Garrapata State Park — Attraction in Monterey

Garrapata State Park is a beautiful coastal park. I visited this park on July/4/2021. I started from the Soberanes Canyon Trail and did the full loop. Parking is on the side of the road, there are No Entrance Fees, and there is a bathroom at the beginning of the trail. My hike was a 6 mile loop, with about 1,823 ft of elevation gain. That elevation gain is intense and I consider it as difficult. It was a beautiful interesting hike with a "Hidden Grove of Redwoods". The trail was easy to follow. It’s well marked and I had no issues. The first 1.5 miles in Soberanes Canyon was so green, with several lovely creek crossings, a lot of gorgeous redwood trees, colorful wildflowers, along with fresh ferns, beyond hills of cactus, and little waterfalls. There are thousands of cute lizards, as well as a lot of poison oak and poison ivy … this is a slice of Heaven. As mentioned above, the views at the summit are incredible. I could see as far as my eyes can see, (but unfortunately it was too foggy). On the way down, the views of the Pacific Ocean were truly breathtaking, presenting amazing photo opportunities. It was all very scenic, peaceful, stunning, and the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks proved the power and majesty of Mother Nature. Wear good hiking boots, bring trekking poles, suncream, along with water and snacks. I strongly recommend everyone get out there and play and "feel" the...

Holy cow what an ahhhhh-mazing experience here. You get it all! Enchanting areas where it feels like you're lost in some fairy-tale movie. Your sense of smell will be pleasantly surprised with the variety of scents. The vistas from about halfway point! We recently went for Mother's Day weekend and it had a sign to warn about not being able to do the whole trail but you definitely can. Just make sure to starr early enough if you're a newbie like me! At some points you think you're climbing Mt. Everest as the rise in elevation is quick within a short span of area. We had our walking sticks which totally helped! If you don't have them go back and get some, you will be glad! There are a good amount of bees for those of you who would rather be further away from them. People on the trail were super nice! Just remember steep going up means steap coming down as well, my quads got a little weak and I slid a couple times, thankful for my walking stick that braces me. You will NOT regret the trails here and the Bluff across the Hwy 1 has some spectacular views. The hills are alive like the Sound of Music! And it's so enjoyable to be in God's creation!!! This is a must do! We only got to the halway mark as we wanted to get down before sundown and make it to Nepenthe Restaurant down the way...you won't want to miss the views and foos...

ELOPEMENT/WEDDING COUPLES BEWARE** There is only a single contact who is responsible for giving you access to the application which is required for the permit. Sent an email and called the number listed on the state park website which had a voicemail box stating that it was full and couldn’t take messages. We never heard back from her. Called again a few days later and was told that we are too late to apply. Asked how long they needed since it isn’t disclosed on the website and she said, well at least 30 days. When I told her that we initially reached out before 30 days she took absolutely no accountability for not getting back to us and instead rudely turned it around on us saying what kind of a person doesn’t plan far enough in advance for these kind of things? I was shocked about how cold and unprofessional she was being. I did speak with Gerrapata Park supervisor Liz, to notify her of the treatment we received and she apologized but said her hands were tied as she doesn’t handle the events. Asked that they update the website to clarify rules regarding permitting so others don’t get mislead like we were. Also, don’t count on that single rude contact actually working on any given day since it clearly took us days to get a...