Looking for locations around Point Lobos

<p>I am planning my annual trip to Point Lobos for two weeks in October and am wondering if anyone can recommend some places for landscape photography in the area, other than the state park itself.<br /><br />As an aside, I drop in to CameraWest on each visit to admire their new and used gear and ask them if they have a photographer's guide to the area. They always reply 'That's a great idea--we should do that' but it has not materialized so far.</p>

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<p>Big Sur. Highway 1 between San Simeon and Carmel. Los Padres National Park. Moss Landing Harbor. Laguna Seca Racetrack. Carmel Valley Road. Flower farms near Watsonville. Cypress groves on the 17 mile drive. Asilomar. Change your annual trip to early April when the golden state is green.</p>

 

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<p>I agree with Malcolm, with one correction: The Los Padres is a National Forest, not National Park. If you're into hiking, the Ventana Wilderness is in that area. But, that time of year, I think your best shots will be found on the coast and near sunset....</p>

<p>There are tons and tons of great places to shoot in the vicinity. (Maybe I should post/write a guide. Hmmm...)</p>

<p>I shoot at P Lobos a lot and, as you probably know, if you are interested in varied conditions it is worth shooting there more than once - perhaps morning and evening, foggy and clear.</p>

<p>There are innumerable photographic opportunities if you head down highway 1 along the Big Sur coastline. I find it very, very difficult to make myself drive the whole thing in less than a full day. In fact, if you have time, you might try a "down and back" to someplace like Morro Bay or similar - start early and spend a full day driving down. Stay overnight and spend a full day driving back. That way you'll get many spots in both morning/evening time frames. Better yet, maybe spend a night along this coastline itself.</p>

<p>There are certainly are other seascape opportunities north of here around and beyond Monterey. The whole Monterey Bay coast is full of interesting stuff from the dunes just inland from Monterey, to the farmland near the Salinas River, to the many beaches further north, to the popular Santa Cruz area. I'm also very fond of shooting the coastline north of Santa Cruz - many, many opportunities there during both fog and clear weather, the latter perhaps more likely later in the day.</p>

<p>Further inland you have a number of options including some of those posted above in the thread. If you are willing to drive a bit, Pinnacles National Monument might not be too far away, and the inland terrain and environment is both compelling and different from that right along the coast.</p>

<p>I wouldn't ignore some of the more urban opportunities in small towns, coastal/fishing areas, and even in Monterey.</p>

<p>Have a great time. Might even run into one another... except that I'll probably be chasing aspen color in the eastern Sierra during the first half of the month.</p>

<p>Dan</p>

<p>There's a lot of agriculture in the Carmel and Salinas Valley areas, and a lot of wine growing. You might want to see how your trip fits with the ag seasons, any harvest activities, especially at the vineyards. Of course heading south on 1, there are a lot of little beaches and coves in the state parks, national forest, etc. There should be elephant seals at Piedras Blancas, near San Simeon, I believe this time of the year there would be some females and juveniles on the beaches.</p>

<p>Going north, up around Santa Cruz and Felton there are a number of state parks, coastal redwoods and the Roaring Camp and Big Trees railroad. There have been fires in many areas so getting current local information might avoid some disappointments over closeures or damaged areas.</p>

<p>Although as noted above with Asilomar, just wandering and walking the coastal parks and beaches around Monterey and Pacific Grove offers a lot of opportunities, then the fisherman's wharf, cannery row and aquarium. </p>

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<p>Hi Bob,<br>

I teach some workshops in the Big Sur area every year and visit it often, its one of the most beautiful places in the world. There are a ton of wonderful places to photograph any time of the year.</p>

<p><strong>S</strong> <strong>outh of Point Lobos</strong></p>

<ul>

<li>Garrapata State Park encompasses miles of shoreline with many trails and beaches including the wonderful Garrapata beach itself.</li>

<li>Bixby Bridge</li>

<li>Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park </li>

<li>Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park </li>

<li>McWay Falls, which is in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park<br /> </li>

<li>While traveling down to Big Sur be sure to stop at the Big Sur River Inn, they usually have some photography to look at. Stop and grab a burrito at the general store and spend some time relaxing in their wicker chairs that are placed directly in the creek behind the Inn and Restaurant. It's wonderful!</li>

</ul>

<p><strong>North of Point Lobos</strong></p>

<ul>

<li>Monterey</li>

<li>Fisherman's Wharf</li>

<li>Pacific Grove</li>

<li>Asilomar State Beach</li>

<li>The Pacific Grove Light House</li>

<li>Carmel-by-the-sea</li>

<li>much more.</li>

</ul>

<p>Have a great time,</p>

<p>Edward Mendes</p>

<p>Call the state parks you plan to visit ahead of time to see how the park closures caused by budget shortfalls will affect access and services.</p>

<p>Would suggest when arriving going to a bookstore and buying a good current road map of Monterey County that shows public lands. Much like many other coastal areas, public access is limited in many areas and some accessible lands are not so obviously signed nor in guidebooks. Nor are some of the backroads so obvious that may lead to entry points only locals know about. By doing one's homework of where one might go, one may come up with a plan of exploring the coast in an efficient way. Some of that information is of course right online if one has the skill to search for it.</p>

<p>David, do you have some specific resources for such information regarding this area?</p>

<p>I suggest driving about ten miles or so South of Point Lobos to Garrapata State Park and taking a hike up the surrounding the hills where ther are some wonderful views overlooking the ocean. But watch out for poison oak, it is almost everywhere along the Big Sur coast.</p>

<p>Buy the California Coastal Access Guide published by the University of California Press.</p>

<p>Down the Big Sur coast from Point Lobos is a neat state park called Limekiln Beach, with a scenic trail up to a pair of huge old limekilns that made much of the lime used in the construction of early San Francisco. It's got a nice campground near the beach and plenty of photo ops.</p>