As a photographer planning a trip there are certain places that you research, determine the best time to be there, jot down your shot list and hope that mother nature cooperates with you. Then there are other times when you decide to stop at a place that was totally unplanned. Point Lobos State Natural Reserve was one of those places. My husband and I left Carmel and were going to head straight to Big Sur. Point Lobos is located approximately 3 miles south of Carmel and I remember reading about it but thinking that we just wouldn’t have time to stop given all the other things we wanted to do and see. When I saw the signs for Point Lobos, I said to my husband, “I think we should stop and just check it out.” Being the adventurous spirit that he is, we did. We stopped first at Whalers Cove and did a short 1/2 hour hike along the trail, marvelling at the panoramic views. Figuring that we were already there and realizing what a gem we “almost” missed we decided to check out Sea Lion Point Trail…. BINGO! Following the trail along up the hill the views of the pacific are just incredible. As we were getting higher up the hill my husband suggested we turn around as we were already behind schedule and should start towards Big Sur. Just a bit further I said. We made it up the hill and then I started down the hill on a natural staircase that led us to Sea Lion Cove. When we got down to the bottom (after a bit of climbing across some big boulders) we had the cove all to ourselves. Ok we weren’t really alone. The rocks just offshore and the water were filled with California Sea Lions.
Park Entrance Fee – $10
The sheer joy of being on the beach and photographing sea lions swimming nearby – Priceless!
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