Monastery Beach is a popular launching spot for divers exploring the nearshore kelp forests. Cold upwelling in the Carmel Submarine Canyon brings nutrient-rich water to the surface, supplying food to abundant marine life. The canyon extends 3.5 miles west before deepening and turning northwest for 12 miles along an active fault to join the Monterey Submarine Canyon, the West Coast’s largest submarine canyon.
Enjoy the coarse sand between your toes before returning the way you came.
Point Lobos State Reserve
THIS EXCEPTIONAL STRETCH of the Big Sur coast has been dubbed “the crown jewel of the California state park system.” Seven hundred of the reserve’s 1250 acres lie underwater, encompassing rocky coves, shallow tide pools, and broad kelp beds. The remaining 550 acres take in 14 trails that crisscross through wind-sculpted pines, across jagged rocky headlands, and along white sand beaches beside cobalt waters. Strolling this dynamic, diverse landscape, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to sightsee, take photos, paint, picnic, and study nature, while water lovers can scuba dive or snorkel.
In addition to harboring incredibly diverse flora and fauna, unique geology, rare plant life, and spectacular scenery, Point Lobos is also rich in human history. At one time or another over the past 200 years, the point has been home to American Indians, Chinese fishermen, Japanese abalone harvesters, and Portuguese whalers. Throughout the park, historic relics and endangered archaeological sites offer visitors insight into the varied occupations that once thrived here.
Whether you walk the windswept coastline or head inland through Monterey pine groves and meadows, you’ll hear the raucous barking of sea lions from their nearshore colonies—an enduring reminder of the earlier Spanish name for the reserve: Punta de los Lobos Marinos (Point of the Sea Wolves).
DIRECTIONS: The reserve entrance is off Highway 1, 2.2 miles south of the Rio Road intersection in Carmel and 1.2 miles north of the Highlands Inn entrance road (Highlands Drive) in Carmel Highlands.
VISITOR CENTER: An information kiosk at the entrance offers books, maps, and interpretive displays about the zoology, geology, and botany of Point Lobos.
NEAREST CAMPGROUNDS: See Chapter 10: Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park for coastal campgrounds or Chapter 14: Bottchers Gap for inland options.
INFORMATION: Open daily 9 a.m.–7 p.m. in summer, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. in winter. There’s an $10-per-vehicle entrance fee (discounts offered to seniors and the disabled). Entry is limited to 450 visitors at any one time. Bicycles are restricted to paved roads. Fires and the use of stoves are prohibited. Fishing, Frisbee, kite flying, and other games are prohibited. Pets are not allowed in the reserve, though guide dogs for the blind and certified service dogs are permitted. Diving is restricted to Bluefish and Whalers Coves with advance permits and proof of dive certification.
WEBSITE: pointlobos.org
PHONE: (831) 624-4909
Trip 2
CARMELO MEADOW, GRANITE POINT, & MOSS COVE TRAILS
LENGTH AND TYPE: 4.4-mile out-and-back
RATING: Easy
TRAIL CONDITION: Well maintained, good for kids
HIGHLIGHTS: Visit the Whaling Station Museum and adjacent Whalers Cabin Museum to learn about the area’s cultural history.
TO REACH THE TRAILHEAD: Once at Point Lobos, park in the lot just past the entrance kiosk. If that lot is full (often the case on weekends), bear right at the first fork and head north 0.3 mile to Whalers Cove. Follow the trail description from Whalers Cove, bypassing the 0.2-mile Carmelo Meadow Trail description.
TRIP SUMMARY: This hike begins amid colorful coastal wildflowers in Carmelo Meadow and leads to Whalers Cove, the former site of a prosperous whaling station. A short stroll up the road leads to the Whalers Cabin Museum and Whaling Station Museum, each of which display historical artifacts, diagrams, and photographs. The Granite Point Trail leads through dense Monterey pines to Coal Chute Point, which overlooks the surging surf and thick floating kelp mats. Keep a close watch for harbor seals and sea otters amid the kelp.
Trails at Point Lobos lead to jagged, rocky headlands, turquoise waters, and wind-sculpted pine forests.
Trip Description
The Carmelo Meadow Trail leads from the entrance road north to Whalers Cove or south toward Gibson Beach and Bird Island. Head north through Carmelo Meadow. In spring, grasses and herbacious plants give way to a spectrum of wildflowers. At 0.2 mile the Carmelo Meadow Trail ends at Whalers Cove and a junction with the Granite Point Trail. Turn left onto the Granite Point Trail and stroll 0.1 mile to the Whaling Station Museum and Whalers Cabin Museum (0.3 mile, 30').
WHALE TALES
In the 1850s, Chinese fishermen sailed to California in 30-foot junks in order to harvest abalone along these rocky shores. Their settlement at Whalers Cove consisted of about a dozen structures, one of which now houses the Whalers Cabin Museum. Artifacts and memorabilia span several time periods in the cultural history of the cove.
Portuguese whalers arrived at Point Lobos in 1862 and established the Carmel Bay Whaling Company, one of 16 whaling stations on the California coast. The men hunted gray whales, which still roam these waters from mid-December through May during their migration from Baja to Alaska. The station closed in 1879, but the Whaling Station Museum offers a historical perspective of the industry alongside equipment, photographs, and drawings that depict the lives of whalers and their families. Docents are often on hand to answer questions.
After killing a whale, the whalers towed it into the cove and sliced its blubber into strips. They then cut the blubber into smaller pieces and melted it down in large iron cauldrons called try pots. The reduced blubber was used primarily as lamp oil. Two try pots are on display next to the museum alongside an enormous finback whale skeleton.
Just past the museums, the trail leads to a small parking lot where an abalone cannery and a granite quarry once operated. At the height of abalone harvesting, the cannery supplied 75% of the abalone sold in California, while granite from the quarry was used to build the U.S. Mint in San Francisco. From here return to the junction with the Carmelo Meadow Trail.
Past this junction the Granite Point Trail leads through dense stands of Monterey pine and climbs toward Coal Chute Point, the first spur on your left (0.4 mile, 30'). At this site in the mid-1870s, coal was dumped from ore carts down a coal chute to the cove below, where deep water enabled coastal steamships close access to shore. The 200-foot spur loops back to Granite Point Trail.
The trail continues through dense, fragrant coastal scrub, descends to the edge of a former pasture, then reaches a junction with the spur toward Granite Point. Turn left and climb 0.1 mile to the point (1.6 miles, 30'), where spectacular views abound. Carmel Bay lies to the north, boasting wave-washed beaches and rocky promontories. Abundant life teems in the kelp forests, which rise and fall with the tides. Herons and egrets often “surf” atop these floating mats. The spur loops around to join the Moss Cove Trail.
This trail follows the road once used to transport coal from the hills above Point Lobos to Coal Chute Point. It also leads to the newest addition to the reserve, a pasture that once supported grazing cattle. Today small mammals such as mice, voles, and rabbits scurry in the underbrush, while hawks, kestrels, and kites soar overhead, taking advantage of the open hunting grounds. The trail emerges at the south end of Monastery Beach (2.2 miles, 20'). Return the way you came.
Trip