Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
keep watch for sea otters floating atop the kelp forests and great blue herons surfing
on the thick nearshore kelp rafts. Eventually retrace your steps to the junction with
the
South Plateau Trail.
As you turn inland along the South Plateau Trail, you'll soon pass a short spur
to
Gibson Beach,
one of the few wide, protected sandy beaches at Point Lobos. The
South Plateau Trail is a nature trail, where numbered markers correspond to a pamph-
let in a box at the trailhead near the entrance kiosk. When the trail forks (1.9 miles,
50'), turn left onto the
Pine Ridge Trail.
Farther from the sea breeze and salt spray, the Pine Ridge Trail winds through a
tall shady grove of Monterey pines—one of only three remaining natural groves on
Earth. Similar to the cypress, Monterey pines require heat or fire to release seeds from
their cones. Hiking on a carpet of pine needles, you may notice charcoal or basal fire
scars on the pines, evidence of controlled burns. In general, natural processes at the
reserve are left undisturbed. However, rangers do use fire to promote healthy pine
regeneration and to limit wood debris and understory regrowth. Black-tailed deer,
white-rumped northern flicker woodpeckers, and western gray squirrels may remind
you of the Sierra Nevada. But the ever-present noisy barks of California sea lions
carry deep into the grove, a reminder that you're but a short walk from the fresh, fra-
grant sea air, salty spray, and soothing waves.
