Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Trip 5
COASTAL ACCESS TRAILS
LENGTH AND TYPE: 2-mile out-and-back
RATING: Easy
TRAIL CONDITION: Well maintained, poison oak, good for kids
HIGHLIGHTS: Rugged rocky shores, wave-washed beaches, and isolated coves
TO REACH THE TRAILHEAD:
This hike description begins from turnout 17 along High-
way 1.
TRIP SUMMARY:
The hike stretches about a mile to the south end of the park via the
headlands or the beach.
EARLY BEACHCOMBERS
Between dense thickets of coastal brush, shellfish remains and the bones of seals, ot-
ters, and land mammals such as deer and rabbits poke up from the bare sand, mark-
ing ancient middens, or human garbage heaps. The middens in Garrapata State Park
date to coastal tribes that roamed the coast centuries before Spanish missionaries ar-
rived. One shell bead dated from 100 to 300 A.D., while archaeologists traced obsidi-
an flakes to the Borax Lake region of the Coast Range, nearly 200 miles north of Big
Sur.
Garrapata's natives were likely members of the Rumsen subgroup of Ohlone In-
dians. Through extensive trade, the Ohlone were able to obtain items from both neigh-
boring and distant tribes. The tribe relied on hunting and gathering along the coast in
mild summer months, moving inland for the winter. They ate primarily mussels and
other shellfish.
Before the arrival of Spanish missionaries, an estimated 10,000 Ohlone lived in
an area stretching from San Francisco Bay south to Big Sur and east to the Central
Valley. By the late 1700s, the Spanish had claimed much of the land and missionaries'
conversionary zeal had all but erased native culture. Within a few short decades, ex-
posure to deadly European diseases reduced Ohlone's numbers to some 2500 people.
Today, descendants of the Ohlone still live in the area and preserve their ancestors'
native traditions.
Trip Description
From 17, the northernmost turnout, a short spur leads a few yards west to a bench atop
a scenic overlook, an ideal spot to watch migrating whales in winter and spring. April
