Distance: 4.7 miles

Difficulty: moderate to hard

What a view!

After moving to Fresno in the summer of 2015, I spent the first few months of being a California resident hiking in the Sierra. High elevation, decent mileage, rugged terrain. When it became too snowy, I set my sights on the coast. I’ll admit, I was feeling pretty smug about my fitness and hiking abilities when I decided to #optoutside on Black Friday at Garrapata State Park.

The park is about 10 miles south of Carmel-by-the-Sea, right off of Highway 1. I mean, RIGHT off the highway. You park in pullouts off the PCH, close to the trailhead. This trail is a loop, or you can make it sort of a loop. When Mark and I hiked it, we went counter-clockwise. We used the Soberanes Canyon Trail in, then the Rocky Ridge Trail out.

From the top.

There’s a pit toilet at this trailhead, but I don’t think there’s one at the Rocky Ridge Trailhead. The start of the trail is nice and fairly flat. It’s shaded by redwood trees and follows along the tranquil Soberanes Creek. Between miles 1 and 2, you’ll start to notice more of a grade. Then you start the quad-burning hill climb.

This was my ego-check. If you’ve hiked Pincushion Peak, I’d compare it to that hill. Just a mile uphill, and it’s rocky, so you’re apt to step, have a foot slip backward, and lose precious inches in your journey to the summit. The views you start to get of the ocean totally make up for the burn…right?

Ah, the summit. So worth it. There are plenty of flat areas or rocks to sit on, have a sandwich, and look out over the Pacific Ocean. If you keep going and hike down a little way, there’s a nice bench overlooking the ocean.

Amazing.

Going down keeps the beautiful ocean in view. Just be careful on the loose rocks. When I hiked it in the fall of 2015, the trail was more of a deep trough, so be mindful of your ankles.

A few hundred feet from the road, the trail goes left. Follow it for .2 miles, then turn right and it will spit you out by the bathroom again. We skipped that last bit of trail, and just hiked all the way to the road at the Rocky Ridge trailhead. The highway shoulder to hike back to the car at the Soberanes Canyon trailhead gets narrow, FYI. But, I do recommend going this way if you want to cross the highway and go to Soberanes Point.

Catch the sunset here, or head north to Carmel. Then, enjoy being the smelliest and worst-dressed patron at one of the nice restaurants in town. Yes, I know from experience. 🙂

Sunset at Carmel.