A gorgeous hike through the northern vista points in Point Lobos.

Location: Point Lobos State Natural Reserve

» Official Trail Map (interactive): Pretty good trail map, shown overlaid on Google Maps.

» Official Trail Map (PDF): Decent trail map without contours.

From Highway 1, follow a trail parallel to the highway towards the park entrance. Inside the park, turn right along Cermelo Meadow Trail close to the entrance kiosk. Turn left on Granite Point Trail to reach Whalers Museum that lies across a paved road. Explore the museum. Adjacent to the museum lies Cabin Trail. Along Cabin Trail, turn right towards Cannery Point. After exploring Cannery Point, return by the same route back to Cabin Trail. Turn right on North Shore Trail along which lie Bluefish Cove and Guillernot Island. Turn left on Whaler's Knoll Trail. Soon after the knoll, turn right on an unnamed trail which takes you back to a paved road (Point Lobos Road). Cross the road, continue along the trail, turn left on Lace Lichen Trail, all the way back to the kiosk at park entrance.

Location: near intersection of Riley Ranch Rd and California 1, Carmel, CA 93923 . Parking area is visible in Google Maps if you zoom in sufficiently.

Directions: Point Lobos is on Highway 1, two miles south of a large shopping complex at the intersection of Rio Road and Highway 1 in Carmel, CA.

Google Maps:

Parking Fees: $10 for parking inside the park. Free parking outside the park (last visited: Feb 2012)

Capacity: Dozens of cars may be parked at multiple parks inside the park. Dozens of cars may be parked outside the park entrance. There is a trail on the west side of Highway 1, paralleling the highway.

Latitude: 36.517983     Longitude: -121.934968