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A Bounty of Secluded Beaches Awaits You on Highway 1
Highway 1 Discovery Route makes picking your beach as easy as sinking your toes into the sand. The map lists 12 of the more popular beaches, and better yet, it highlights 9 favorite hidden beaches to explore. Five of these gems are shared here…beginning with San Simeon’s Pico Creek Beach. Even with Hearst Castle hovering high above, the tiny village of San Simeon itself feels invisible, a single road leading to the sublimely located Hearst Ranch Winery, home to arguably the finest tasting terrace anywhere. Pico Creek Beach awaits just down the way, where the reef cuts across the creek, and wind and wave present a break worth surfing.
You cover a lot of sand on the 100-mile Highway 1 Discovery Route, so it might not surprise you to learn there are more than a few “beaches less traveled.” Slipping into a secret spot often provides private tide pool exploration, a romantic picnic perch or even the rare, secluded surf break. You could rely on hearsay to find your personal Central Coast niche. Or, like a pirate in search of hidden treasure, you could follow the “Best Beaches Along H1” map. Unlike most buccaneer guides, however, you'll find X marks a handful of spots here.
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If you figured a location as massive as Montaña de Oro State Park may have more than a few hidden gems, you’d be right. Found at the end of the Point Buchon Trail in Los Osos, a path through private land that is exclusively open Thursday through Monday, Coon Creek Beach rewards the hiker with quiet views, sand dunes and estuaries. This beautiful bounty will feel well-earned.
The Highway 1 Discovery Route unveils the fabulous diversity of the Central California Coast, an environment where ranchlands, vineyards and mountains stand poised over the Pacific Ocean. Oso Flaco Lake & Beach conveys hikers through the farmland, beside marshes and into famous dunes. A birder's paradise, you'll hear the western meadowlark from the wooden boardwalk spanning the estuary, redwing blackbirds among the reeds and terns aplenty above the dunes.
Whatever you set your sights on, click on the Best Beaches along H1 map to migrate to your own secret beach.
Moonstone Beach
Hearst Ranch Winery
Leffingwell Landing
Montaña de Oro
Montaña de Oro
Oso Flaco Lake & Beach
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Okay, so you’ve filled up on famous olallieberry pie at Linn’s, a restaurant with servers who are as friendly as the food is good. Your Clydesdale ride at Covell’s Ranch isn’t scheduled until tomorrow morning, so you need to put some steps into your day, especially since you’ll be dining in Robin’s resplendent garden this evening. What a perfect time to stroll north on beautiful Moonstone Beach all the way to Leffingwell Landing, where you can explore tide pools to your heart’s content, or why not sample those baked goods you picked up on the way out of Linn’s.
Ask a local like Cal Coast Adventures’ proprietor Nathan Weber where to ride or hike big along the Central Coast, and you’ll likely be directed to one place, Montaña de Oro State Park. At over 32,000 acres, the park is the undisputed heavyweight champion along the Highway 1 Discovery Route. Adjacent Sandspit Beach is much less known, an ideal place to uncork a Tolosa Vineyards Pinot Noir, unwrap some local cheese from Central Coast Creamery and a La Parisienne French Bakery baguette, then watch the sun disappear behind the Pacific for another day.
