In planning our trip we noticed that a former National
Monument had become a National Park. We decided we would plan a short stop on our
way to Oregon. This was a great stop,
however, it was entirely different than we had expected. For some reason we thought we saw photographs
of large rugged rocks sticking out of a barren desert landscape. It was much different.
We moved up the road from our stay in Paso Robles about 50
miles to stay in King City at the San Lorenzo County Park. The park was heavily
shaded (which would have been a problem for satellite TV if Camping World had
actually finished the installation before we left), with only about three other
campers. The sites were long, however if
the park was full, it would be really cramped with only about 15 feet from the
next RV. The dogs had great walks in the
tall grass.
We drove from the park about 50 miles to Pinnacles. We entered the West side of the park (the
park road does not go through to the East side which does have an RV campground on
site). The park visitor’s center was
small but had a short video of the Park.
The geologic formations of the National Park were formed from a volcano. The remnants of a 23 million year old volcano were split by movement of the tectonic plates of the San Andreas
Fault. The volcanic rocks moved
Northward about 200 miles. This resulted
in large weathered boulders erupting from the landscape. Activities in the park include Condor
watching, rock climbing, cave exploring, and hiking.
Part of the adventure on the West side is traveling several
miles down a “one lane” road with “two way” traffic! Other than not knowing what was coming around
the corner, it was a pleasant drive.
Once in the park, we chose a 2 mile hike. The park would be a full day stopover for
serious hikers or climbers. It has some
great trails and scenery.
Here is a selection of photographs from our brief visit.
Even serious hikers can find several challenging trails and rock climbs at this Park.
Now we are on to the "old tree tour" -- Redwood National Park.
Is that Leslie at the tippy top of that rock??!!! Whoever it is, all I can say is YIKES! The scenery is gorgeous, although I'm not sure I could have enjoyed it while on that one lane road with 2 lane traffic! Can't wait to see pics of the redwoods - another of my favorites! It sounds as though you picked a good time to travel in order to avoid the heavy crowds. Looking forward to "our" next stop!
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