Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ing Station Museum offers a historical perspective of the industry alongside equip-
ment, photographs, and drawings that depict the lives of whalers and their families.
Docents are often on hand to answer questions.
After killing a whale, the whalers towed it into the cove and sliced its blubber
into strips. They then cut the blubber into smaller pieces and melted it down in large
iron cauldrons called try pots. The reduced blubber was used primarily as lamp oil.
Two try pots are on display next to the museum alongside an enormous finback whale
skeleton.
Just past the museums, the trail leads to a small parking lot where an abalone
cannery and a granite quarry once operated. At the height of abalone harvesting, the
cannery supplied 75% of the abalone sold in California, while granite from the quarry
was used to build the U.S. Mint in San Francisco. From here return to the junction
with the Carmelo Meadow Trail.
Past this junction the Granite Point Trail leads through dense stands of Monterey
pine and climbs toward
Coal Chute Point,
the first spur on your left (0.4 mile, 30').
At this site in the mid-1870s, coal was dumped from ore carts down a coal chute to
the cove below, where deep water enabled coastal steamships close access to shore.
The 200-foot spur loops back to Granite Point Trail.
The trail continues through dense, fragrant coastal scrub, descends to the edge of
a former pasture, then reaches a junction with the spur toward
Granite Point.
Turn
left and climb 0.1 mile to the point (1.6 miles, 30'), where spectacular views abound.
Carmel Bay lies to the north, boasting wave-washed beaches and rocky promontories.
Abundant life teems in the kelp forests, which rise and fall with the tides. Herons and
egrets often “surf” atop these floating mats. The spur loops around to join the
Moss
Cove Trail.
This trail follows the road once used to transport coal from the hills above Point
Lobos to Coal Chute Point. It also leads to the newest addition to the reserve, a pas-
ture that once supported grazing cattle. Today small mammals such as mice, voles,
and rabbits scurry in the underbrush, while hawks, kestrels, and kites soar overhead,
taking advantage of the open hunting grounds. The trail emerges at the south end of
Monastery Beach
(2.2 miles, 20'). Return the way you came.
