February 12 – 21, 2024
Our last week in Cayucos stretches to 10 days. Who says a week can’t be longer than 7 days? We started the week driving up the coast to the Elephant Seal Vista Point just south of the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse. We pulled into the parking lot just north of the Vista Point. We’ve viewed the elephant seals many times. This time we were heading out on a hike. The bluff walk starts from the parking lot to Piedras Blancos Point. Some of the path was quite wet with boards strategically placed to assist us in keeping our feet dry. Most of the time it worked, other times it did not. We heard the barking seals long before we saw them. It was very pretty and a more enjoyable place to viewing the seals.
Tuesday, February 13th, we set off to San Luis Obispo to hike near Cal Poly. We chose the Stenner Creek trail. It is mainly used by bikers to get to the “Eucs” to practice their jumps. We parked in a small parking lot on Stenner Creek Road. We walked through a gate to the trail. The trail switchbacked up towards the West Cuesta Ridge. It was a bright, dry day as we continued up after crossing the railroad tracks. We meandered through the grassland as we followed the creek. It was an enjoyable out and back hike with views across the valley to the morros and the ocean. This is a trail we definitely will do again. After the hike we had dinner at the original High Street Deli in San Luis Obispo. The ambiance at the Baywood version is more to our liking but the food was the same deliciousness.
The next day we decided to take a a little break and walk around the Cayucos neighborhood and of course the beach.
After our day of rest we drove through the town of Santa Margarita to hike the Rinconada Trail off Pozo Road. This is one of our go-to hikes that was closed last year due to the rain storms that inundated California last winter. It’s a nice trail in the Santa Lucia Mountains that climbs up towards Bell Mountain. It was a little cloudy that made for a cooler hike. The views were so fantastic that made it impossible to not hesitate to take photos. We saw wildflowers, various oaks and distant mountains. The out-and-back hike was approximately 6 miles. After we made it back to the car, we drove into Santa Margarita for a great lunch at The Porch Cafe.
After much discussion and a couple of in town stops, we drove to Montaña de Oro State Park to walk the Coon Creek to Rattlesnake Flats hike. The hike begins at the Point Buchon parking lot at the end of Pecho Valley Road. It drops down to Coon Creek and follows it up stream. We were on the lookout for wildflowers and encountered many species – Indian paintbrush, ceanothus, woolly sunflower, giant trillium, and milkmaids. It was shady with oaks and some pines. We crossed a couple of bridges as the trail hugged the canyon. About 1.25 miles in, we encountered the signpost for Rattlesnake Flats trail. It led us up the canyon ridge via nicely spaced switchbacks. We rose above the creek along a single track through the grassland. They were great views of the mountains across the canyon and we even caught glimpses of the ocean. We rounded the mountain and traversed another long canyon that displayed remnants of a fire from a few years back. When we exited that canyon we reached the trail that led back to the parking lot. The differences in the two trails made for a very interesting and satisfying hike.
A storm was expected for the next few days. We decided to stay close to the condo and do some beach walks for exercise and viewing of the store aftermath. And it was dramatic. The waves were so intense that the pillars at the end of the pier broke away. I found some of them in my beach walk. The pier was closed, obviously.
So finally we came to the last full day in Cayucos. The storms seemed to be over so we decided to head back to Montaña de Oro. We were in search of a new place to hike and stretch our legs. We found an interesting hike off of Pecho Valley Road. We parked off the road near the Hazard Reef trailhead. Our hope was a trail that would lead inland up Hazard Peak. We passed some CalFire personnel working near Camp KEEP, a residential outdoor science program for students. We were directed away from the camp to the Hiedra Trail. We were initially planning on hiking the Bloody Nose Trail to Hazard Peak but decided to take a more direct route. We continued on the Hiedra Trail that ultimately led us to our chosen Hazard Peak Trail. I know it seems convoluted, and next time we’ll take a more direct route. The trail (at least some of it) is a favorite of bikers and we encountered a few joyfully riding to or from the peak. It’s a nice trail with great if not hazy views. Next time we’ll plan better and actually make it to the Peak.
We were hungry and wanted to go out for a meal on our last day on the Central Coast. Our chosen place in the Baywood-Los Osos area is High Street Deli. We took a chance and drove there after our hike. But alas, it is closed on Wednesday. We drove away discouraged. But before we made it out of Baywood, we made a quick decision, turned around and parked outside of a place called Beerwood that is around the corner from the Deli. We had been to this location before when it was the Olde Alehouse. The new iteration passed our test for food, beer and ambiance. We shall return, especially if High Street is closed.
So our time in Cayucos comes to an end. Tomorrow we head to Gilroy.
Los Angeles Excursions 