Ten Easy Steps to Happiness™ Vol. 1: Hiking No. 2: Cone Peak Summit — Big Sur So, what’s the best«day hike» in Big Sur? There are lots of long backpacking routes and plenty of beach walks to go around. But a good day hike is a thing of beauty: 3 – 6 hours on the trail, time to enjoy the views, the weather, the landscape, but short enough to use a small pack and settle into your camp site or bed once the day is done. You will find hiking happiness at the Cone Peak summit. It is the steepest coastal gradient in the US outside of AK and HI, 5155 feet above the Pacific, mere miles away. Very impressive topography, and also endless ocean views. What’s not to like? So, how to reach Cone Peak, in ten easy steps? 1. Choose a base camp first. The Cone Peak trailhead is accessible using paved and dirt roads, but it’s far away from just about everything. Once you are done, you will be tired and won’t want to drive too far to get home. 2. Decide if you want ocean views, or forest solitude, for your overnight stay. Ocean views can be had at Kirk Creek CG(National Forest site), Limekiln State Park(CA state site), or at a pull-out on the approach roads, in a pinch. Treebones resort, with yurts and a good restaurant, is also ideal if more expensive. If forest is preferred, there are good sites — Ponderosa and Nacimiento — to the East along the road heading into Fort Hunter Liggett. 3. Choose your summit route: the out-and-back option, or an adventurous loop using a combination of marked and unmarked trails. Both would be great, but one is shorter than the other(4.5 versus 7.5 miles). If you are afraid of getting lost, choose out-and-back. If you are OK with scrambling over rocky ridges, choose the loop. 4. For the out-and-back, leave Highway 1 at the marked intersection with Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, the only paved route over the mountains. Take the road to the summit, then turn left onto the dirt Forest Service Road, 6 miles to the Cone Peak trailhead — at a right bend in the road with a pullout for 3 – 4 vehicles. This trail goes directly to the summit lookout, using a well engineered switchbacked trail. Very nice, minimal poison oak to avoid, super views all the time. 5. For the loop route, drive to the end of Cone Peak Road and park there. A trail starts here that leads deep into the Ventana Wilderness, using the North Coast Trail route heading North. As you reach the ridgeline, but before the intersection with the Gamboa Trail(another possible loop route can be done on that trail), look to the left for the remains of an old electrical wire and poles that connect to the fire lookout at the summit. There will be an informal use trail visible, footsteps in loose rock, that depart the North Coast Trail and follow the ridgeline directly to the lookout. You will see the lookout from the ridgeline, so near and yet so far. 6. Slowly and carefully follow the ridgeline, up and around granite outcroppings, sometimes scrambling with handholds for support, towards the lookout tower. The views here are amazing: Ventana Wilderness and San Antonio Valley to the east, Pacific Ocean and Big Sur coastline to the west. This is Category 2 hiking, and there is generally a faint trail to follow, except when manzanita bushes have overgrown it. There is no poison oak at this elevation, but it’s rocky and rough at times. Take your time. Be patient. You can do it! 7. Reach the summit — via the Cone Peak trail for out-and-back, or approaching from the north ridge via the loop. It’s very fine at the top — 5100+ feet, plunging ravines and canyons, ocean beaches and coves, granite peaks, golden valleys, chaparral everywhere, simply stunning. 8. Return on the Cone Peak Trail — a lovely descent with constant ocean views until the last ½ mile, where it gets very shrubby. At the trailhead, you can get into your car if you did the out-and-back option, or you can walk 1 ¼ miles up the road to your car(one person could do this, the others could wait), then drive back down the road. 9. Savor the plants and creatures here, not just the epic views. In mid-summer, the yuccas are still in bloom, wildflowers are visible, the fog hopefully isn’t too thick, and at 4000 – 5000 feet, the weather can be very pleasant if you are prepared with hats, sunscreen, etc. 10. Return to your campsite or yurt. We hiked the loop route in the afternoon, from 3:30 to about 7:30, but you could time your descent for sunset if you don’t mind driving back in the dark. Have some food, get some sleep, listen to the mountain lions and owls at night and dream of the ocean. Road conditions: If it is dry, the Forest Service road from Nacimiento Summit to the trailheads will be dusty, rutted, and needs to be driven slowly, but it is passable. Not in winter, though — the gate will be closed in wet weather. Cone Peak summit — the best summertime day hike in Big Sur, in Ten Easy Steps. Enjoy!
Trang L.
Place rating: 5 Garden Grove, CA
Awesome, challenging hike if you start from Highway 1 or Vicente Flat. TIP: If you don’t want to do the entire hike to Cone Peak in one day(it’s rather long starting from Highway 1; 22 miles), then I recommend camping at Trail Spring Camp on your first day, then hiking to the Top of Cone Peak. You can then descend down to Vincente Flat Camp and camp there overnight. The hike down from Vicente Flat Camp back to Highway 1 is 5 miles. There are a lot of switchbacks here, but it’s nothing impossible if you have done hikes up before. There are some stream crossings, but if you have trekking poles, they’re easy to pass! There is something like a weather station on top of Cone Peak. You can see all of the east side and west side of cone peak. It’s possible to watch(some of) the sunrise from on top, but be ready with layers if you do; it gets chilly! During the winter, the temperature here is good hiking weather, but I still packed a lot of layers. If you can plan a hike during the weekday, I recommend you do since you have the entire trail to yourself pretty much. My group and I rarely saw any other backpackers until we were hiking down to the parking lot. I recommend this hike to any hiker/backpacker looking for a good view and some challenge to their hike! :)
Kaori M.
Place rating: 5 Mountain View, CA
AWESOMEVIEW!!! 360 great view. If you drive up to cone peak road, it’s about 7-mile round trip. Half on the road, half on the trail. If you start at highway1, it’s strenuous, it’s 22-mile round trip in a day, or you can camp at Vincent Flat or other sites as a backpacking trip.
