View Montana de Oro State Park in a larger map
What
- Hiking Trails
- Biking Trails
- Equestrian Trails
- Camping
- Beaches
- Beach Coves
- Valencia Peak (1,347-foot)
- Spooner’s Cove
- Corallina Cove
- Tide pools in Corallina Cove
- Seals
- Wildlife (Deer, Oystercatcher, Rattle Snake, Lizards, Western Gull)
- View of Morro Rock
More Info
- Free parking
- Free admission
- Restrooms at several places in the state park
- Wear comfortable clothing and shoes
Montana
de Oro State Park, one of the largest state parks in California is one place
where I would never feel wearied even if I spend an entire week here. The park
features so many hiking trails along the coast and in the mountains that they
is no way there would ever be a dull moment here. The
golden windflowers found in the park earned its other popular name, “Mountain
of Gold”.
I am
surprised that this state park was enlisted as one of the 48 California State
Parks that was proposed to be closed by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008, but I am
glad it survived! This place is a beauty that everyone must have access to.
Spooner’s Cove
As people who get sparked by wild ocean, spooky caves, tide pools,
hole-in-the-rock formations, rock climbing, this park satisfied us in every
possible dimension. We drove to the popular Spooner’s Cove to see the iconic
hole-in-the-rock formation on a cliff.
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| Hole in the rock formation in Spooner's Cove |
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| Spooky cave in Spooner's Cove |
If you are prepared to get your
hands and pants soiled, go ahead and climb on the nearby rocks; the adventure
and the unique seascapes is totally worth it. If needed, crawl on those steep
rocks; it is nothing but fun! We spent a little over an hour in Spooner’s Cove
and walked uphill for a bit to take the Bluff Trail.
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| Spooner's Cove |
Bluff Trail
Length:
2 miles; Elevation: Insignificant; Time: 1.5 hours; Difficulty: Easy
This
easy 2-mile trail on an 80-foot cliff took us along the Pacific Coast, offering
some of the breathtaking views. A lookout from the trail imparted a stunning
aerial view of the Spooner’s Cove, Morro Rock and stacks of the Morro Bay
powerplant to the far right.
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| View from Bluff Trail (Morro Rock seen far behind) |
As
we walked on the trail, a detour took us down to the Corallina Cove, known for its rich tide pools. We prudently walked on the slippery tide
pools to see some of the most exotic sea life. The crystal clear water in the
tide pools revealed tide pool sculpins, shield limpets, surf crass, shore crabs, sea anemone, sea urchins, abalones, rock crabs and hermit crabs.
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| Tide pools in Corallina Cove |
As we were searching
for other sea animals, we noticed a huge sea star in one of the tide pools. Bunches of California Mussels were clustered next to the tide pools. Don’t miss out the camouflaged seals basking on the rocks just off the shore. I
heard a visitor mentioning that she saw a couple of double-colored striped rattle
snakes back on the trail. We were so engrossed watching the rich marine life in the tide pools that we did
not even notice time fly by.
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| California Mussels |
We
continued on our trail and returned to the car. Although I wanted to hike the
1347-foot Valencia Peak and take several other coastal trails, we were so enervated
and ravenous that we bookmarked them in our “to-do” list when we visit the SLO
County another time.
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