A Walk With Mussel

If the Southern California coast “ends” at the Santa Barbara County/San Luis Obispo County line--as many geographers and demographers have determined--the grand finale is something to behold. Bold cliffs, towering sand dunes and isolated beaches combine to offer a tableau--and a coastal trek--to remember.

The Santa Maria River forms the Santa Barbara-San Luis Obispo County line. At the river’s mouth is a wetland where several endangered species reside, including the California least tern and brown pelican. Bald eagles and peregrine falcons have been spotted hunting for prey along the riverbanks.

Three miles south of the river is the highest sand dune on the West Coast, 450-foot-tall Mussel Rock. It’s not really all sand; most of it is a rock formation, though there’s an ancient sand dune deposited atop it. It’s an impressive landmark.

The Mussel Rock Dunes and Guadalupe Dunes south of the Santa Maria River (now part of the Nature Conservancy’s Nipomo Dunes Preserve), along with the Oceano Dunes, Pismo Dunes and Callender Dunes to the north, are known collectively as the Nipomo Dunes, the highest and whitest sand dunes in California. These dunes formed many thousands of years ago, between ice ages, through deposition by the Santa Maria River, and the sculpting of land and sea. The cliffs of Point Sal act as a sand trap to keep the dunes from straying south.

Conservationists have worked for a decade to create a large park that would preserve the so-called Mussel Rock Dunes and dramatic beaches and bluffs of the Point Sal area. Challenges to the Santa Barbara Land Trust, the Nature Conservancy and other preservationists include purchasing some private land and getting the region’s three public landowners--state parks, county parks and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management--to agree on a single park plan.

The beach walk from Rancho Guadalupe Dunes County Park to Mussel Rock is a fine one for the whole family. The beach route, for all intents and purposes, ends at Mussel Rock; hardy hikers will scamper up Mussel Rock and join a rugged unmaintained trail that contours around it, while the less intrepid, and those with children, will likely prefer to head inland over the sand dunes or retrace their steps back along the beach.

Safest and easiest access to, or exit from, the dunes is by way of one of the gulches located a few hundred yards north of Mussel Rock.

Directions to trail head: From U.S. 101 in Santa Maria (come 75 miles up-coast from downtown Santa Barbara), exit on Main Street and head west nine miles to the small town of Guadalupe and a junction with California Highway 1. Continue five more miles on Main Street to the road’s end at a beach parking area for Rancho Guadalupe Dunes County Park.

The hike: Walk south. A series of tall signposts proclaim the upper (inland) part of the beach as a bird nesting area and ask you to stay away.

In the first mile of your walk, you’ll likely encounter the two dominant species of beach-goers in these parts--the surfer trying to catch a big wave and the surf fisherman trying to catch a surf perch or halibut.

After a mile, you’ll leave most humans behind and encounter great numbers of shorebirds. Keep an eye out for some intriguing seashells, particularly sand dollars. A bit more than two miles out, you can look inland for a route up into the dunes.

Experienced hikers can continue right up to the base of Mussel Rock, scamper up the rock about 30 feet, and join a sandy trail that contours around the rock. The trail passes above a narrow cove, looks down on a small, wave-battered rock arch, and continues south.

Eventually (Mussel Rock is a big rock!) you’ll emerge above what locals call Paradise Beach, a sand strand that extends from Mussel Rock to Point Sal.

Dune hikers will enjoy the return sojourn through this Sahara-by-the-sea. The lower shifting sand dunes are dotted with sea rocket, sand verbena and morning glory, while the more stable inland dunes are bedecked with lupine, mock heather and the endangered soft-leaved paintbrush. The highest dunes are closest to Mussel Rock. Savor the fine coastal views south to Point Sal and the 35 miles of pristine coast monopolized by Vandenberg Air Force Base. Northern vistas take in the Nipomo Dunes, Pismo Beach and the sweep of San Luis Obispo Bay.

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Mussel Rock, Santa Barbara County Coast

WHERE: Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Preserve, Rancho Guadalupe, Dunes County Park.

DISTANCE: From Rancho Guadalupe County Park to Mussel Rock is 5.5 miles roud trip. TERRAIN: Beach, southernmost Nipomo Dunes.

HIGHLIGHTS: Mussel Rock, West Coast’s highest sand dune, abundant birdlife.

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: Moderate

PRECAUTIONS: Only experienced hikers should attempt the area’s unmaintained cliff trails.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Santa Barbara County Parks Department, 610 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93105; tel: (805) 568-2461, or the Nature Conservancy, tel. (805) 343-2455