderful coastal park that was confusing at first. I really wish California State Parks would put park maps on their websites, so I don’t have to guess where things are using Google. Well, I eventually found a trail along the coast on a board outside the closed visitor center. It worked.
I found myself on the Bluff Trail. It was very pretty.
Spooners Cove Beach.
Really cool seaside arch!
A vulture having lunch on another large bird. The circle of life, I guess.
Cormorants are found all over the place along the California coast chilling out on sea rocks.
Looking back toward Spooners Cove Beach and the hills beyond.
Those blues!
This rock formation was really interesting. It’s amazing what the power of water can do.
Crashing waves.
Corallina Cove is a great place to find some tide pools. I did not visit at the right time. Oh, well.
Heading back north past San Simeon, I had to stop at the Elephant Seal Vista Point. It’s so popular, it’s labeled on Google Maps. I found it by accident in 2018. I saw a lot of people stopping, so I had a look. This time, I knew to stop. I was not disappointed.
The beach here is perfect for elephant seals.
I’m in love with not only the content look on that little seal’s face but also those little flipper prints in the sand.
Those elephant seals just pile in there.
A bit of an argument going on here.
Elephant seals battle it out using their upper bodies.
This one was flicking sand on its back.
This guy was screaming the entire time I was there.
There were four pairs of elephant seals battling it out in just this spot. I think they may be juvenile males, judging by their size and noise shape. I didn’t see any of the big guys here last time either. The guides in 2018 said the big males aren’t usually here in October.
To finish out the day and to get to my campground for the night, I headed north of Route 1 through the Big Sur area.
I just can’t get enough of this coastline.
Hidden lighthouse.
It was a crazy day, complete with some backtracking. The San Simeon area has a lot to offer, with the famous Hearst Castle, several state parks and beaches. Further south, past Montaña de Oro State Park are even more state parks and even a sand dunes preserve, Rancho Guadalupe Dunes, that I couldn’t find time for unfortunately. The Southern California coastline is such a wonderful place to visit. You will never be bored.
Check out my next update where I explore more the California Coastline in Monterey.
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Check out more amazing places in California!
