Mori Point, CA
Located on quick turnoff along California's scenic Highway 1, Mori Point offers excellent hiking just south of San Francisco. This small state park has a paved trail, which snakes through the grass covered hills and past small gardens.
While the pathed path is pleasant enough, departing from the designated walking area and climbing the seaside hills offers the best views.
Breaking off from the path, especially around sunset, leads to dramatic (and bright) views of the ocean as you climb out of the shadows on the east side of the hills.
From this higher perspective you gain picturesque views of the hills and valleys dotted with purple and yellow flowers.
The hills are lovely, but what you're really looking for are the views of the cliffs meeting the sea. To the north the hills fall away and the ocean breaks violently over the rocks. From this vantage point the power and expansiveness of the Pacific ocean becomes palpable and it becomes difficult to focus on anything else.
That being said, when the wind dies down, this is still a very peaceful place to enjoy watching the sun slip beyond the horizon.
This little hike only amounted to about 30 minutes of total hiking time but the park can easily be explored off trail and can turn into a 1 to 2 hour hike if you wander about the cliffs.
For those of you still reading, I'll be detailing my road trip from California to New Jersey (with lots of great stops) in the coming weeks so stay tuned!
Thanks for stopping by!
