A Coastal Ramble for Romantics

Named for its moonstones (milky translucent agates), gravelly shored Moonstone Beach on the Central California coast near Cambria is a great place for two kinds of ramblers--rock hounds and romantics. Romantic rock hounds will undoubtedly be in double ecstasy on a Valentine’s Day stroll along the broad beach.

Moonstones and jaspers--types of quartz--were carried here by streams from the nearby coastal range and then polished by surf and sand. The beach has a very special light and is equally enjoyable in sunny and rainy weather.

From the bluffs above Moonstone Beach--part of San Simeon State Beach--the walker may observe sea otters. The beach marks the southern end of the California Sea Otter Game Refuge. During the winter months, whale-watching is excellent because the gray giants swim close to shore.

This hike begins at the mouth of Santa Rosa Creek, where there’s a small fresh-water lagoon. The path winds atop the bluffs above Moonstone Beach and visits Leffingwell Landing, the site of a pier that figured prominently in the 19th-Century coastal trade and is now a fine picnic area.

Directions to trailhead: From California 1, just north of Cambria, turn west on Moonstone Beach Drive. Park at the Santa Rosa Creek day-use area. (Moonstone Beach Drive intersects Coast Highway both north and south of Moonstone Beach.)

The Hike: Follow the bluff trail north from the parking lot. The rugged headlands are developed, in contrast to “Motel Row” on the east side of Moonstone Beach Drive. Moonstone Beach is composed, in part, of colored rocks.

A mile of walking brings you to the old highway bridge that spans Leffingwell Creek. Just above the creek is a state park day-use area at Leffingwell Landing, where picnic tables are nestled in a sheltered cypress grove. During the 1870s and 1880s, ships unloaded lumber and other goods here for pioneer settlers who lived in the San Simeon Creek area.

The path picks up again at the bluff edge past the picnic area and winds through Monterey pine and cypress. Soon you’ll be treated to views of Piedras Blancas Lighthouse to the north and Hearst Castle inland. Indian mortar holes are ground into the sandstone bluffs rising above the beach. You can either descend the bluffs to the beach or angle over to a vista point located near the intersection of Moonstone Beach Drive and California 1.

Moonstone Beach Trail: Santa Rosa Creek to Leffingwell Landing 2 1/2 miles round trip