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    Boucher Trail

    3.7 (7 reviews)

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    Pipe from SeaWorld...
    Marcus F.

    Avoid the buses of Asian tourists jockeying for selfie-stick space and see 100s of Elephant Seals at your leisure on this secluded coastline trail. The Boucher trail is one of the easiest hiking trails in the area. To get here you can park in the official Elephant Seal parking lot, but savvy hikers know to park in the next parking lot north up the road and access the trail there. It's about a 4 mile there are back hike along the cliffside and the roadside through the windblown grasses and flowers. There are several secluded coves along the trail to view the elephant seals without all the people and you'll also get a closer peek at the Piedras Blancas Light Station. This is a pretty well maintained trail. We came after a heavy rain and while there were several wooden planks covering up the muddy areas there were a few places where you would step in mud. As long as you have hiking shoes you will be fine. No other impediments as far as trail conditions. Tip - Jung Ranch Trail is another easy flat trail in San Simeon.

    Susy G.

    First time hiking this trail 09/24/17 1.9 miles one way, so approx. 4miles round trip Starting at Elephant Seal Vista Point, the trails heads north and ends at the old hotel where people meet up to go on the lighthouse tours. It crosses the road that leads to the lighthouse. The hike itself was totally do-able but not recommended for people with handicaps since it's not a paved trail and it's narrow. The majority of the trail is covered with critter dens/holes. The trail is not too wide, in some areas only plank wide. So, you really need to watch your step through out the entire way. We took our walking sticks and used them the entire way. Overall, it's an ok trail. Not too steep. I would just be cautious of all of the holes. There are a TON of them! Forget going after a heavy rain as some places would get super muddy. I probably won't be going back anytime soon. The trail curves around closer to the highway for most of the stretch rather than keep close to the beach/cliff side. For that reason, I wasn't too impressed with it.

    Bouche trail start sign in the parking lot after the main elephant seal bee point.

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    Piedras Blancas Light Station - Info signs along the trails

    Piedras Blancas Light Station

    4.6(69 reviews)
    2.0 km

    First lit in 1875, the Piedras Blancas lighthouse is a National Historic Landmark as well as a…read moredesignated Outstanding Natural Area! It's surrounded by a marine sanctuary and the beaches and rocks are full of seabirds and elephant seals and more. If you can manage to get tickets for a tour, I highly recommend you jump on it - they're infrequent with limited availability - but so worth it! The tour starts at an old, out-of-use motel nearby - then you all get in your cars and follow the guide into the light station complex. After parking, you meet the tour guide for the grounds and they give a talk. Then you're free to explore for the rest of your allotted time. There are lots of historical buildings on the grounds to explore - with little "museums" in the gift shop, fog signal house, and lighthouse itself. You can even still see the foundation area of the original 1906 keeper's house - but the building was moved to nearby Moonstone Beach. You can't tour it but it's available to rent for overnight stays! Sadly, the top three floors of the lighthouse had to be taken down due to repeated earthquake damage - so the original lens (a first order Fresnel) was moved and is on display in nearby Cambria. But the signal is still functional and flashes every 10 seconds on its temporary replacement lens. They do have plans to fully restore the lighthouse to all its former glory - but are still trying to raise the funds - they have a GoFundMe on their website if you're interested. The grounds have tons of trails all around with amazing views of all the beaches and "piedras blancas" or "white stones" - covered in sea birds and seals! Definitely don't miss out on at least some of them. My only complaint is that they only give one tour a day (starting at 945am) and only allow you a total of two hours to explore - which is definitely not even close to being enough imo. Our tour guide's talk was 40-45 mins long so that left only about an hour to see all the museums and buildings and explore the trails. And they're strict on the time limit too :( But it's still totally worth it - and actually it's probably better for the protected nature environment lol! So see it if you get a chance bc it's a rare luxury!

    Booked a Monday 2-hour tour in the early morning of the tour, and it turned out to be the best…read moreexperience of our central coast trip. The coastal fog cleared enough on the late June day for us to enjoy glimpses of Piedras Blancas rocks and breaching whale. Plus the native plants were in peak bloom. No one minded that the docent led tour lasted longer than the original 45 minutes, after which we were allowed to roam the well-groomed grounds until noon. Most of the tour group were still there when we left at 11:45 am. The fact that only tour groups are allowed in felt exclusive, plus you are away from the mass of summer tourists. My advice... the advertised tour dates are Tues, Thurs, & Sat, but we booked ours for a Monday. It doesn't hurt to check for available dates on the booking website.

