This overlook is a few miles south of Santa Barbara and provides great views of large numbers of harbor seals from within the Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve (via one mile round trip trail). In my pic it looks like a few of them are actually posing for the camera!
Links: Seal Watch pics Trail info
Pismo State Beach is the only place in Central and Southern California where you can legally drive on the beach. The main entrance is at the Oceano Beach Access on Pier Avenue in Oceano, but there is also another entrance at Grover Beach. Heading south on the beach takes you to Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) where you can camp on the beach and explore in your 4×4, dune buggy, ATV, dirt bike, etc.
Links: CA Parks List of driving beaches in CA
This beautiful statue and coastal view is in Cabrillo National Monument near where Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed in 1542 as the first European to set foot on the west coast of the United States.
This ocean view is from the Bull Taco eatery that is within the San Elijo State Beach campground and shows multiple armed forces helicopters flying north up the beach while several surfers wait for the next big wave.
Links: San Elijo State Beach
At very low tides the Solana Beach tide pools are a great place to wander and explore. They are located at the north end of Tide Beach Park and just south of Cardiff State Beach.
Pigeon Point Lighthouse near Pescadero is one of the two tallest west coast lighthouses at 115 feet. It was built and equipped in 1871-72 and its first-order Fresnel lens measures 16 ft x 6 ft, weighs 2,000 lbs and consists of 1,008 separate prisms. It was a little foggy the day this pic was taken, lending a bit more atmosphere to the shot.
A great place to hike is Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve (San Diego county) which boasts beautiful ocean views and one of the nation’s rarest pine trees, the Torrey pine, which is only found in this area and on Santa Rosa Island off the coast of Santa Barbara. This view is looking north toward Los Penasquitos Lagoon and Hwy 101.
The renowned “Lone Cypress” tree in this pic is one of the most photographed trees in North America and is about 250 years old. It is along the famed 17-Mile Drive between Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove.
William Randolph Hearst began building his palatial home in 1917 near San Simeon. Designed by Julia Morgan in the Mediterranean style and completed in 1947, it encompasses about 90,000 sq. ft. scattered across several buildings. One of its many spectacular features is the Neptune Pool.
Point Loma was the landing site for the first European expedition to come ashore in present-day California. The tidal pools are located within Cabrillo National Monument, which boasts a nice visitor center, lighthouse, hiking trails, and fantastic views of San Diego and the Pacific Ocean.
Links: Cabrillo National Monument
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