Point Lobos Loop Trail

Point Lobos entrance

On busy days you might have to park along Highway 1 and walk into the park. Stop by the entrance kiosk to pick up a map and make a donation. Don't worry, you'll get your money's worth.

China Cove

From a small parking area, Bird Island Trail climbs to a ridge overlooking China Cove and Bird Island. It's about four-tenths of a mile one way. Shorebirds are abundant and you might see the occasional sea lion. Views of the coast heading south into Big Sur are excellent, especially in late morning or early afternoon as the fog burns off. It's OK to swim or wade on the beach, just bear in mind the water will be bone-chilling cold.

Tide Pools

With a parking lot nearby, this is a nice centralized location for checking out the western half of the park. It's always amusing to watch the seagulls' squabbling for mooching rights (don't feed them, it just encourages their bad habits). South Shore Trail runs a for a mile north and south just above the water's edge. You can walk down to the shore, just watch your footing and don't damage the sensitive plant life.

Sea Lion Point

Your best chance to watch sea lions is at this point, accessible via a .6-mile out-and-back hike from the nearby parking area. Exploding waves and unusual formations of conglomerate rock (think nature's concrete) make this one of the essential stops on any Point Lobos outing. Use extreme caution near the water's edge: it's far more dangerous than it looks.

Cypress Grove Trail

This is the Number One must-see section of Point Lobos. Cypress Grove Trail is a .8-mile out-and-back loop past a grove of the rare Monterey cypress -- this is just one of two naturally occurring stands of the tree. Pelicans often fly in formation at just above eye-level, and keen-eyed visitors may spot sea otters lounging in the kelp near the base of the rocks.

Whaler's Knoll Trail

This half-mile trail to a scenic ocean overlook is the only significant climb at Point Lobos: about 180 feet. The highest point looks far over the Pacific, where lookouts were once posted to announce the spouts of migrating whales. If you've not seeing a glorious panorama from the heights, it means you've strayed onto the bypass trail.

Granite Point

Easy 1.3 mile hike out to a rocky overlook, with more chances to spot sea otters and sea lions. Watch for poison oak near the trail.

Bird Island Rookeries

The trail to Bird Island is once again open! The Bird Island loop trail affords views of nesting Black-crowned Night Herons, Brandt's Cormorants, Western Gulls and Pigeon Guillemots in May through July. Fall 2011 a pair of Peregrine Falcons took up residence on Bird Island. You may be able to spot one on the rocks near the top of the Island. You may also spot them hunting above China Cove or in the trees between China Cove and Gibson Beach. Also swallows and White-throated Swifts are numerous in the area in the Spring. Yellow-rumped Warbers are common in the winter months.

Birds in the intertidal

Weston Beach provides the best tide pooling in the Reserve. The birds know this as well. Cormorants and Gulls are common here, so are Black Oystercatchers, Black Turnstones, Black Phoebes, and American Crows. Snowy Egrets are commonly seen fishing in the tide pools. It is fun to watch them shake their foot along the bottom to scare up fish. Beyond that, you are never sure what you will see here. Great Egrets, Black-crowned Night Herons, Spotted Sandpipers (fall-winter), Killdeer (nesting), Semipalmated Plovers, Yellow-rumped Warblers (fall-winter), Say's Pheobe (fall-winter) Malards, and Brandts (spring).

Pine Forests

Much of the Reserve is covered by Monterey Pine forest. All of the interior trails, as well as the Carmelo Meadows and South Plateau trails meander through this forest. Dark-eyed Juncos, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, and Bushtits abound. You may see Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpeckers, Acorn Woodpeckers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Bewick's Wrens, Pacific (Winter) Wrens, Brown Creepers, and Pygmy Nuthatches. You can hear many birds when walking the forest trails. Spotted Towhees, California Quail, and a number of warblers and thrushes can be heard if not seen. In the spring, the swallows return to Point Lobos, and you can see Violet-Green Swallows nesting in woodpecker holes in the Pines along the Carmelo Meadows trail and Whaler's Knoll trail. A couple of years ago, the Reserve was abuzz when a birder found a Northern Saw-whet Owl nest in a dead pine tree just off the Carmelo Meadows trail. One highlight of the pine forest is the annual termite hatch, which happens on the day after the first rain in the fall. It is a great time to see warblers and wrens, who are usually hidden, out in the open being gluttons. The best spot in the reserve to witness this is on the Pine Ridge Trail about 500 ft SW of the Piney Woods trail-head (go up the trail and turn right on the Pine Ridge trail, walk to the bench and then go about 100 ft further). It is a once a year thing.

Meadows - Poison Oak, Hemlock and low scrubs.

Open areas filled with poison oak, hemlock, and other low scrub brush. They are concentrated along the south shore from Sea Lion Point to Weston Beach. You will also find scrub meadows at the northeast end of the Reserve along the Granite Point trail. The meadows are the home to Song Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, California Thrashers, Wrentits, Western Scrub Jays, and Spotted Towhees. Recently, several California Thrashers have set up shop in the meadows around the Sea Lion Point parking lot. If you hear a bird with an incredibly ornate song, look around for the one of the Thrashers. You may also see Lesser and American Goldfinches plus Anna's Hummingbirds here. Wild Turkeys in the meadows east of Granite Point. When you look up, you will see swallows and swifts, Turkey Vultures, and an occasional Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, White-tailed Kite, Kestral, or other raptor.

Cypress Forest

The Monterey Cypress forests are distinct from the pine forests in that they lack the dense undergrowth. While many of the birds in the trees are the same, chickdees, nuthatches, etc, you can get better views of them. With the grassy undergrowth, you may also see California Quail. There is also a resident Red-Shouldered Hawk who you may spot in the low cypress branches.

Whaler's Cove

Whaler's Cove is the denizen of diving ducks. If you are looking for Pacific Loons, Red-breasted Mergansers, or grebes (Western, Eared, and Pied-billed), start here. You will of course still see cormorants, Western Gulls and probably and egret or heron fishing on top of the kelp. A group of Heerman's Gulls routinely winter in the cove, hanging out on the rocks by the parking lot. But they appear to have left early this year. There is also an Osprey who frequents the eastern side of the cove year round, though it took me over a year to spot it.

Great Blue Heron Rookery

In April through June, Great Blue Herons nest in the pine trees at Coal Chute Point.

Whaler's Cabin Museum

Docent Info Station

Bird Island Parking

Sea Lion Point Parking

Restroom

Restroom

Whaler's Cove Parking

Restroom

Restroom

Restroom

Piney Woods Parking