    Photos
    Piedras Blancas Light Station - Piedras Blancas Light Station

    Piedras Blancas Light Station

    Piedras Blancas Light Station - Historical buildings on the grounds

    Historical buildings on the grounds

    Piedras Blancas Light Station - Piedras Blancas Light Station

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    Piedras Blancas Light Station

    San Simeon Creek Trail

    San Simeon Creek Trail

    4.8(5 reviews)
    14.3 km

    A nice trail that's part nature walk, part moderate hike. The distance ranges from 3.5 - 3.8 miles…read moreit's a loop trail that goes around Sam Simeon State park/Campground. If you're staying at the camp ground you can easily get to the trail by following the park map. If you're not visiting the campsite there is a pullout area across the campground entrance on the other side near the beach where you can walk the trail under PCH. Coming from the beach trail around the loop you'll get around 450 feet of elevation gain, the trail is pretty simple to follow but if you're looking for direction to follow online there is a map on All Trails under "San Simeon trail to Washburn Campground Loop"

    This kinda beauty is why I live on the central coast. I cannot believe that views like this are in…read moremy neighborhood! This is definitely more of a walk than a hike as the trails weaves in and out of eucalyptus trees and the cliffside. The views are truly out of a picture book. Words almost do not do it justice. The smell of eucalyptus in the air, the big beautiful ocean on the your right and the forest on your left. On a clear day you can see Hearst castle on the hill and aquatic animals swimming in the ocean. I have never not seen at least some marine life whenever I have visited. Whether that is a sea lion lounging on the beach or a pod of dolphins. The marine life is alive and well in this area! Luckily, it is almost completely flat and not too long so you can bring your pup along for the ride! The only warning I have about this amazing walk is that there can be a great deal of rattlesnakes during rattlesnake season. They can be scary, but remember that they rarely attack humans. Just do not go poking them with a stick and watch your puppy so he doesn't go sniffing around one! This walk is absolutely breathtaking and it is flabbergasting more people do not know about it. It is so close to Big Sur, so people must overlook it. Do not do that! Go visit for yourself!

    Photos
    San Simeon Creek Trail - Trail walk path in the meadow near San Simeon creek campground.

    Trail walk path in the meadow near San Simeon creek campground.

    San Simeon Creek Trail
    San Simeon Creek Trail - Walk way from the campground goes under PCH right to the beach.

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    Walk way from the campground goes under PCH right to the beach.

    Fiscalini Ranch Preserve - Fiscalini Ranch Preserve

    Fiscalini Ranch Preserve

    4.8(111 reviews)
    18.4 km

    On my annual trip to Cambria, this trail walk is a must. It's so beautiful! They have a very nice…read morewalkway that borders the ocean on one side and rolling hills on the other side. When your on the trail closest to the water, a lot of times you can find seals, or birds, or if you look way in the distance, whale spouts. Along the trail they have really cool driftwood made beaches for you to sit and just take it all in. The tide pools by the homes are fun to walk around and experience as well. It's just a breathtaking walk. On my last trip it was really neat to see all these people out painting. I loved watching them create their masterpieces. I would almost love to find out if they are for sale. Some of them were amazing that I would love to have in my home! I definitely recommend walking this trail. It's a very easy flat loop to walk.

    I love coming up to Cambria with my pup Suki. Came up here over the 4th of July weekend to escape…read moreall the fireworks in my area. Fiscalini is a short drive or walk from Moonstone Beach, where we stayed. Fiscalini Ranch Preserve offers fantastic picturesque views of the Cambria coast. The trails are a great place for a nice hike with your fur babies. When we were there we saw a few seals resting on the rocks in the ocean, and we also saw a lone dear along the trail. We were warned by the Inn staff to stay on the trail since there's ticks along the shrubs. If you drive to Fiscalini, there's street parking along the neighborhood leading up to the trail.

    Photos
    Fiscalini Ranch Preserve - Fiscalini Ranch Preserve

    Fiscalini Ranch Preserve

    Fiscalini Ranch Preserve - Fiscalini Ranch Preserve

    Fiscalini Ranch Preserve

    Fiscalini Ranch Preserve - Fiscalini Ranch Preserve

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    Fiscalini Ranch Preserve

    Elephant Seal Vista Point - Views from the vista point boardwalk

    Elephant Seal Vista Point

    4.9(142 reviews)
    0.0 km

    This is down the way from Hearst castle and is a must see! Beware of the squirrels in the area,…read morethey will follow you and beg for food! There were plenty of elephant seals to view on the sand from the boardwalk. Some just sun bathing and some swimming in the shallow water. Parking is free and so is the view point.

