Date/Time
Saturday, August 13th, 2022 | 3:15pm - 6:00pm
Where We Will Meet
Garrapata State Park Gate 1 parking area
Where The Walk Will End
We will meet at the Garrapata Beach parking lot (Gate 19)
About This Walk
The Northern California Coastline in the Garrapata State Park and surrounding areas is spectacular. This walk will be a walk and drive through multiple locations within the park as it would not be safe (or reasonably possible) to walk the entire length of the coastline. We will meet at Gate 1 (a turn out along highway one located approximately 0.9 miles south of Mal Paso Road and 0.1 miles north of mile-marker 6700) and start our walk from there. Each of the “gates” into the park has short walks along the bluffs and in some areas descending down to a rocky coastline or a beach below. Most of the trails along the coastal side of the road are relatively short (about 1/2 mile or so) and many have stairways built onto the trail at key locations. There are also parts of trails going up or down that do not have stairs, so good walking/hiking shoes are suggested and care taken as you walk any incline/decline. As we finish with each of the different gates we will progress down to gate 19 which is located at Garrapata Beach. There are some very short trails down to an absolutely beautiful white sand beach with gorgeous blue waters. The beach is our final destination and we will meet at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the parking area at 6:00 pm to conclude the walk. Anyone who wishes can also head a little further down the highway to Bixby Bridge (an optional extension of our walk) to capture images of the bridge as the sun sets.
I suggest wearing good walking/hiking shoes and long pants for the parts of the trails that head through brush (as there is the possibility of ticks and even poison oak). Sunscreen is advisable as the day is projected to be sunny with clear skies possible getting into the upper 80s with a slight 10-20 mph breeze.
The coastline is beautifully captured with various types of lenses, but if you have a wide angle as well as a telephoto you will have the widest range of flexibility to capture those beautiful coastal images. If long exposures of the waves crashing on the shoreline is of interest a tripod is a must.
There are outhouse bathrooms at a few of the gates along the coastline of the park. I do not know how well equipped they are, so bringing a bit of tissue with you might be a good idea.
If you would like to see some State Park brochures about the park and with a map of the various gates and trails along the coastline here are two website addresses that you can cut and paste into your browser that will give you a visual of the extent of the walk:
https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/579/files/GarrapataSPWeb2012Rev.pdf
https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/579/files/garrapata.pdf
Should you wish to come on the optional Bixby Bridge extension here is a website address for a more general map of the area. Bixby Bridge is a few miles south of Garrapata Beach:
*Big Sur Interactive Highway Maps with Slide Names & Mile Markers
This should be an absolutely beautiful day and I look forward to seeing those who choose to attend this walk.
Last Minute SuggestionAugust 12th, 2022
If applicable, don’t forget to check your camera’s batteries to make sure they are fully charged and that you have a backup battery and sufficient memory cards as well as any filters or other accessories you might need when shooting at the ocean.
Looking forward to meeting you all tomorrow.
Patricia
