Montaña de Oro Bluff Trail
Montaña de Oro State Park (Los Osos) · near Los Osos / Morro Bay · Central Coast
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- easy
- Route type
- loop
- Distance
- 3.4 miles
- Elevation gain
- 150 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Year-round (spring for wildflowers, winter for whales)
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit or fee required. Free parking at Spooner's Cove. One of the finest and least-developed stretches of accessible Central Coast shoreline.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 1 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Marine terrace bluffs & sea coves · Tide pools & crashing surf · Spring wildflower 'mountain of gold' · Whale watching in winter
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- Start at the Spooner's Cove parking area and walk the bluffs south. The tide pools at Corallina Cove are the highlight — check a tide table and go at low tide. For a longer outing, add Valencia Peak (a 4-mile round trip climb) for sweeping views over the whole coastline.
The guide
The Bluff Trail at Montaña de Oro is the king of Central Coast day hikes — a nearly flat, family-friendly loop that traces a wa…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Montaña de Oro Bluff Trail — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 35.271, -120.887