    An easy 10 minute drive from where we were staying. You can see several hundred elephant seal…read more Either sunbathing, playing in the water, having spicy time with each other and everything else elephant seals do. There were babies in different developmental stages, mother's, females and huge male elephant seals all over the place. Sadly there were even some dead seal babies too that were being picked at by the seagulls. They have a nice observation deck/walkway where you can spread out and take in the views of these wonderful creatures. They even have volunteers there during the day to answer questions about them or give you more information about these marine mammals. The parking lot is massive. Fortunately for us the 3 times we went it was probably less then 10% full so it was really nice. The actual dirt lot where you park bucks. Lots of pot holes. My little corolla suspension and shock was used to the full. The actual walkway is nice and sturdy. They have information boards throughout the place to give you more information. They even have a brochure that gives you independence information about elephant seals. As well as QR codes that goes into videos that provides even more information about them. This place is truly a gem in the area where you get to observe these majestic marine mammals in their natural habitat!!

    Photos
    Elephant Seal Vista Point - Elephant Seal Vista Point

    Elephant Seal Vista Point

    Elephant Seal Vista Point - Elephant Seal Vista Point

    Elephant Seal Vista Point

    Elephant Seal Vista Point - Elephant Seal Vista Point
 
 #EarthDay2024

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    Elephant Seal Vista Point #EarthDay2024

    San Carpoforo Creek Beach - Part of the CCT!

    San Carpoforo Creek Beach

    4.5(2 reviews)
    12.6 km

    Beautiful, secluded, and sandwiched between San Simeon and Ragged Point - well worth a stop if…read moreyou're in the area! A true hidden gem - I only found it bc I caught the sweeping views of the creek flowing onto the beach flanked by cliffs with vibrant blue-green waters against rich, deep brown sands while driving along the PCH. It was so breathtaking I just had to stop! And eventually I found the trailhead - there's a gated entrance that almost looks like someone's private property but the hiking trail becomes obvious as you approach. The trail is sandy and mostly flat. It's part of the Los Padres National Forest and also a Snowy Plover nesting site - so be sure to stick to the trails while heading to the beach. The creek flows to a large pool created by a rise in sand on the beach, trapping the creek waters and creating a refuge for shore birds. At low tide and when the creek isn't overflowing, you can easily get onto the beach itself by walking to the end of the creek pool - there's a little dry, sandy spit taking you out onto the beach. But at high tide you may have to wade in the creek a bit bc it sometimes joins up with the ocean waters. The sand is the deepest, richest brown I've ever seen - very unique! And really makes the gorgeous blue-green waters on the Pacific pop! The trail is pretty short - only 1/2 mile to the beach. Flat and easy. It's part of the CCT (California Coastal Trail) so that's always fun. There's a large coastal pine with a makeshift fire pit under it right before you get to the beach - apparently someone was living there at one time lol - but not anymore. The beach is full of beautiful pieces of driftwood- such a lovely place to explore. There are also sea caves but unfortunately I was on a time crunch - wish I could've explored more! There's a small bit of paved parking at the trailhead - maybe room for 1-2 cars. But across the street there's plenty of parking along the side of the street. There aren't any bathrooms or facilities here so plan ahead. The trail is listed on AllTrails - Incredibly beautiful hidden gem that I will definitely leave more time to explore on my next visit - highly recommend!

    Another one of San Simeon's secret trails and beaches. The San Carpoforo Beach Trail has amazing…read morescenery and seclusion. The Trailhead is just past the San Carpoforo Creek bridge ( 13 miles north of Hearst Castle) and across the street from a Lime colored house. Park in front of the trailhead or across the street. The walk isn't a long one at less than half a mile, but when you count all the exploring options around the beach and lagoon you will definitely get a lot of steps in. There's a ton a driftwood around this beach and if you hike to the north below the cliff ( if the tide is low) you can find a small secluded beach and a large sea cave. To the south is Ragged point. Note - The sand here is different than the other beaches in the area especially close to the water. It's very porous. There are also unique sand fleas/flies only found at this beach next to water. Tip - Keep a keen eye on the fields on the both sides of the road when driving here (Highway 1). I've seen herds of Elk and various deer.

    Photos
    San Carpoforo Creek Beach - At the trailhead

    At the trailhead

    San Carpoforo Creek Beach - Trailhead

    Trailhead

    San Carpoforo Creek Beach - Lots of beautiful driftwood all over the beach

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    Lots of beautiful driftwood all over the beach

    Ragged Point Scenic View - My haul from the coffee shop - everything was lovely!

