Читать книгу 101 Hikes in Northern California. Exploring Mountains, Valleys, and Seashore онлайн

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Description From the trailhead, cross Big Sur River on the narrow footbridge and bear right on Beach Trail. Paralleling but beyond sight of the river, you pass the Creamery, a former pasture slowly being replanted with native vegetation. Twisted sycamores, arroyo willows, black cottonwood, red alders, and a few redwoods line the river, and chest-high bush lupines dot the open meadow. Looking behind you to the east, a prominent ridge of the Santa Lucia Range is visible. Composed primarily of granite transported from the south along the San Andreas Fault, the mountain range owes much of its sheer topography to the erosion-resistant nature of its granitic rock. The Creamery is also an excellent area for viewing birdlife—killdeer, black phoebes, and Cooper’s hawks can often be spotted.

Continuing toward the beach, notice the incredibly grizzled redwood tree across the meadow on your left before you turn back toward the river. Then pass thick patches of poison oak and coffeeberry, which is easily identified by the dark black berries that ripen in the fall. Driftwood shelters and other interesting constructs fill this first sandy area where you turn south and begin the beach walk.