An amazing day hiking at Point Lobos State Natural Preserve
Living just an hour’s drive away, I have been to Monterey/Carmel many times before for a quick day trip or weekend getaway with my family and friends. But never got the chance to explore Point Lobos State Natural Preserve.
I would have missed it again, but the Highway 1 closure south of Carmel on our recent family trip made us explore other hiking options as we couldn’t go to Big Sur.
I had heard of Point Lobos State Park before as a popular hiking destination, but I had not imagined such spectacular coastal views and beaches. Point Lobos had an extensive network of hiking trails, and we explored several of them.
My favorite things about Point Lobos were the unmatched beauty of China Cove and seeing harbor seals resting on the beach and pups swimming nearby.
Read on to find out the top things to do in Point Lobos, how much time you need, and how to get there.
Top things to do in Point Lobos
- Hiking the many coastal and forest trails here. Bird Island Trail and South Shore Trail are my favorites.
- Tidepooling at several beaches here.
- Wildlife viewing. We saw Harbor Seals and pups at China Cove and many birds at Bird Island.
- Relaxing at the beaches
- Picnicking is allowed at designated picnic areas at Whaler’s Cove, Bird Island, and Piney Woods.
Getting There
Point Lobos is just 5 miles South of Carmel-by-the-sea coastal town, and you can reach there in around 10 minutes via Highway 1.
From San Francisco, it is around 120 miles and can take around 2 hours, depending on traffic.
We were staying overnight in Carmel during a spring break getaway, so it took us hardly 10 minutes to get there.
Make sure to check the official Point Lobos State Park website for park opening hours and current trail conditions before your visit.
Parking
While it was easy to reach Point Lobos from Carmel, parking was another story!
It was a Monday morning during Spring break, and we took our time eating a nice breakfast at From Scratch in Carmel. Delicious food! I highly recommend it!
We reached Point Lobos around 11 AM, and the parking lots inside the park were full, so cars were not allowed inside the park. We had to park much further on Highway 1 and walk to the park.
The downside was that we couldn’t cover the entire park on foot and missed exploring the north side of the park, where Whaler’s Cove is. We chose to do the trail loop to China Cove and Bird Island.
The upside was that pedestrians did not have to pay the park entrance fee so we visited for free. The entrance fee is per vehicle entering the park. I even asked the ranger to confirm it. We bought a paper map of the park for $2.
There is also an information board with a picture of the park’s trail networks at the entrance, and you can take a picture with your phone. I love having a paper map with me rather than squinting at a tiny phone screen!
Point Lobos hikes
We had to hike quite a bit more than planned as we were not able to drive inside the park.
Our original plan was to drive first to Whaler’s Cabin and then drive to Bird Island trail parking lot and do the Bird Island Trail.
Instead, we had to hike the connector trails to reach Bird Island. Overall, it turned out to be great, as we really loved the 4-mile loop we did.
Our hiking route from the park entrance: Lace Linchen Trail -> Sea Lion Point Trail -> Sand Hill Trail -> South Shore Trail -> Bird Island Trail -> South Plateau Trail.
Lace Lichen Trail
We first took the Lace Lichen Trail from the park entrance. It is 0.8 miles long, mostly flat, and stroller-friendly. The path was dirt/gravel and not paved.
It was a peaceful walk in the forest. Birds chirped, and Lichen (a grey-colored stringy algae) hung from the trees.
The trail ends at the Sea Lion Point parking area.
Sea Lion Point Trail and Sand Hill Trail
This loop is around 0.6 miles long and has spectacular views of the ocean, Headland Cove, and Sea Lion Cove.
You might see wildlife here on the coves, like sea lions, harbor seals, and sea otters. We didn’t see any that day in this area, but we saw some seals later on in China Cove. More on that coming up!
You can do the whole loop and then go down the stairs to connect to the South Shore Trail.
South Shore Trail
Once on the South Shore Trail, the scenic ocean vistas stayed with us till we reached Bird Island.
The South Shore Trail is parallel to the ocean and around 1 mile from Sea Lion Point to the Bird Island parking lot.
We passed several beaches like Weston Beach and Hidden Beach, as well as small coves and some parking lots on this trail.
Most of the paths to the ocean were roped off except for some places where there were stairs to go down to the beaches.
The waves crashing against the rocks were soothing, and we didn’t even realize when the mile was up, and we reached Bird Island Trail.
Bird Island Trail
Bird Island Trail is one of the best trails here. There is a parking lot, a picnic area, and restrooms here. The Bird Island loop is 0.8 miles.
The trail is wheelchair accessible and has a paved path as well as an alternate stairs path from the parking lot. There are benches along the trail to sit and admire the views.
For me, the best part of this trail was the China Cove. It was really scenic, and the aqua-blue waters rivaled some of the beaches I had seen in Hawaii.
There were signboards to be quiet here so as not to disturb the nesting harbor seals.
We saw some mama seals resting on the beach and some pups swimming in the water nearby. We sat here for some time, watching this beautiful scene.
Continuing further on this trail, we reached the lookout for Bird Island, which is a large rock island, and there were several birds on it.
I am not a bird enthusiast, but based on the information posted at the park, the colony of black sea birds on Bird Island is called Brandt’s Cormorant.
Even though I am not into birds that much, I would say that I really enjoy the sound of birds chirping, just like all sounds of nature.
South Plateau Trail
After finishing the Bird Island trail, we took the South Plateau trail to go back to the entrance. South Plateau trail is 0.7 miles from Bird Island to the entrance.
There were stairs to go down to Gibson Beach, but it was closed the day we visited. Looked like a great beach to relax and enjoy the ocean views.
This trail is through a forest, and it was muddy at some places we visited. There were sections of large puddles of water due to the recent rain.
Where to stay near Point Lobos
Carmel River Inn – We stayed in this cute little cottage at Carmel River Inn, just 5 miles north of Point Lobos. It was newly built, and the property was nice, with well-maintained landscaping.
What else is nearby
- Monterey and Cannery Row
- Pacific Grove and 17-mile drive
- Carmel-by-the-sea
- Big Sur
- Bixby Bridge
- McWay Falls
Wrapping up: Hiking Point Lobos
Point Lobos was an excellent hiking destination with amazing coastal views, beautiful beaches and coves, and well-maintained trails. I will definitely visit again and explore more of its hiking trails.
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