The California Coast

It’s the most spectacular trail in the state. It leads from one miraculous vista to another: a mountain peak shrouded in morning mist, a lighthouse poised vigilantly on a promontory, the ocean’s energy vented on coastal cliffs. When storms stream in off the Pacific, this trail rarely gets muddy. It’s the trail known as Highway 1.

The Pinnacle, Point Lobos State Reserve.

Purple-colored ochre star, Moss Beach.

Mt. Diablo at sunrise viewed from East Peak, Mt. Tamalpais.

Mt. Tamalpais State Park.

The Slot, Point Lobos State Reserve.

The Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco viewed from the Marin Headlands.

A breaker batters the rocks at Sand Hill Cove, Point Lobos.

Coast live oak, Mt. Tamalpais.

Boogie boarders plot their next move at Stinson Beach.

The marine layer drifts through the draws of Mt. Tamalpais State Park.

Cypress Cove, Point Lobos.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

Family splash at Stinson Beach.

Giant green anemone, Moss Beach.

Pescadero State Beach.

Boogie boarders ride the foam onto the Stinson shoreline.

Muir Woods National Monument.

Sunset at Stinson Beach.