Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Montana de Oro State Park

 

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Just 6 miles southwest of Morro Bay is one of the largest state parks in California, Montana de Oro. At over 8,000 acres, it has a variety of terrains, from rugged coastlines and bluffs to coastal mountains, including 1,347’ Valencia Peak. So a hike to the peak sounded like a good way to see the park from above. Debbie opted for the more level Bluff Trail along the coast.

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The trail to Valencia Peak climbs over 1,200 feet in two miles, and although uphill almost the entire way, we took it slow and with the distraction of the views it didn’t seem so bad.

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We only saw two other people on the trail until we were a bit over halfway down when a group of at least 20 young boys were heading up. They were funny, complaining about how tired they were already. One of the leaders with them said they were only going to the first hill, Little Valencia. Luckily for the guides, they were almost there when we talked to them.

Today we take a break from playing tourist for an exciting day of laundry and grocery shopping before moving on up the coast tomorrow.

Morro Bay, El Chorro, and San Luis Obispo, CA1

6 comments:

  1. not many trees, are there? Same north of San Francisco…where the wind can really take you for a ride sometimes.
    box canyon

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  2. Love the floral photos and the views.

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  3. This was fantastic! So worth the climb for those views...magnificent! Sp glad you shared.

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  4. Some of those photos are so beautiful, they look like paintings. When you have scenery like the ocean and mountains both at one time, it makes for a gorgeous hike. Good job.

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  5. We never made it to Montana de Oro, thanks for taking me there!

    If you are in the area you may want to check out Point Reyes (North of San Francisco). There is a wonderful hike there where you have the ocean on one side and Tomales Bay on the other side and herds of elk all over the place. It's the Tomales Point Trail I believe.

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  6. What a great hike with those views. I don't know if we'll ever get back in that area, but I'll keep it in mind.

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