Garrapata Coast
Oh, what a magical place this is! Hidden from the road, it's but a short walk until you get your first glimpse of Garrapata State Beach. The path is lined, in the Spring, with flowering shrubs, which dance with bees and butterflies, while underneath there scurry lizards and cottontails. You must take care not to step on a big black stinkbug, and keep an eye and ear out for rattlesnakes.
We've all heard the expression "take time to smell the flowers" --- and you'll find many fragrances here, particularly if you put your nose up close. Sage, mint, monkey-flower --- maybe the beach can wait another day!
And what a beach it is (see Garrapata Moods and Shimmering Sands). Wild waves, quite often, and always unsafe for swimming (too cold anyway), but always changing. Come here at dawn, and it's all yours; sea otters may wink at you from just beyond the surf. Wander south a few hundred yards to where tiny Garrapata Creek runs year-round, and you may find a nice little swimming lagoon.