California coast’s best surprise view – 33 pics & video

[SF Chronicle RSS Feed - Tom Stienstra]

From the Lookout Bench at Garrapata State Park, it might seem you could take a flying leap into the vast white pool of fog that stretches into a pearlescent sea. Nearby, atop a crag at Rocky Ridge, you tower over the Monterey coast. It can feel like you are on top of the world. Rocky Ridge at Garrapata is the best surprise lookout on the Pacific Coast. Along Highway 1, California’s Department of Parks and Recreation hasn’t posted a state park sign or provided a parking area or information kiosk. At the trailhead, there’s no trail sign with destinations and distances. On the park’s website, brochure and map, Lookout Bench [...]

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