Chimney Rock Trail

Coppertone and I drove a short distance from the crowds at the Lighthouse Trail and hiked to Chimney Rock towards the end of the day.  Perhaps it was the lack of a featured site or maybe it was also the apprach of dinner time, but we had much of the trail to ourselves.

The path is packed dirt and the terrain generally treeless.  Numerous deer were scattered about foraging on the grass.  To the left wide vistas of Drake's Bay could be seen.

Strangely, the park service marks unauthorized trails with the apt title "Unauthorized Trail".  It doesn't really say don't go on them.  They're just to let you know.  Coppertone and I refrained as we had enough miles to log on the established trails and didn't want to cause any degradation of the terrain.

The point on this side of the peninsula is not as picturesque as Lighthouse side, but we were able to enjoy the views without dodging crowds of people.

On the way back we passed by the historic Lifeboat station and support buildings.  Someone in the lifeboat building, which was closed for the day, was cooking their evening meal.  It smelled pretty good.

We wrapped up the day with a short jaunt from the trailhead to the Elephant Seal Overlook.  It was not the best time of year to look for them and only a few seals were on the beach, but they were there.  For a hike specializing in Elephant Seals I highly recommend Ano Nuevo State Park.