Pacific Coast Highway - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 156

8. Salt Point State Park
Giant toadstools, abstract sculptures, delicate honeycombs—sandstone formations like
these, nestled among the headlands of Salt Point State Park, took some 50 million years to
create. But these fanciful forms, carved by the wind and the sea, are surely worth the wait.
The park also contains one of California's first underwater preserves, a natural metropolis
of anemones, nudibranchs, sea stars, chitons, abalone, and other marine life.
9. Kruse Rhododendron State Reserve
AshorthopinlandfromthestonywondersofSaltPoint,this317-acreforestpreserveoffers
amoredelicatebeauty.Reclaimingahillsideoncedevastatedbyfire,20-foot-highbanksof
rhododendrons burst with pink blossoms every spring. Bit by bit, the flowers are yielding
to the encroaching woods—part of natural patterns of plant succession—but in the mean-
time they continue to paint a lovely scene.
Visitors are welcome to climb to the top of the 115-foot-high Point Arena Lighthouse and view the spectacular rocks and
surf below.