Garrapata State Park.mp4

Beauty and the Beach

Visit Garrapata State Park for bluffside hiking and a beautiful beach in Monterey

Sweeping, romantic, and vast, Garrapata State Park has all the stuff of swoon-worthy scenery. There’s an inland hike you can do, the Soberanes Canyon Trail, and a magical beach backed by hulking cliffs with a hiking trail we like best in the later afternoon, when the beach can be blissfully deserted.

Walk the Garrapata Coastal Trail, an easygoing 1-mile loop along ice-plant-covered cliffs. Views stretch up and down the coast, punctuated by dramatic vantages of the beach below.

Late day sunlight glints off the ocean, and the sand is alight in golden glory. To reach the beach, detour down the stairway and stroll the strand, watching the waves, inhaling the sea breeze, and checking out forts made from driftwood.

Dog-friendly!

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Purely Purisima

    Take a relaxing hike on the lower section of Purisiima Creek Trail in Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.

    View
  2. Been There, Dome That

    Surrounded by granite domes, craggy peaks, and miles of hiking trails, the High Sierra landscape of Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park is famous for good reason. For a truly grand view, take a short hike to bold—and bald (except for snow at times)—Lembert Dome.

    View
  3. Wapama Wows

    Hetch Hetchy can be overlooked in Yosemite National Park because of its more remote location and limited facilities. But this is where you’ll also find one of the best day hikes in the park: Wapama Falls.

    View
  4. Sponsored

    Take the Exit to the Best of the San Francisco Peninsula

    The San Francisco Peninsula is proof that some of Northern California’s greatest surprises are hiding just off Highway 101. All you have to do is take the exit.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. Ballona Beach Hopper

    This easygoing bike escape is proof that you don't have to drive for hours to feel the vast benefits of nature. The Ballona Creek Bike Path is part of the “Park to Playa Regional Trail,” a 13-mile network connecting parks and open spaces from Baldwin Hills to the Pacific Ocean.

    View
  2. Lookout Ahead!

    A 3.7-mile loop hike to Boucher Hill Fire Lookout in Palomar Mountain State Park reminds us just how stunningly beautiful are the mountains of this remote, lightly visited portion of northern San Diego County.

    View
  3. A Thousand Steps to Paradise

    A picture is worth a thousand words, but is a gorgeous beach in Laguna worth a thousand steps? The answer is yes, though the question is moot, because it’s only 223 steep steps down to the 400-yard stretch of sand known as 1000 Steps Beach.

    View
  4. Strawberry Peak Lookout Hike

    Strawberry Sunday

    The 2.5-mile (round-trip) lollipop loop climb to the Strawberry Peak Fire Lookout near the town of Lake Arrowhead dishes up some delicious views.

    View