    Ragged Point Scenic View

    4.9(10 reviews)
    14.6 km

    Thanks to Yelp pal Hannah S.'s review, I had bookmarked this spot as a place to stop when we were…read morein the area. The views are indeed scenic! We grabbed some coffee at the shop located here and then took a stroll behind the stores to savor the cool breezes, the trees, and the lovely sights of the Pacific Ocean. There's actually a trail, too, but we didn't venture down it as we were pressed for time. This is worth a stop to bask in the beautiful seascape.

    Lovely scenic stop along the PCH as you make your way up from Cambria towards Big Sur. There's a…read morerestaurant, gas station, great coffee shop, bathrooms, art work, some hiking and view points, and an inn all at this little stop area. I walked all the way to the back where there's a lovely overlook with expansive Pacific Ocean views all along the cliffs and out as far as the eye can see! I even saw a sea otter hanging out with a sea gull - playing around in the waves together haha!! I think the gull was chasing him and gobbling up the otter's leftovers lol. There's another hiking trail on site down to the black sands of Young Creek Beach - but it's a super steep hike down a 400 foot cliff and I wasn't feeling it lol! But there are lots of nice seating areas overlooking the trail, beaches and cliffs so it's still very enjoyable. I grabbed a coffee and some dessert at the coffee shop instead which I can highly recommend!! It was fantastic and the staff were wonderful (see my review for Ragged Point Coffee Shop & Bakery). At the time of my visit, it was about as far as you could go up the PCH to Big Sur bc the road further up is washed out but they're working on it. Still a great little spot to explore - lots of parking and great views. I'd definitely consider staying at the inn next time!

    Photos
    Ragged Point Scenic View - My coffee from the cute coffee shop - was fabulous!

    My coffee from the cute coffee shop - was fabulous!

    Ragged Point Scenic View - Nice seating areas with incredible views!

    Nice seating areas with incredible views!

    Ragged Point Scenic View - Got a latte to sip while we savored the scene

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    Got a latte to sip while we savored the scene

    Hiking Trails at San Simeon Bay

    Hiking Trails at San Simeon Bay

    4.2(6 reviews)
    6.4 km

    2020 review (8/21/2020) - The is the best family-friendly trail in the area. They've done extensive…read morecleanup since my last visit and many of the downed trees have been removed. It's mostly flat and the only risk to small kids are the Cliffs. The yelp address is misleading (this is not located in Pittsburgh). To get here you must park in the Hearst Memorial Beach parking lot. Walk down to the beach and walk north about 200 yards. Look for the trail that goes up to the cliff area ( just past the Hearst Winery Barn).. Many people just hike to the San Simeon point and the benches. BUT I highly recommend you continue your adventure through the tall tree path all the way to the cove with a sea cave. There are several openings along the tree trail that give exclusive and private views of the coastline. - When you start this hike keep a look out on the right hand side for a very short path that leads to a huge climbing tree.. The kids will love playing on that.. - The farther you go the fewer people you will see.

    I read about this area via a SLO county travel site:…read morehttps://highway1discoveryroute.com/activities/hiking-san-simeon-ragged-point/ where it's also referred as the San Simeon Point Trail. Access to these trails are from William Randolph Hearst State Beach. Gates to the park open at 8 a.m. and there's no fee to enter. The trail is about 2 miles round trip and can be accessed if you walk along the beach (on the right side of the pier if you're facing it. You'll see a trail that leads up to the bluff, about 1/2 way down the beach. Once along the bluffs, you'll wind through the trees and catch views of the beach and pier. Not too far in, there are a few fallen trees and the path, at first seems to have disappeared-it hasn't. Look to the right and there's a small opening in the fence that allows day hikers to continue on (it's marked private property with allowance for passage of day use hikers.) It's a quiet trail that's partially shaded and very quiet. For a short while I was a bit unnerved being alone but soon enough I came across some locals walking their dogs. The hike out to the point is the big payoff and plan to spend a little while admiring the views, including a small cove to the north. It was the perfect short morning adventure and definitely a less known gem in the area.

    Photos
    Hiking Trails at San Simeon Bay - View from top of trail

    View from top of trail

    Hiking Trails at San Simeon Bay - Pelicans

    Pelicans

    Hiking Trails at San Simeon Bay - Ducks!

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    Ducks!

    Boucher Trail - hiking - Updated May 2026

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