Elephant Seals on Parade Near Big Sur

“A little bit of God’s country between San Simeon and Big Sur” is how Tim Burres, owner of the Piedras Blancas Motel, describes this remote length of northern San Luis Obispo County coast.

Until recently, most California Highway 1 motorists sped through “God’s country,” past all things named Piedras Blancas--the guano-covered rocks named by the explorer Juan Cabrillo in 1542, the quaint lighthouse built in 1874, and some funky houses constructed in the 1950s.

Now travelers have a big reason to stop. The Piedras Blancas coast has been colonized by thousands of elephant seals. There are droves in the coves, huddled masses on the beaches.

Following close on the flippers of the seals are wildlife watchers from around the world. The creatures have become an international draw, and coastal interpretive displays offer information in Spanish, French, German and Japanese.

Elephant seals were hunted to near extinction in the first half of the 19th century. The animals were killed for their blubber, which was made into lubricants and lamp oil. The species barely managed to survive in isolated colonies on the Guadalupe Islands off Baja and on California’s Channel Islands.

The seals were observed “scouting out” the Piedras Blancas shoreline as early as 1977 and began landing in large numbers in 1990. About 4,000 animals bask and breed on the beaches these days. The highest seal count occurs in May when the creatures molt; however, some seals are found on the beaches any time of the year.

December through February is the breeding and pupping season. Elephant seals eat squid and small sharks, while large sharks (great whites) and killer whales eat them. Friends of the Elephant Seals (volunteer docents clad in bright blue jackets) are usually stationed at the major vista points to answer visitors’ questions.

While seal viewing has become popular, on most days the pinnipeds still outnumber the people who watch them. Any hiker who heads north from the vista points will find a lovely and lonely length of the California Coastal Trail and, likely, some surprising solitude.

The route crosses land belonging to the Hearst Corp., which has granted hikers and other visitors a “revocable right to pass.” In practical terms, this means that the hikers, kayakers and surfers using the trails crossing private property need to be extra courteous.

No continuous footpath traces the coastline, so hikers must improvise a path and pick their way among the coyote brush, mustard, fennel, thistle and ceanothus that cloak the bluff tops. Hikers must also slog through or around a couple of seasonally wet arroyos that descend from the western slopes of the Santa Lucia Mountains on the Hearst Ranch to empty into the ocean west of California Highway 1.

Destinations for this hike include the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse (photogenic but not open to the public) and a cafe called Cappuccino Cove (summer hours 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.), which serves light meals and hot and cold drinks.

Directions to trail head: From U.S. 101 in San Luis Obispo, exit on Highway 1 and drive about 45 miles north to the signed vista point on the west side of the highway. This vista point, complete with several elephant seal interpretive displays and a large parking lot, is 11 miles north of Cambria. You may begin your walk at this vista point or continue another 0.2 mile north to a second vista point and parking. The best elephant seal viewing is from the first (southern) vista point, while the best way to begin your hike is from the northern vista point.

The hike: A bluff path leads from the southern vista point along the low cliffs above a small cove frequented by elephant seals. You’ll need to climb over two gates to reach the second vista point.

If you begin from the northern vista point, climb over the gate and step out on the coastal trail, which soon splits into a coastal and a more inland route. Go coastal, of course, and soon gain an overlook on another elephant seal-populated shore. The coastal trail, rejoined by its more inland cousin, meanders into some low dunes topped with ice plant.

The dunes fringe a beautiful beach heavily populated by another colony of basking elephant seals. Stay to the inland side of the dunes to avoid disturbing the seals. As the trail peters out among sandy hillocks, Point Piedras Blancas Lighthouse comes into view. Improvise your way north, zigzagging on faint paths and stopping often to see the seals and the dramatic shoreline. Ponder the dream of coastal conservationists: San Simeon National Seashore. When you intersect the lighthouse access road, follow it coastward toward the lighthouse. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service operates a marine mammal research station at the lighthouse. When you near the lighthouse and government buildings, you’ll leave the road and follow a fence north on a narrow, often disappearing, ice plant-overgrown path.

The footpath drifts toward Highway 1, then surprises by bringing you to a lovely pocket beach. By now you’re so used to seeing elephant seals, you might imagine those driftwood logs on the beach to be alive. (If no seals are present, you can stroll the beach.) The bluff trail soon brings you into the domain of another huge, heavy creature--the cow. Minding your step around the cow pies, cross the pasture.

The easiest way to reach Cappuccino Cove from here is to follow the trail inland to the highway turnout. Carefully climb over the barbed wire fence at the wooden crossbar. It’s a 0.75-mile walk along the highway shoulder to the Piedras Blancas Motel and Cappuccino Cove Cafe. The highway hike is the safest for most walkers. Dogged and agile coastal trail hikers can improvise an off-highway route by walking along Highway 1 from the turnout to a wooden crossbar just north of the precipitous ravine of Arroyo del Corral.

Carefully climb the fence here and follow a mostly trail-less route north. Two challenges include a narrow length of path between the highway and a steep ravine, and a barbed wire fence as you approach the Piedras Blancas Motel. Once you reach the little beach and lagoon south of the motel, it’s enjoyable walking along the bluffs to Cappuccino Cove.

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California Coastal Trail

WHERE: Piedras Blancas, north of Cambria.

DISTANCE: From Elephant Seal View Point to Piedras Blancas Lighthouse is 4.5 miles round trip; to Cappuccino Cove is 8 miles round trip.

TERRAIN: Pocket beaches, rocky coves, dramatic bluffs.

HIGHLIGHTS: Elephant seal and other wildlife watching, rarely hiked coastline.

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: Moderate.

PRECAUTIONS: Stay off all beaches where elephant seals reside. respect private property. Trail-less scrambling and some fence climbing required.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Cappuccino Cove; tel. (805) 927-74651.