Last week we took a trip to California to visit family. One of the highlights of our trip was a morning hike we took in Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. We spent the night in nearby Monterey, CA and ‘benefited’ from the two hour time difference that had us awake around 5:30 AM. The reserve is open from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM. As one of the first cars through the gates, we easily found a parking spot near Bird Island Trailhead on the south end of the park. We passed by the park entrance several hours later and the parking lots were completely full.
California Crown Jewel
I read that Point Lobos is the ‘crown jewel’ of California Park systems, and I can see why. We started at the Bird Island Trailhead, and walked the .8 mile round-trip loop. Our 16 month old Cecilia refused to get inside her Ergobaby carrier, so we couldn’t make the hike long. Lucky for us, we didn’t have to go far to see gorgeous ocean vistas, beautiful woods, sea life and private sandy beach coves.
We took a quick drive to the other side of Point Lobos park by Whalers Cove to enjoy the forest and gorgeous ocean views. We could have spent all day at Point Lobos, but we continued our adventure by driving on scenic Pacific Coast highway 1 to beautiful Morro Bay for more family fun. Topping off an already great morning, Cecy napped during the whole drive down which basically made this the perfect road trip in my book. Yay!
rocky mountain tot 
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