For another good article on Montana de Oro, click here.
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Montana de Oro in Los Osos faces the ocean just south of Morro Bay on California's Central Coast.
To get there, drive three miles south of San Luis Obispo on Highway 101, take the Los Osos/Baywood Park exit and
continue 12 miles west on Los Osos Valley Road, which turns into Pecho Valley Road. This will take you to the
park's entrance.
Some say the park’s name, "Mountain of Gold," comes from the golden wildflowers that bloom in spring. While this
explanation is certainly fitting, other sources say it was named by Irene McAlister in the 1950s. She saw "gold" in the
shale hills and spent one fortune trying to make another in oil. Her ranch and prospective oil field went bankrupt in
the 1960s and the State of California purchased the land.
The park extends from the mouth of Coon Creek all the way to Morro Bay. Its wave-swept, seven-mile long shoreline
is made up of sandy beaches along the sand spit to the north, and rugged cliffs and headlands to the south.
The geology of Montana de Oro is stunning. Faulted and twisted, this land has been pushed from below and from
all sides. At one time it was the sedentary bottom of the ocean, but it was thrust upward as the Pacific Plate collided
with the American Plate along the San Andreas Fault. The evidence of this convulsive movement is graphically
apparent along the headlands of Montana de Oro. Long chutes have developed as the sea wears away at the softer
fragments of the uplifted layers, and arches have been cut into the rock by the sea.
The central and southern part of the park features a number of small coves with sandy beaches, the best-known of
which is Spooner's Cove. Across from Spooner's Cove is the old Spooner Ranch house, which is now used as park
headquarters. Behind the house, 50 campsites are available for a fee. The Spooner family had a 9000 acre ranch
here in the 1800s.
Two miles past the Spooner Ranch House is the trailhead to Coon Creek. At the mouth of the creek the native
Chumash Indians once had a village. The junction with Oats Peak Trail comes up one hour's hike from the Coon
Creek trailhead. After five miles, it exits at the Ranch House. At the head of Coon Creek is the site of Amasquito's
cabin located in a grove of cedars.In the 1900s, Mr. Amasquito cleared a little land and farmed here.
Inland from the shoreline is an ancient wave-cut terrace that was long ago uplifted from the cutting edge of the surf
and now appears as a grass covered coastal plain. The plain sweeps back from the ocean and then curves up
sharply upward to 1,500 foot high hills including 1,347-foot Valencia Peak from which one can overlook nearly a
100 miles of the coastline from Point Sal in the South to Piedras Blancas in the north. Naturalists and backpackers
enjoy the solitude and freedom found along the park’s fifty miles of trails. There are also mountain biking and
equestrian trails.
To get there, drive three miles south of San Luis Obispo on Highway 101, take the Los Osos/Baywood Park exit and
continue 12 miles west on Los Osos Valley Road, which turns into Pecho Valley Road. This will take you to the
park's entrance.
Some say the park’s name, "Mountain of Gold," comes from the golden wildflowers that bloom in spring. While this
explanation is certainly fitting, other sources say it was named by Irene McAlister in the 1950s. She saw "gold" in the
shale hills and spent one fortune trying to make another in oil. Her ranch and prospective oil field went bankrupt in
the 1960s and the State of California purchased the land.
The park extends from the mouth of Coon Creek all the way to Morro Bay. Its wave-swept, seven-mile long shoreline
is made up of sandy beaches along the sand spit to the north, and rugged cliffs and headlands to the south.
The geology of Montana de Oro is stunning. Faulted and twisted, this land has been pushed from below and from
all sides. At one time it was the sedentary bottom of the ocean, but it was thrust upward as the Pacific Plate collided
with the American Plate along the San Andreas Fault. The evidence of this convulsive movement is graphically
apparent along the headlands of Montana de Oro. Long chutes have developed as the sea wears away at the softer
fragments of the uplifted layers, and arches have been cut into the rock by the sea.
The central and southern part of the park features a number of small coves with sandy beaches, the best-known of
which is Spooner's Cove. Across from Spooner's Cove is the old Spooner Ranch house, which is now used as park
headquarters. Behind the house, 50 campsites are available for a fee. The Spooner family had a 9000 acre ranch
here in the 1800s.
Two miles past the Spooner Ranch House is the trailhead to Coon Creek. At the mouth of the creek the native
Chumash Indians once had a village. The junction with Oats Peak Trail comes up one hour's hike from the Coon
Creek trailhead. After five miles, it exits at the Ranch House. At the head of Coon Creek is the site of Amasquito's
cabin located in a grove of cedars.In the 1900s, Mr. Amasquito cleared a little land and farmed here.
Inland from the shoreline is an ancient wave-cut terrace that was long ago uplifted from the cutting edge of the surf
and now appears as a grass covered coastal plain. The plain sweeps back from the ocean and then curves up
sharply upward to 1,500 foot high hills including 1,347-foot Valencia Peak from which one can overlook nearly a
100 miles of the coastline from Point Sal in the South to Piedras Blancas in the north. Naturalists and backpackers
enjoy the solitude and freedom found along the park’s fifty miles of trails. There are also mountain biking and
equestrian trails.
The park includes more than 8,000 acres. It is largely undeveloped, and features a wide range of wildlife including
rabbits, squirrels, skunks, raccoons, badgers,wild boar, deer, fox, bobcats, coyote, and even an occasional
mountain lion. There are also many species of birds, and in the winter gray whale and dolphins are often spotted
from its bluffs.
rabbits, squirrels, skunks, raccoons, badgers,wild boar, deer, fox, bobcats, coyote, and even an occasional
mountain lion. There are also many species of birds, and in the winter gray whale and dolphins are often spotted
from its bluffs.
A unique feature of Montana de Oro State Park is the 3-mile-long
sandspit that separates Morro Bay from the ocean. The endangered
Snowy Plover nests here on the pebbly sand. Made up of successive
rows of sand dunes, some of which reach 85 feet in height, the
sandspit can currently be reached by boat or by way of the access
road approximately one mile inside the entrance to the park. There is
also a hiking trail at the Shark Inlet parking lot.
sandspit that separates Morro Bay from the ocean. The endangered
Snowy Plover nests here on the pebbly sand. Made up of successive
rows of sand dunes, some of which reach 85 feet in height, the
sandspit can currently be reached by boat or by way of the access
road approximately one mile inside the entrance to the park. There is
also a hiking trail at the Shark Inlet parking lot.
The Hazard Canyon Trail, 1.5 miles south of the park entrance, is a
quarter-mile path through eucalyptus groves. Monarch butterflies
overwinter in these trees. You will arrive at a spectacular beach with
rocky outcroppings pounded by strong surf which gives Hazard Cove
its name.
quarter-mile path through eucalyptus groves. Monarch butterflies
overwinter in these trees. You will arrive at a spectacular beach with
rocky outcroppings pounded by strong surf which gives Hazard Cove
its name.
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