Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Fire-adapted species such as chamise and manzanita inhabit the flanks of Cone Peak and
encroach on the trail as they vigorously grow back following a fire.
THE HIGH ROAD
In 1542, Juan Cabrillo sailed past the forbidding Santa Lucia Range and wrote,
“There are mountains which seem to reach the heavens, and the sea beats on them.”
Spanning 200,000 acres of raw wilderness, these granite and marble peaks rise more
than 5000 feet above the Salinas Valley to the east and plunge west to the rugged Pa-
cific shoreline.
If you're looking for an easy hike or drive into these mountains, think again.
Few roads cross the wilderness, making it one of the largest roadless coastal tracts
in the Lower 48. Fortunately, if you're reluctant to brave overgrown trails with loose
tread and steep grades, there is Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, which connects the
“Salad Bowl” to the surf in little more than an hour's drive.
From the east, the road crosses the oak-fringed San Antonio Valley and Hunter
Liggett Military Reservation before climbing into the Santa Lucias. Three miles past
the divide, you'll reach the US Forest Service's Nacimiento Station, the only struc-
ture along the route. A quarter mile farther, the road passes Old Coast Road to the
south and Cone Peak Road to the north, which access most trailheads in this chapter.
Where the road plummets to the Pacific, fog often engulfs the river canyons, replen-
ishing redwoods that line these deep gullies.
Trip Description
From the signed trailhead on the west side of
Cone Peak Road
(4000'), you'll climb
past dense thickets of manzanita, wartleaf, and tree poppies, which bloom brilliant
yellow by late spring. These fire-adapted species are thriving in the wake of the 1999
Kirk Complex Fires, California's 10th largest recorded wildfire, which scorched more
than 90,000 acres of wilderness.
The trail climbs to a nearby saddle for your first stunning overlook of the south-
ern
Santa Lucia Range.
Approaching a ridge, you'll turn north to a second saddle
(0.5 mile, 4030'). As the trail steepens, the views encourage you onward. Watch your
footing as you pass two rubble-lined gullies that continually erode onto the trail.
Skirting past a downed tree, you may notice the first instance of encroaching
poison oak, a rarity at this altitude. Aggressive brush makes steady inroads, but dedic-
ated Ventana hikers and wilderness advocates bring pruning sheers and machetes with
them to keep it in check.
PRODIGIOUS CONE PEAK
Remarkable in many aspects, Cone Peak has intrigued people for millennia with
its varied topography, geology, botany, and cultural history. Its western slopes form
