Garrapata State Park is a California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 State Park located on Highway 1

California State Route 1

State Route 1 , more often called Highway 1, is a state highway that runs along much of the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. It is famous for running along some of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, leading to its designation as an All-American Road.Highway 1 does not run...

, 6.7 miles south of Carmel and 18 miles north of Big Sur

Big Sur

Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the Central Coast of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big...

 on the Monterey

Monterey County, California

Monterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. As of 2010, the population was 415,057. The county seat and largest city is Salinas...

 coast. It is marked only with one sign on the west side of the road. Numbered turnouts mark each parking area.

It has two miles of beach front, with coastal hiking and a 50-foot climb to a beautiful view of the Pacific. The park offers diverse coastal vegetation with trails running from ocean beaches into dense Coast Redwood groves. The park also features outstanding coastal headlands at Soberanes Point. Sea lion

Sea Lion

Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear-flaps, long fore-flippers, the ability to walk on all fours, and short thick hair. Together with the fur seal, they comprise the family Otariidae, or eared seals. There are six extant and one extinct species in five genera...

s, harbor seals and Sea Otter

Sea Otter

The sea otter is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals...

s frequent the coastal waters and California Gray Whale

Gray Whale

The gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of about , a weight of , and lives 50–70 years. The common name of the whale comes from the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin. Gray whales were...

s pass close by during their yearly migration.

History

The area hosted the Ohlone and Rumsien tribes in the past. In the early 20th century, it was the Ezequiel Soberanes Rancho, a cattle and sheep ranch. The ranch was later sold to the Doud family, who had a cattle ranch on the property. Features within Garrapata State Park still bear the names of these families.

External links

• California State Parks: Garrapata State Park
• Redwood Hikes: Garrapata State Park (includes detailed trail map)